THE COOK AND THE KING

A lively variant of ``Clever Manka,'' a Czech tale retold by Parker Fillmore. When Florinda agrees to cook for the king, he makes her promise not to interfere with his ``serious business''; still, she can't resist pointing out just how ``hasty, foolish, and unfair'' his settlements of his subjects' disputes are. Like Manka, Florinda cleverly uses comic analogies to make her points and in the end uses a deft appeal to survive the king's intended retribution (literally—he's having her burned at the stake); she goes on to become a better judge than he is, and even teaches him to cook. It would be interesting to know how this contemporary feminist tale resembles the South American folktale that ``inspired'' it. As it stands, it's lively and entertaining in the manner of ``Manka,'' with a good seasoning of Latin local color in the events and in Brusca's angular, energetic illustrations, where the rages of the toothy, red-faced king are as scary as they are childish; the story might also be read as the obverse of The Taming of the Shrew. Authors' note. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-10)