Kimmel, Eric. THREE SACKS OF TRUTH: A STORY FROM FRANCE. Ill. by Robert Rayevsky. New York: Holiday House, 1993. ISBN 082340921X
There once lived a greedy king who declared that
any man who brought him a perfect peach would be rewarded with his princess
daughter’s hand in marriage. Suitors
came from far and wide, all lining up with their best peaches for the king to
try. A poor widow heard the king’s
promise and sent each of her three sons with a peach from her own tree. The first two brothers failed at the task,
due to lies they told to an old woman they encountered on their journeys into
the kingdom. But when the third and
smallest brother, Petit Jean, met the old woman with his basket, his honesty
earned him a true perfect peach to present to the king, as well as a musical
silver fife. However, the cunning king did
not want his daughter to marry a small peasant boy, so he added an impossible
condition to his prize of marriage: Petit Jean must also herd 10,000 rabbits
for four days straight, never losing a single one. Thanks to the old woman’s magical fife, Petit
Jean succeeded each day, while also managing to trick the entire royal family
along the way. Clever Petit Jean
convinced the young princess to kiss him seven times, talked the plump queen
into standing on her head before him, and even tricked the shrewd king himself
into kissing a donkey. Yet, the king still refused to let Petit Jean marry his
daughter, this time insisting that the young boy now present him with three
sacks of truth. Petit Jean calmly showed
the princess in one sack, who confirmed to the kingdom that she did kiss the
boy. The second sack held the queen, who
verified performing an embarrassing headstand in front of Petit Jean. When the clever suitor asked the king to get
into the third sack, with the question of what he kissed for Petit Jean, the king hastily interrupted him, finally
insisting that he marry his daughter at once.
THREE SACKS OF TRUTH, an
adaptation of Paul Delarue’s version, THE THREE MAY PEACHES, is a clever tale of wit and
ingenuity. The story takes place “once
upon a time” and follows a kingdom that exists in some far corner of the earth,
leaving the details of the setting to the reader’s own creation. The story’s sly hero, Petit Jean, is an
unassuming character who children will not expect to save the day. He’s smaller than his brothers and is his
mother’s last choice to try for winning the king’s daughter and making a
fortune for his family. However, unlike
his rude brothers, Petit Jean is friendly and kind to the old woman by the holy
well, which earns him his first prize and delivers the story’s subtle message
of good triumphing over bad. As readers
continue to follow Petit Jean’s quest to earn the princess’s hand in marriage,
they will be impressed again and again by his skillful outdoing of the greedy
king. Children will cheer Petit Jean on
as he foils the king’s attempts to prevent him from succeeding at impossible
tasks, all the way until the story’s end, when Petit Jean trumps the king once
and for all, guaranteeing his happy ending with the beautiful princess.
Illustrator Robert
Rayevsky complements Kimmel’s tale with his drawings of Petit Jean, the greedy
king, and the story’s other characters.
Rayevsky’s pictures are detailed and colorful, alternating between crisp
white and darker gray or brown backgrounds.
The illustrations give THREE SACKS OF TRUTH a whimsical feeling of an
unknown place, as the old widow’s house is shown on the edge of a cliff with
the king’s castle standing far away in the distance, and the vast field of
10,000 rabbits is shown spanning far out into the edge of an unknown, dark
forest. Rayevsky’s textured drawings
grab readers’ eyes and pull them into the story, immersing them in Petit Jean’s
quest to out-foil the king once and for all.
Audiences will smile back at the hero’s sideways glance to them on the
book’s final page, where Petit Jean’s quick wit has finally earned him his
happily ever after.
THREE SACKS OF TRUTH is
an ingenious tale that will engage early readers and older children alike. Packed full of magical peach trees, a supernatural
old woman who can transform fruit into snakes, 10,000 rabbits, 7 kisses, 3
magical peaches and plenty of cunning trickery that promises to keep readers
laughing, Kimmel’s adaptation of this French folk tale will become a quick
favorite. Young children will delight in
hearing it read aloud, as the story and pictures create the feel of a favorite
tale being told before bed. Older
readers will enjoy being challenged by the book’s longer text and will find
amusement in realizing the tale’s funny and clever surprise ending. Readers of all ages will appreciate the
story’s theme of outsmarting evil and winning the prize in the end.
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
hails THREE SACKS OF TRUTH as a “well told tale with accomplished
illustrations.” PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY calls
this “crisp and sprightly interpretation” a story that “is at once traditional
and fresh.”
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For another adaptations
of this French folktale, check out:
THREE PERFECT PEACHES, By
Cynthia C. DeFelice, Illustrated by Irene Trivas, ISBN 0531068722
THE KING's HARES, Full text found here (Norwegian adaptation)
THE KING's HARES, Full text found here (Norwegian adaptation)
Children will enjoy
author Eric A. Kimmel’s website at: www.ericakimmel.com. Here, they can ask Kimmel questions and even
hear him read his stories out loud.
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