THREE SACKS OF TRUTH
A Story from France
adapted by Eric A. Kimmel & illustrated by Robert Rayevsky
The magic fife given to Petit Jean in return for a kindness stands him in good stead when a sly king sets him a difficult task with a princess as prize: he must tend the royal rabbit herd, returning nightly with the full 10,000 bunnies. The king tries to thwart Petit Jean by sending first the princess and then the queen for a rabbit (each time, Petit Jean exacts an appropriate price—seven kisses; an embarrassing headstand); but even when the king himself takes a rabbit to the cook, the fife calls it from the pot in time for the count. This is less violent than Asbjornsen and Moe's ``Herding the King's Hares''; and though Kimmel has removed his French source's earthier jokes, what's left is still far from bland. Rayevsky's elongated, amusingly grotesque figures lean and gesture in comical chagrin or, in Petit Jean's case, grand self-confidence. Entertaining tale; handsome presentation. (Folklore/Picture book. 8-10)