The Boy Who Saved a Bear

Twelve-year-old Nuwan feels overshadowed by his older brother and overlooked by his parents. When Nuwan’s brother is unwell, he decides to take a job delivering library books to the elderly monk who lives in the King’s City. Nuwan secretly hopes to see the Key of Nissanka, a treasure recently found at the library, as it’s being handed over to royal officials. However, when he picks up the books from the library, he accidentally takes a book that contains the real key. Nuwan doesn’t realise the head librarian, Mrs Weerasinghe, has swapped the real key for a fake one. Unable to persuade his parents to let him take the books to the King’s City, Nuwan sneaks away. After he leaves, he sees Mrs Weerasinghe and her husband pursuing him and realises he has the real key. Nuwan’s challenge is to get to the King’s City in time for the official presentation of the key and expose the librarian’s deception. The adventure challenges Nuwan’s physical capacities as well as his self-perceptions. Along the way, he meets a supposedly aggressive sloth bear, Karadi, who lives in a local cave. Nuwan finds the bear an unexpected ally and puts the key around its neck to keep it from the Weerasinghe’s. Nuwan’s friend, Sani, joins him, and they persuade Karadi to follow them to the King’s City. However, it’s a difficult journey as they have to evade the librarian and her husband while facing the difficulties of their environment. There are further encounters with the Weerasinghes, who want the bear killed to retrieve the key. Will the newfound friends make it in time?