A well-known Danish author-illustrator tells his own version of a familiar story: a powerful animal is outwitted by a small but clever one. Here, in a roaring contest between the two, a tiger has won the right to eat an elephant; a tiny mouse deer tricks the tiger by pretending to eat the protesting elephant and convincing the tiger that he'll be the next victim. The story is briskly told, with informal, humorous dialogue that's especially appropriate for reading aloud; Mogensen's simple watercolors are not as striking as Adrienne Kennaway's illustrations for Hadithi's original fables, but his animals are amusingly expressive and help to carry the story. (Picture book. 4-8)
