Troubadour Gedeone and his young apprentice Almerina are two traveling entertainers who move from a town to another as storytellers to gain money. Surprised by a night blizzard in their last journey through the island of Sicile, they two enter into a mountain cave looking for refugee, learning that in the cave inhabits an aging bear. In an attempt to avoid to be attacked, Gedeone tells him a story about a king bear named Leonce who, playing in a river with his son Tonio, losses the prince when he's kidnapped by humans and taken far away from the forest. Neglecting his liabilities as king to care his clan during several months due by the affliction of the loss, finally he's concerned by his second hand Salpetre about the possibility that Tonio could be alive in the land of men. Leonce calls his clan to move there, but the evil Grand Duc is reported by old magician Theophile about bears' invasion and he sends Theophile to defeat them, failing in an attempts that include a wild boars horde, a ghost castle and an ogre bear eater. Full of anger, Grand Duc sends his army against bear clan, in a great battle where Grand Duc thinks bears are defeated. Appearing on the city, Leonce finally locates Tonio, who is shot by Grand Duc. Saved by Theophile, Leonce defeats Grand Duc and claims as king of Sicile, joining bears and humans as only one race "and they lived happily ever after". But then the aging bear reveals Gedeone and Almerina that the history isn't exactly how they think, and it's longer than they know.