Cherryleaf Library for Children Podcast

Mattia and Bob (a friend of Mattia’s from his circus days) help Rémi escape from prison. With the help of Bob's brother, a sailor, Rémi and Mattia return to France to search for Mrs. Milligan, in order to warn her about her brother-in-law. They find out that Lise's uncle has died, and that a kind English lady—which they assume is Mrs. Milligan—took her on her boat. In Vevey, Switzerland, they find Mrs. Milligan, Arthur, and Lise, whose voice has returned to her. Mrs. Milligan sends for mother Barberin who brings with her Rémi's baby clothes which Mrs. Milligan recognizes as the clothes her boy wore when he was stolen by Driscoll on the orders of James Milligan. Epilogue: Years later, Rémi lives with his wife Lise, mother, brother at Milligan Park, the home of his ancestors. Capi is still with him. Arthur gets well and becomes a gentleman athlete, Mattia a famous violinist. Mother Barberin helps taking care of Rémi’s and Lise’s baby son, Mattia. Capi is very old and deaf but still manages to collect money from Rémi’ guests for a home for little street musicians.

Mattia overhears a conversation between the Driscolls and James Milligan, Arthur's uncle, who hopes Arthur will die soon so he will inherit the fortune of his late brother. Rémi is accused of a robbery committed by the Driscolls and put in prison.

Rémi is bitterly disappointed with the Driscolls. They turn out to be a band of thieves and use Capi to help them in their criminal work. 

Performing successfully, Rémi and Mattia manage to save 240 francs towards buying a cow for mother Barberin. In Ussel, a vet helps them buy a beautiful cow. Frightened by Mattia’s cornet playing, the cow runs away and is caught by people in the next town, who accuse the boys of stealing it. The boys and Capi spend the night in jail, but after the vet testifies on their behalf, continue their journey and Rémi and mother Barberin are reunited. She tells Rémi that Jerome is in Paris looking for him because his real parents are trying to find him. On their way to Paris, Rémi and Mattia visit Lise Acquin. Rémi and Lise are very fond of each other. In Paris, Rémi and Mattia learn that Jerome died and they travel to London to meet with the lawyer searching for Rémi who tells him he is the son of John Driscoll. 

The mine is flooded by the river which flows overhead and seven miners, including Gaspard and Rémi, find shelter, but are trapped. For days they wait to be rescued, hungry and depressed. Finally, they are saved, and Rémi, Mattia, and Capi leave again. Their performances bring good money and they plan to visit Mother Barberin and buy her a present: a cow. Rémi wants Mattia to learn music and they visit a music teacher (and a barber) who is impressed by Mattia's talent. But when he tries to convince Mattia to stay with him and learn music, Mattia refuses to leave Rémi. 

In the first chapters of Part Two, Rémi finds Mattia on the streets of Paris, starving. Garofoli is in prison for beating another boy to death. Mattia convinces Rémi to take him into his “troupe” (consisting of Capi) and turns out to be a gifted violinist and performer on other musical instruments. Performing on the way, they travel to Alexis, who now lives with his Uncle Gaspard in Varses and works in the mine with his uncle. When Alexis is wounded and unable to work for a while, Rémi volunteers to replace him.

When Rémi wakes up, he learns that Vitalis had frozen to death. He himself remains alive only because Capi shared his warmth with him. He finds himself in the house of Pierre Acquin, a florist, and his family: two boys, Alexis and Benjamin, and two girls, Étienette and Lise, who is mute. The family takes Rémi and Capi in and they live there happily for two years. Then a hailstorm ruins the glass in the greenhouse, and Acquin is in debt to the man he borrowed from to establish his business. He cannot pay and has to enter a debtor's jail. The children go to their uncles and aunts, but none of them is willing or able to take in  Rémi, for he is “not family.” With his harp and Capi, he takes to the road again.

In Paris, Vitalis decides to lease Rémi to a "padrone" for the winter, while he trains new animals with the proceeds. Garofoli, the "padrone," keeps a group of boys, sold by their poverty-stricken parents, working for him. Rémi meets an ill-looking boy, Mattia, who keeps house because he is no longer capable of working outside. Garofoli beats and starves the boys who do not bring home enough money. When Vitalis finds out that the boys are being flogged, he takes Rémi away. That night, hungry and unable to find a place to stay, Vitalis and Rémi collapse in the snowstorm and huddle with Capi near a gate leading to a big garden.

