Info of Nello and Patrasche

Nello was a young boy and Patrasche was his dog and they lived in the 19th century (1875). They are the leading figures in the book "Een Hond van Vlaanderen" (A dog of Flanders). The author is the English Marie-Louise de la Ramée (1839-1908). She wrote the book after her visit to Antwerpen in 1871. Her pseudonym is Ouida. The story is very popular in Japan and Korea. They even made several movies and animated cartoons of the book "A Dog of Flanders". In the USA they turned the novel 3 times into a movie. Last time was in 1959 by James B.Clark. Vandersteen, a famous Belgian strip-writer, made the book into a comic strip with the title "Het Dreigende Dinges" (The Threatened Thing). There is even a Japanese version of the strip. They have other names in your country. In the middle you see Nello with his dog Patrasche. On your right side you see from left to right Wiske and Suske.

The story took place in the neighborhood of the "Rode Molen" (the Red Windmill) of the rural Hoboken. (There is still a faithful miniature of the Red Windmill standing on the same place where the real Windmill used to be, it's on a scale 1/5). The dog's first master was a drunkard and a tormentor of animals. The dog had a very hard life, he had to tow a lot of heavy barrows. His master beat the dog until he was nearly dead and then he left the dog behind. An old man (Jehan) and a lad (Nello) found the very hard-manhandled dog. Nello is the son of the old man's deceased sister. They took the dog to their place and shared their scanty meal with him. The dog got better and he could stay with his new masters. They decided to call him Patrasche. The old man earns his living with a barrow with milk on it. He goes from farm to farm but he earns only some pennies with that. One day, Jehan got too old to do the job and Nello decided spontaneous to take it over together with the Patrasche. They were very poor but they lived happily. When Jehan got very ill, the boy (who wanted to help him) and the dog still went from farm to farm, even when it was very cold. Nello went to the Cathedral and kneeled before a painting of the famous Belgian painter Rubens named "Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Hemelvaart". Nello loved Rubens paintings.

One day, he met the daughter of the miller Cogez, Aloïs. She really loved Nello and his dog, but the miller didn't like this friendship. One day he was drawing a portrait of Aloïs, he was a good draughtsman. Cogez wanted to buy the painting but Nello said the miller was always so good for him that he gave it him for free. The miller didn't like the way Nello lived, so Aloïs had to ignore him. When he felt avoided, he tried to find his consolation in the art. He dreamed to be a famous artist and one day he went to a contest of draughtsmen to show them his drawing of a tramp. On his way home, he found a doll and gave it to Aloïs. She asked him why he didn't come to visit her anymore and he explained it to her. But he promised, her father would change his mind if he would win the contest. He went back home and that night the mill took fire. They could put out the fire very easily but the villagers saw Nello in the neighborhood of the mill that night. Cogez had a lot of influence on the villagers and so they all canceled their milk order. That was very hard for Nello because now he knew, he would get poorer.

And another drama took place. Jehan died of privation and the cold. Nello buried him and put some flowers on his grave. Nello couldn't pay his rent and his harsh landlord drove him away from the cottage. He had to leave his barrow with milk behind, his only way to get some money. Hungry and benumbed, the two faithful friends roamed the country. They decided to go back to Antwerpen to hear about the results of the contest. On their way, Patrasche got very exhausted and Nello went to beg for food but nobody wanted to give him anything. Sick and very hungry, they dragged to the big city. When they arrived, there was another reverse. Another boy had won the contest. They started to roam aimless. One day they found the purse of the miller Cogez. Although Nello knew Cogez hated him, he brought the purse back to the miller. Cogez who was very sad of loosing his purse, was as pleased as Punch. The miller admitted, he made a very bad mistake and he proposed Nello to celebrate Christmas with his family but Nello refused and asked Cogez to take good care of his dog Patrasche. With pain in his heart, he left and disappeared in the fog.

Patrasche refused to eat and when one day Cogez has forgotten to close the front door, Patrasche followed Nello's tracks. They leaded him to Antwerpen. But he couldn't find his master. His instinct told him to go to the Cathedral and yes … there he found his master in front of a painting of Rubens "De kruisafneming". They both were very happy to see each other and they promised to stay together no matter what happened. The only thing that counted is friendship and fidelity. Church-goers found Nello and Patrasche dead in front of Rubens' painting. They were joined eternal in the death. The miller Cogez mourned for the dead of Nello and Patrasche. But he has learned one lesson : you don't have to be rich to be happy. There are more important things in life : friendship and fidelity never die !

 

 

 

 

You can buy a lot of souvenirs in the info center in Hoboken : a miniature of the real sculpture (from the sculptress Yvonne Bastiaens) that stands in front of the info center (see the left frame), a lot of brochures and flyers (for free), the book "A dog of Flanders", posters, postcards, pins, chocolate truffles, ...