A Dog of Flanders. Children's Story of all time. Here is how it began: Nello and Patrasche were left all alone in the world.They were friends in a friendship closer than brotherhood. Nello was a little Ardennois-Patrasche was a big Fleming. They were both of the same age by length of years, yet one was still young, and the other was already old. They had dwelt together almost all their days: both were orphaned and destitute, and owed their lives to the same hand