The Story of Ferdinand (1936) is the best known work written by American author Munro Leaf. Illustrated by Robert Lawson, the children's book tells the story of a bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in bullfights. He sits in the middle of the bull ring failing to take heed of any of the provocations of the matador and others to fight. Ferdinand did not possess the more violent tendencies that bulls his age had. The Story of Ferdinand was published in 1936 by Viking Hardcover. After this book was published, it was labeled as having an alternate political agenda following the Civil War in Spain. During World War Two, the British Air Transport Auxiliary started flying into Europe after D-Day and their pilots, who were non-combatants, used Ferdinand the Bull as their call sign.