JUST STAY PUT

Chelm, that village of ``extremely silly'' (as Clement words it) folk, is the setting of a splendidly idiotic tale of Mendel, a lazy man with his head literally in the clouds. After five pages of background (funny, but unnecessary) in the ways of Chelm, the real story gets under way: Mendel embarks on a journey to Warsaw, the city of his dreams. He takes time for a nap on the way, but points his shoes toward Warsaw so he won't forget which way he was walking. A would-be thief examines the shoes and replaces them, pointing Mendel toward home. This fool, believing he has arrived in Warsaw, is amazed to find things exactly as they were in Chelm (right down to the ``twin'' of his wife), and decides that ``if one place is exactly like every other place, one might as well just stay put.'' Clement's witty illustrations depict Mendel sometimes towering over the village, sometimes in miniature among giants, always slightly dazed. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)