The story opens by introducing Gabool the Wild, the nefarious King of Searats, who stands at the top of a cliff and watches as a small mousemaid frantically tries to survive in the seas at the bottom of the cliff. The pirate king returns to his fortress, Fort Bladegirt, where one of his captains named Bludrigg demands plunder. Gabool feigns an air of compliance, but suddenly beheads Bludrigg. After this short incident, he interrogates Joseph the Bellmaker and attempts to force him to build a bell tower for the enormous bell he captured. Failing in this, he successfully persuades the Bellmaker to interpret the symbols on the bell in exchange for the latter’s daughter. He then shoves the old mouse off of a cliff.