This is Ben from the book Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jaques. He is a young mute boy who stole away on the Flying Dutchman to escape his abusive step family. He is found out and forced to help the cook. The cook names him Nebachuneser (Neb for short) because he could not tell them his real name. After a few weeks at sea they dock at a port in Denmark where a dog jumps on the ship. Neb adopts the dog and the ship continues on its trip. The crew of this ship are a bunch of blood thirsty vagabonds who attempt a mutiny in the middle of a storm. There is a bright light and Neb and his dog (Denmark, Den for short) are washed overboard. They wash up on the coast of Tierra Del Fuego where he remebers an Angel had saved his life and granted him eternal youth so that he and his dog could share their pure-heartedness with the world. The angle had also granted him the ability to speak and telepathic communication with Den (so that he could have a compainion). After many years Neb changed his name to Ben and Den changed his name to Ned (they just switched the letters of their shortened names (: ). Not the best discription of the Book but it is a very hard book to describe.