Cipollino

Cipollino, or Little Onion as translated from the original, is a fictional character from Gianni Rodari's eponymous Tale of Cipollino, also known under its 1957 renamed title Adventures of Cipollino, a children's tale about political oppression. He also appeared before the publication of the book in the children's magazine Il Pioniere of which Rodari was the editor. Cipollino was popular in the Soviet Union, up to the point of being adapted as a ballet composed by Karen Khachaturian and choreographed by Henrich Mayorov, originally staged in Taras Shevchenko National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine on November 8 1974.