# the Gladsome Beast — The Book of Wonder character guide

> the Gladsome Beast in The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The Gladsome Beast, the Beast, The Beast

**First appearance:** 0013-how-one-came-as-was-foretold-to-the-city-of-never

## Snapshot

A creature of tireless chuckles in a lofty lair, whose insuperable mirth can only be broken by a song dolorous enough to make it weep.

## Who they are

The Gladsome Beast sits at the top of broad smooth steps, its continuous chuckles a terror to anyone who must climb toward it. Ackronnion comes armed with an agate bowl and the chaunt called Dolorous, and the beast's mirth gives way first to unhappiness, then to tears that splash big into the bowl. Its grief is the story's strange currency — a monster undone not by a spear but by sorrow, and by the singer's desperate need to fill a vessel before the weeping stops.

## Relationships

### [Ackronnion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/characters/ackronnion)

_friendship_

Ackronnion and the Gladsome Beast share a deep, loyal companionship, often journeying together through fantastical realms.

## In the story

### [The Quest of the Queen's Tears](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/chapters/the-quest-of-the-queen-s-tears)

A joyful creature whose tears can inspire weeping; it is slain by Arrath after being made to weep by Ackronnion's song.

### [How One Came, as Was Foretold, to the City of Never](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/chapters/how-one-came-as-was-foretold-to-the-city-of-never)

Not directly present; the chapter focuses on the unnamed protagonist and the hippogriffs.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/characters/the_gladsome_beast
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/characters