The Incredible Journey
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The Incredible Journey by the renowned Canadian author Sheila Burnford is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton in London in 1961. The tale tells of the magnificent adventure shared by three domestic animals as they travel in the wilderness, searching for their beloved masters. It reveals the suffering and stress of an arduous journey together with the unveering loyalty and courage of the three animals.
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[edit] Characters
- Luath: Luath is a young Labrador. His fur is red-gold and his eyes are brown. He is of strong build. Luath is a loyal and brave companion with the instincts of a leader. Of the three pets, he is the most recent addition and stays on Bodger's left side to guide him in search for the Hunter family. Then later he eats frogs and tries to scare away other (small) animals (if he can) for their food.
- Bodger: Bodger is an old English Bull Terrier. His fur is white with a slight pinkish tint. Bodger's left eye is nearly blind. The dog was bred to fight and endure. Given that he is eleven years old, Bodger tires easily. Yet he is a brave, loyal, persevering and tenacious companion. He is very fond of humans, particularly children, and whenever the group comes across humans in their travels, he tries to charm them for affection and snacks, with varying results. He has an intense hostility towards all cats save Tao, who earned his respect by standing up to him when he first arrived with the family as a small kitten. Though they care deeply for Luath, he and the cat have a special bond. Bodger is the first of the animals to join the Hunter family.
- Tao: Tao is a slender wheat-colored Siamese cat with chocolate-colored front paws and sapphire eyes. An element of humor in the book is that Tao, like Bodger, despises other cats, and the two once shared many adventures terrorizing the other felines in their neighborhood; when they encounter other domesticated cats in their travels, Tao often fights them (successfully). Although he has a cat's independent nature, Tao has training similar to the dogs (for example, he will accept being put on a leash). Tao is able to open most doors, a help to the dogs in several situations. Tao is a tireless, bold and loyal animal. Tao is probably the best equipped of the three to survive in the wilderness, and has no difficulty surviving on his own when separated from the two dogs; despite this, he spends all his time seeking to rejoin them, a testament to the bond between the animals. The cat is an independent and natural hunter, catching small birds for the group (when Tao is lost to them, they do far more poorly without Tao than Tao does without them). Therefore, Tao is crucial to the dogs' survival.
- John Longridge: John Longridge is Elizabeth Hunter's godfather. He lives in a small stone house. Mr. Longridge wrote several historical books.
- The Hunter Family: The Hunter Family consists of the father Jim, the mother and their two children, Peter and Elizabeth. Jim owns Luath, Elizabeth owns Tao, and Peter owns Bodger.
[edit] Setting
The story is set in the northwestern part of Ontario, Canada. This vast area of wilderness has many lakes and rivers, only a few cities, and many much smaller towns and settlements amidst the wilderness.
[edit] Story
The Hunters had gone to Canada for university lectures and so entrusted the animals to John Longridge, Elizabeth's godfather. One fateful day, when John Longridge had left for a trip with his brother, the animals, feeling the lack of their human companions, left without a trace to try to find their way to them. Mrs. Oakes, the caretaker, didn't find the animals and concluded that John had taken them with him. The animals followed their instincts and were always moving west back home, dodging death nearly every step of the way. But when Bodger, the old Bull Terrier, gets attacked, they have to slow down a lot. Tao is separated from the others because of a rushing river and faces several dangers before he succeeds in finding the lost dogs. Along the way, the animals are several times offered help. When the Hunters and John Longridge come back from their trips they are devastated when they learn that the animals have gone. They go back to the Hunters' cottage to celebrate Peter's birthday. The animals meet them at the party.
[edit] Trivia
- In 1963, the book was adapted into a movie [1] which was released by Walt Disney, and a remake in 1993 under the name Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.
- The animals don't talk in the book or the 1963 movie. In the 1993 remake, however, Don Ameche, Michael J Fox and Sally Field provide voices for the animals.
- Cartoonist Gary Larson lampooned the basic idea of the story in a one-panel The Far Side cartoon featuring a cow, a snake, and a squid.
