Two Fools and a Horse: An Original Tale

Two young men from the village of Tarnof try to prove that a peddler has stolen Farmer Kohl's horse and hidden it in his sack.

Grade 1-4-When a tall, unshaven peddler with a "stern and sinister" appearance walks through the village of Tarnof carrying a large blue bundle, two lazy simpletons decide to follow him to see what he is up to and, perhaps, to earn a reward for themselves. It could be, they reason, that the strange man has Farmer Kohl's missing horse in his sack. While one watches the peddler, the other runs to alert the magistrate and farmer; when several farmers arrive to accost the fleeing thief, they are taken in, instead, by the array of wares that he draws from his knapsack. The story ends with a surprising twist of fantasy. Rayevsky has created bold, folk-art illustrations from cut paper and paint, outlining each figure and animal in heavy black line. He has used fine black lines and cross-hatching to create texture and depth and various painting techniques that add pattern and interest to the backgrounds and other large areas. This fine marriage of story and art will both amuse and entertain young listeners.
Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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