"No selling, no sharing" is the motto of Monsieur Racine, retired tax collector and prize-winning gardener. But one morning, alas, only a single pear is left on the tree that's his pride and treasure.
Pursuing a perplexing trail with ingenuity and his old cavalry saber, he catches the poacher, though he is not sure exactly what he's caught. This strange beast resembles nothing so much as a heap of moldy blankets. It has lumpish charm, however, and soon Monsieur Racine and the creature are the best, the most contented friends.
When meticulous research reveals nothing about the nature or origin of his new companion, Monsieur Racine decides to take it to Paris for presentation before the Academy of Sciences. What happens there throws Paris into an uproar and leaves Monsieur Racine a changed man.
