Toni, the central figure, is a little goat-herder who longs to develop his gift of wood carving. Little Toni and his mother live in a mountain hut in the Swiss alps. Toni wants to become a woodcarver,...

Toni, the central figure, is a little goat-herder who longs to develop his gift of wood carving. Little Toni and his mother live in a mountain hut in the Swiss alps. Toni wants to become a woodcarver, and he seems to have a knack for it, but his mother can’t afford to pay for his training. Instead, he is sent high up the mountain to tend sheep.