Bernardo becomes king when King Joseph disappears in Book I. King Bernardo feels overshadowed by Knight Oqueandos popularity among his people and other authority fi gures. In the meantime, the city of London is being terrorized by a big brown bear that has shown his darks eyes and scary teeth. Knight Oqueando and David devise a plan to capture the beast and return it to the wild. Bernardo has plans of his own for getting rid of the bear. He believes that the plan will show the people of London that he is more powerful than Knight Oqueando.