This children's fable follows the imaginary and real adventures of a boy who is enraptured by the enticing fables of James Fenimore Cooper which portray the romance of the wilds of America before Europeans overran it completely. His life is filled with magical phenomena, like an over-the-hill teacher who can easily recapture the beauty of her youth when she wishes to, and a cupboard at school which offers him a doorway into other worlds. His adventures even enable him to meet his grandmother when she was a girl.