NOBIAH'S WELL

``A Modern African Folktale''—which, here, seems to mean an original story set in generic Africa (``Long ago in a far-off land where it had not rained for many years''). In a pleasantly folkloric cadence, Guthrie tells how Nobiah, when his mother is ill, carries their jar to a distant well but—after sharing with three thirsty animals—brings back so little that his mother, in despair, shatters the jar that's essential to their survival. That night, the three animals urge him to help them dig a well ``as deep as your heart and as wide as your thirst,'' enabling the village women to stay ``at home to tend their gardens and care for their children.'' Would that drought could be so easily alleviated. Still, the message of troubles cooperatively addressed has merit, while Roth's dark, translucent watercolors are appealingly expressive. (Picture book. 4-8)