One day, French mason Jerome Barberin finds an abandoned baby boy. As the boy is wearing fine clothes, Barberin hopes that he is the son of rich parents who will reclaim him soon and offer a reward to Barberin for taking care of him. He therefore brings the boy home to his wife, and gives him the name Remi. 'However, no rich parents ever turn up to reclaim Remi. Instead, the family falls on hard times and Barberin wants to get rid of the boy. When Remi is eight years old, Barberin sees his chance in the travelling artist Signor Vitalis, who is travelling through France with his three dogs and a monkey. Vitalis offers to take care of Remi, and they travel on together. While Vitalis is a kind master and teaches Remi lots of useful skills, the two also suffer poverty, and Remi still lacks knowledge of his true heritage. Summary by Carolin, with help from Wikipedia.