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Synopsis

Nello Daas, a talented artist living in a village near Antwerp, supports himself selling milk in the city market alongside his ailing grandfather. His closest companion is Alois Cogez, the landlord’s daughter, whose father disapproves of their friendship and sends her to a school in Antwerp to keep them apart. While continuing his market work, Nello discovers an art competition honoring Peter Paul Rubens that offers both prize money and a place to study at an Antwerp art school—the same city where Alois is now enrolled. Motivated by the chance to further his craft and reunite with Alois, Nello sets out to create an inspired entry, but he faces a sequence of hardships that threaten his ambitions. Throughout these trials, his devoted dog Patrasche, whom he rescued from a cruel owner, remains at his side. This retelling presents the moving relationship between an innocent young artist and his faithful canine companion as they endure adversity together.