One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes: A Hutzul Tale

Forced to do impossible tasks by an ugly witch and her hideous daughters, Larissa is befriended by a magic goat who helps her get things done, making her sad life just a little better, that is until the witch and her daughters begin to look into the matter.

Grade 2-4?In this folktale usually associated with the Grimm Brothers, a man lost in a forest promises his most precious possession to a three-eyed witch; too late, he realizes that he has given up his beloved daughter. When Larissa becomes a slave to the witch and her two daughters, her only comfort is her pet goat. Then Three Eyes brutally destroys the animal. When Larissa buries its hooves and horns, watering the spot with her tears, a tree with silver leaves and golden fruit grows overnight. A prince passing by asks for a piece of the fruit, which only Larissa can retrieve. He carries her away, and the angry witch strikes the tree, bringing down a bolt of lightning that destroys the three wicked ones. Zimmer's cartoonlike illustrations do much to extend the text. The odd eyes of the witch characters are echoed in the flowers and trees of his forest setting. Unfortunately, the witches are so grotesque that nothing is left to children's imaginations. Three Eyes's pendulous breasts and huge warty nose and her daughters' exaggerated features are so hideous that they appear comical rather than threatening. The prince with his receding chin, long stringy hair, and sad expression is hardly one to inspire a ride into the sunset on his horse that looks more like a stable pony than a charging stallion. Still, there is a primitive folklike look to the illustrations that matches the tale. Useful for large folktale collections as a comparison to the Grimm version.?Connie C. Rockman, formerly at Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-8. The monster family portrait on the cover sets the tone of comic exaggeration in this Ukrainian-Hutzul version of an age-old story. When a traveler is lost in the woods, the witch Three Eyes agrees to help him find his way back if he agrees to give her his most precious possession. Only when he gets home does he realize that he has bargained away his beloved daughter, Larissa. The beautiful maiden must slave from dawn to dusk for the wicked old witch and her two hideous daughters; but Larissa's talking goat helps her, and when a prince comes riding by, she is ready to go with him. Zimmer's line-and-watercolor illustrations make the witches funny, garish, and frightful, each of them with a different number of glaring eyes. Some sweeping pictures with detailed cross-hatching reveal lurking shapes in the woods and undergrowth; on other pages small narrative frames show the pure Larissa doing her daily labors. In a useful author's note, Kimmel talks about his sources and about the universal theme of the person who makes a foolish vow and must give up a beloved child. Hazel Rochman