HELGA'S DOWRY: A Troll Love Story
By
De Paola calls his characters trolls and the pictured tail-bearing peasants are funny-ugly enough, but their resemblance to the creatures of Northern lore stops there. Beautiful but poor Helga, abandoned by suitor Lars for dowryed Plain Inge, earns her own fortune with the aid of honest tricks and troll dust--gaining thereby not only the satisfaction of saying No to Lars, but also the hand of the rich troll king, who pops up conveniently to declare his devotion. Cookie-cutter magic.