Enchantment: Fairy Tales, Ghost Stories and Tales of Wonder Book

February and freezing. In sunlight and starlight the wind blew from the east. It gripped the land. It poked its fingers under doors and through squints and along passageways. A collection of 20 tales which have their origins in folklore, traditional stories and superstitions from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, this attractive book has great old stories told in a modern way. The stories of mysterious goings on and unexplainable magic are fascinating because although the roots of the stories are sometimes a little familiar, there is an exciting unpredictability to them and there aren't always happy endings. All the stories are told in a lyrical and interesting way and are served with a good measure of black humour. For example, in "The Cow That Ate The Piper", three hired men are accompanied on a foggy journey by a piper. Coming across a dead man in the road, the piper tries to take his new shoes, but finding them frozen onto his feet, he has to take the feet as well. In a roundabout way, this grisly act and a farmer's misunderstanding later brings the hired men great luck. A fun volume for those who like their fairy stories to be a little bit different. (Ages 9-11) --Rachel EdissRead More