Why does Morpurgo make himself the small boy that hears Millie’s story, rather than inventing a fictional boy? How does this change the reader’s experience?

Loneliness is central to the lives of the characters in The Butterfly Lion. How does loneliness inspire empathy in Bertie, Millie, and Michael?

What does The White Lion symbolize to the novel’s secondary characters, such as Monsieur Merlot and the British officer at the hospital? How does this symbolism compare to what the lion symbolizes to Bertie?