THE STORY OF MR. AND MRS. VINEGAR
illustrated by Stephen Gammell
It's Stephen Gammell's illustrations of dotty, doting Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar that are the attraction here—encased in a neat, squarish little volume as close-hauled as the tale. Mrs. V., you may remember, accidentally demolishes the pair's pickle-jar house. Out in the world, they stumble upon a robbers' chest of gold—but no new pickle-jar house will they have. While Mrs. V. patiently waits, Mr. V. ingenuously trades the gold for a cow, the cow for a flute, the flute for some mittens, and the mittens for a walking stick—which he then flings at a taunting parrot. "It's true, he thought as he trudged down the road. I am a fool. And a simpleton as well. No pickle jar, no fortune, nothing. Not even my stick. Oooh, what a scolding I'm in for!" But Mrs. V., no more practical-minded than her mate, is merely very, very glad to see him. . . and we leave them tenderly snoozing under the moon. The wryly, gently comical pencil drawings will leave the onlooker smiling too.