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KING BIG-EARS by Eilis Dillon

KING BIG-EARS

By

Pub Date: Feb. 1st, 1963
Publisher: Norton

A newly contrived old-fashioned fairy tale with all the elements of the traditional genre except the one essential quality that lends a sense of magic to the whole. It tells of a king who wants his daughter to marry a cowardly prince in order that two kingdoms be joined. When the evil spell of a witch causes everyone in the land to grow enormous dangling ears, a single cobbler's apprentice saves the day. Having helped many in his travels, the young man is given the power to kill the witch and prevent her son, the dragon, from destroying the kingdom. Though the princess admires this new hero, the king believes the prince, who takes full credit for everything. Only after the cobbler's apprentice shows proof of his deeds, does the story reach it happy conclusion. A complicated plot with an abundance of verbiage; only Tom amil's funny drawings hold the young listener throughout.