Bernard is a nine-year-old orphan adopted by the De la Vega family and fulfills the role of family mascot. A lively, quick- witted, happy child, he is considered a son by Don Alejandro, and a brother by Diego. At a certain point in the story, Bernard discovers that Diego is actually his idol, Zorro, and so decides to become “Little Zorro” in order to help Diego defeat the region’s evil tyrants. Bernard does what he can to help out on the farm, helps Zorro by eavesdropping in on other people's conversations and plays a rather unusual role as a sort of “Cupid” in the relationship between Diego and Lolita.