A man in a boat, fishing, finds a boy and girl floating in a crystal box. He takes care of them, but soon dies. Growing up alone in the man’s hut, the children are visited by a witch, who sends the boy on three impossible quests. He accomplishes the first two with help from a mysterious thin man in the woods, but fails to return from the third. His sister finds him turned to stone and rescues him, acquiring a diamond on the way; they decide to present it to the king and queen, who turn out to be their real parents. Stylized prose is matched by highly stylized, almost geometric illustrations done largely in warm shades of orange. The story has the rhythm, repetitiveness, and threefold structure of classic fairytales; it’s without characterizations, while the reasons for the children’s abduction and manipulation by the witch remain mysterious. Still, it is satisfying, and casts a lovely spell. (Folklore. 7-11)
