TEN FAIRY TALES

Ten whimsies which turn on fairy tale tropisms, sometimes turning them inside out, sometimes following them through. The witches in ""The Magic Wart"" are cheerful, and the wart is rubbed for nothing more sinister than to fetch the cows home; ""The Lonely Dragon"" is that exhausted parody, the monster who wants to be somebody's pet. Closer to a straight fable is the story of the elf who netted the sun, the mice who nibbled it free except that it has no further meaning. Mr. Sargent's ""retelling"" (presumably referring to what mother told) lacks vitality and imagination, and his drawings are pallid. Whether pro-or anti-fairy tale, readers won't find much sustenance here.