HOW THE MANX CAT LOST ITS TAIL
By
The title story in Young's collection of Manx tales (1959, o.p.) retains its outline in this abbreviated version, though the humor of Noah's great age and the exaggerated amounts of time it took to collect the animals for the ark have been excised, and the cat's sex and color (a tricolor female in Young) changed. What remains is a fast-moving, funny story about a cat that was so slow to heed the whole family's calls to the ark that he almost missed the boat; indeed, his tail, caught in the door, is left behind. Stevens illustrates with her usual panache and verve, including a map locating the Isle of Man. Fine for sharing with a group.