The story begins with Troubadour, a French accented turtle who loves songs, backstage of a show trying to remind the narrator that he promised to use one of Troubadour's songs. The narrator ignores the turtle and breaks his promise, but accidentally falls through a trapdoor just as the show is about to begin. Consequently, Troubadour is ushered to tell the audience the story at the last minute. Panicking, Troubadour quickly picks up The Three Musketeers storybook and begins reading.