The Magic Cane

My children - boy and girl, 5 and 7 respectively - really like this story. In fact, I hear them talking about it with their friends - which doesn't happened very often. I believe one of the aspects that has mesmerized them is the artwork. It is colorful and bright, and also a little scary, which is something of a novelty for them. The story is about a prince named Moconoco and a peasant boy named Karmelo. The prince is not a very nice child. In fact, he is so spoiled and self-centered that no one will play with him except Karmelo. One day they are out playing in the woods when they come across an old crone. The old woman is leaning heavily on a golden cane but the prince doesn't care. He seizes the cane and laughs when the old woman falls to the ground. Well, as you can guess the old crone is not a common woman, and when the prince breaks the cane in anger she curses him saying that he will soon have three of every sense. The prince thinks this a blessing, but in fact it becomes less so when he develops 3 mouths, 3 eyes, 3 noses and 6 ears. I won't tell you more, only that the prince becomes king, and a bad one at that. And that justice for all the people must wait for many years. And I would not have told you about the curse except that I think the caregivers ought to know beforehand that the artwork might be a little disconcerting or scary for very young children. My own children, as I said, really liked the creepiness. Four Stars [B+] ::: "The Magic Cane" is a great fairytale for slightly older children. It still has a moral about how we ought to respect our elders, and in general treat others the way we want to be treated, except with a slightly scary twist. Pam T~