be there by ten.” He hurriedly put his cup on the table and started to get dressed. “I have to make a good impression,” he said. Ludeveccio was unsure if Mr. Disney was talking to him or to himself. “But what can I tell them?” he asked. “I still don’t have any good idea in my head.’
Ludeveccio was sorry Mr. Disney was so agitated. “Can I help you?” he asked. “I wish you could, Mr. Disney” said sorrowfully. I’ve been trying to think up a story line for a cartoon full length cartoon movie. I just can’t think of one. That’s why I was so drunk yesterday. I’ve just become so depressed.”
“Let me try,” the mouse answered. His mother had always told him to offer a helping hand whenever needed. “It would help me I understood what you mean by cartoonist and movie.”
“I forgot you’re not from Hollywood,” Mr. Disney said thoughtfully. “I forgot you’re from Italy. I guess they haven’t developed cartoonists or movies there. A cartoonist,” he explained, is a type of artist. Only he doesn’t draw exactly how a person looks but exaggerates some feature, usually to make his drawing humorous. Such as making a man’s large ears even larger or a man’s sharp nose even larger. A movie,” he went on, “is a series of pictures showing movements, each one a little bit later in time, drawn so as to give the impression of the person shown moving. The word is actually a contraction of the name, moving pictures.”
“I think I understand,” said Ludevecchio. But why do you want to make fun of a person by exaggerating some flaw in his appearance?”
“Generally, we draw cartoons of political officials, to show our disapproval of their actions or policies. Occasionally, we may draw a cartoon of an animal, such as the lion to represent the British Empire. The problem is I’ve been asked to propose a cartoon movie about an animal. I can’t think of what animal to use or what the story line would be.”
“That doesn’t seem an insurmountable obstacle,” the mouse answered thoughtfully. “I suppose under some circumstances, some people might consider me to be an animal. I would be pleased to assist you by serving as a model for a cartoon. Nothing really exciting has ever happened to me, but I have a good imagination and could probably suggest a story line or two.”
Walt Disney looked as though an inspiration had just hit him in the face. He grabbed a sketch pad and charcoal, eyed Ludeveccio for a minute, and then began drawing furiously. When he finished he showed the mouse what he had drawn. It was of what appeared to be a mouse, but one standing up on his back legs. Ludeveccio had occasionally taken that position, but it was not really comfortable for him. The mouse’s ears also far too big, Ludeveccio supposed in an effort to make it amusing. It was really difficult, the mouse thought, to understand the human sense of humor. Probably, the oddest part of the cartoon was that Mr. Disney had dressed the mouse in a short garment covering his legs down to the knees, gloves and shoes. Since mice are protected by their fur and do not need garments the way humans do, Ludevecchio assumed this also was supposed to be funny.
To be polite, Ludevecchio smiled and nodded his approval. He hoped that Mr. Disney was a better judge of human humor than he was. Mr. Disney then took back the pad and carefully colored the sketch, using water colors. The mouse in the sketch was colored the same as Ludeveccio’s own fur, but the gloves were white, the shoes yellow and the pants green. Once again, Ludeveccio yielded to Mr. Disney’s superior knowledge of people.
Mr. Disney finished dressing, put the sketchpad into a briefcase, and walked to the cottage door. “Wish me luck, Ludevecchio,” he said. If I can’t sell this to the studio, we’re both going to be out on the street. The door closed and the mouse began pacing the floor, in a state of great apprehension. From time to time, he would try to