THE TIGER-SKIN RUG

If all the picture-book animals who save their human families from robbers were laid end to end, who could tell one from another? Rose's aging tiger at least comes in with a cleverer ploy than Cressey's parrot (above), and when first seen in the jungle he's the one who'll catch your eye with his silly skin-and-bones shape. Too old to catch his food, the tiger foxes his way into the Rajah's palace by taking the place of an old tiger-skin rug as it hangs on the line for a beating. The pounding is worth enduring as, once taken inside to the Rajah's dining hall, the tiger is never hungry again. And just when his returning plumpness puts him in danger of discovery, he defends the Rajah from intruding robbers and stays on as a pet. The solution is moth-eaten and Rose's style is not much fresher, but the little turns he dreams up put a bit of life into the old Tiger-Skin Rug.