In normal bear life, it is frowned upon to make friends with a mouse. But Ernest, a big bear, a clown and musician who lives on the fringes of bear society, nonetheless welcomes little Celestine into his home. She is an orphan and has fled the mouse world down below. These two solitary characters fi nd support and comfort in one another, but in the process, they fl y in the face of convention, upsetting the established order.