H.C. Andersen 
Flea and the Professor [EPUB ebook] 

The teacher’s father had died in a hot air ballooning accident: the balloon had exploded two minutes after he had parachuted his son to safety. The boy had to learn to survive alone and this was how he became a teacher. His dream was to have his own hot air balloon one day, but when his wife left him all he had left was a little flea, and they swore never to leave each other. But, when they arrived in the savage country, the princess of this country ordered that the flea remain with her, and the teacher had to find a way to get it back!-