SH-KO AND HIS EIGHT WICKED BROTHERS

The illustrator here—who is a professor of sculpture at Dartmouth—remembers this Japanese tale from his childhood. When Sh-Ko's brothers go to court the Princess Yakami, they take him along to carry their baggage. Sh-Ko is so weighed down that he lags behind and meets a furless rabbit, who tells him how he lost his fur: he had tricked the crocodiles into forming a bridge for him to cross, but the last one, realizing the trick, got his fur coat. The heartless brothers have recommended salt water as a cure, but the kinder Sh-ko suggests fresh water and helps him roll in cattails to restore his coat. Grateful, the rabbit presents him with a token that causes the Princess to receive him with favor after dismissing his brothers. Bryan retells the story with vigor and humor; the brush drawings, in shades of gray on buff, are appropriately decorative, although some of the subtleties of the brushwork have been lost in reproduction.