Siffon

Blame Sherry and her questions of inspiration for this guy.

He lives in the tail-end of his world's industrial revolution, so he's tech'd up, but still rather homely. He lives on the edge of a small village that is being rebuilt from the inside out, and three world-famous inventers live there. Siffon's old, crazy grandfather thinks he is an inventor, too, and Siffon humors him and tests his inventions, though they never work.

One day, he's taking a basket (straped to his back) of weekly groceries to his grandfather who has just finished building a "sure-fire flyin' machine!" This time, when Siffon sits in it and turns it on, it works! But the un-veiling sheet is caught on it, and the wind catches it, and Siffon is blown to places unknown. When he lands, he loses a sandle.

Oooh. Fairytale.