3 ideas
Cipollone, a poor onion, accidentally steps on Prince Lemon's corn during a royal procession and is thrown in prison for life. His son Cipollino sets out to free him and meets other victims, including Sor Zucchina (Uncle Pumpkin), whose tiny house, built brick by brick over years, is seized by the landlord's steward Signor Tomato. The ordinary poor organise, free the prisoners, and drive out Prince Lemon and the Countesses Cherry who own the land.
When Signor Tomato pulls Cipollino's hair, he bursts into tears, because pulling an onion makes you cry. The weak person's defining trait becomes the thing that makes attacking him cost the oppressor. The book pictures resistance coming from what the powerless already are, not from weapons borrowed from the powerful.
After the revolt, the Countesses' castle is not destroyed or taken over by new rulers. It becomes a place for the village children to learn and play. The book argues that the real proof of liberation is what happens to the old instruments of privilege: they are turned to common use rather than inherited by a new elite.