To pay the hotel bill and raise more money to take care of Pretty-Heart, Rémi, Vitalis, and Capi must give a performance. Pretty-Heart begs them to be allowed to participate, but they leave him alone in the warm room under covers. During the performance, Rémi hears Vitalis sing opera arias for the first time. A young rich lady tells Vitalis that he has a wonderful voice and he evasively says something about using to be a singer's servant. She throws a gold coin into Capi’s cap, which should be enough for Pretty-Heart’s medicine and other expenses. They return to the hotel to find Pretty-Heart in his general’s uniform, performance-ready and...

Winter catches up with Rémi and Vitalis on the way to Paris, and in a snowstorm, Zerbino and Dulcie are attacked by wolves in the woods, and Pretty-Heart catches pneumonia.

Rémi enjoys sleeping in a nice bed, eating good food, but most of all, the affection of Mrs. Milligan and Arthur. He learns that Mrs. Milligan had an older child who was kidnaped when he was six months old and never found. Soon after the husband's death, Arthur was born. Mrs. Milligan and Arthur want Rémi to stay with them but when Vitalis is released from jail, he takes Rémi from them, believing that hard life on the road would form the boy’s character and be better for him than the position of Arthur’s playmate. 

Alone, Rémi now needs to take care of himself and his four companions. They perform, earn little, and nearly starve. Rémi encounters a foreign lady who owns a small river boat. She hears him play and sing and suggests that he will join her and her sick son, Arthur.

Vitalis teaches Rémi the alphabet and how to read music. They travel from village to village, living by giving musical and stage performances. When they reach the winter resort of Pau, they stay there the whole winter, performing for the children of the rich, mostly American and English, vacationing there. Come Spring, they move to the city of Toulouse, where a policeman insists that the dogs must be muzzled, knocks Rémi to the ground, and arrests Vitalis who defends the boy. Vitalis is sentenced to two months in jail.

Rémi and Vitalis spend their first night together in a barn, sheltering from a rain storm after being refused lodgings by farmers along their way. Rémi cries with longing to mother Barberin, but finds some solace in Capi who lies down beside him, licking his hand. Vitalis is a kind man and an experienced traveling artist. When they reach the next town, Ussel, he buys Rémi new shoes so he will not get tired walking in his uncomfortable clogs. And he dresses Rémi in nice second-hand clothes and a hat, making him look like an Italian boy to attract attention and larger crowds for their performances. Rehearsing a 20-minute “play” (a pantomime) with Rémi, the dogs, and the monkey, Vitalis shows great patience, never getting angry or raising his voice, explaining to Rémi: “One gains very little by being cruel, but one can obtain a lot, if not all, with gentleness.” The next day, Rémi has a successful debut, playing a fool—and the monkey’s (General Pretty-Heart) new servant—to perfection. 

Barberin meets a travelling artist, Signor Vitalis, who travels with three dogs—Capi, Zerbino and Dulcie—and a monkey, Pretty-Heart. Vitalis offers to pay Barberin and take Rémi on as an apprentice. Rémi is taken by Vitalis from his childhood home, without even a chance to say goodbye to his foster mother (who would have done anything to prevent the transaction) and starts traveling around France. 

Welcome to the first season of Cherryleaf Library for Children. Hector Malot’s Without Family (translated as Nobody's Child) is one of the best children’s books ever written, especially for ages 8 to 12. It is a story of five years in the life of Rémi, a foundling in late 19th century France, a complex, gripping story, that keeps children emotionally engaged chapter after chapter. Jerome Barberin, a mason working in Paris found there an abandoned baby and brought him to his village, Chavanon, where he was raised by his wife, “mother Barberin.” The story, told by Rémi, starts when he is 8 years old and Barberin comes home unexpectedly, bitter and penniless after being injured in a work accident. Rémi finds out he is a foundling and that Jerome wants to get rid of him.