It is a children's book and has a good number of pictures that take up whole pages in some cases. With only 88 pages to begin with it shows what a short story it is.
The opening page has a note from the translator, explaining that Dumas told his readers that the story was written by Aramis, a character from The Three Musketeers. Aramis had apparently told it to the children of the Duchess of Longueville. Given how much I like The Three Musketeers I found this piece of information added to my enjoyment of the book.
And enjoy it I did. The story is about how Pierrot came to be the entertainer of children. It begins with a woodcutter and his wife finding an unusual child in the woods. The child's face is white and a variation of the story spreads to the city, in which not a child with a white face is found by a woodcutter, but a white bear is eating the woodcutters in the surrounding forest.
My favourite part of the story comes next. The city panics and hides. The King of Bohemia rides through the city with his Queen, and cannot understand why there is no one to greet him. The Queen is carried by her servants in a litter and falls asleep. When the King finds out about the bear he decides to go and kill it so leaves with his army. The servants carrying the litter flee and the Queen remains asleep in her litter, in the middle of the road. She is later retrieved by the servants when the panic is over and returned to the palace still asleep and non the wiser.
Pierrot is discovered by the King and brought to be part of his court. There are two villains in this story. One is the King of Bohemia's Chief Minister, Lord Renardino and the other is Prince Azor, the ruler of a neighbouring kingdom, who has his sights set on Bohemia. Together the two of them plot the downfall of the King of Bohemia, but are foiled by Pierrot.
A light read, but comedic and very enjoyable.
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