UNCLE LEMON'S SPRING

This is another of Yolen's recent departures from her characteristic precious fairy tales, and here she tries to match her prose to the sort of hill country shenanigans more closely associated with Rounds. The funny business occurs during a drought, when narrator Lettie and her Uncle Lemon get an old witchin' man to find them a spring in exchange for their last hen. But then the villainous preacher comes by and demands a hen in exchange for blessing the spring. As the preacher in some prior operation has already stolen their hens, Uncle Lemon decides to steal one back to give him. But Lemon is caught and locked up in Preacher's cellar. The rest of the story tells how Lettie uses her wits and the witch man's advice to free Lemon, and how the two in turn maneuver Preacher to a bargaining position—on top of a geyser-like burst of spouting spring water. But despite all the peepin' and snufflin' and the stomach jumpin' like a sack of hoptoads, Yolen hasn't the earthy wit and outrageous imagination to give this the zip of Sid Fleischman's tall tales—or those of Rounds himself.