The Kingdom Under the Sea

Acclaimed storyteller Joan Aitken retells 11 traditional European folk tales with her hallmark blend of magic, suspense and excitement. Originally published in 1971, this new edition features Jan Pieńkowski’s original atmospheric illustrations.

The fairytales illustrate how kindness and love will triumph over cruelty and avarice. In ‘The Pear Tree’, for example, three poor brothers give their valuable fruit to the angel Gabriel, disguised as a beggar. Each is rewarded with a wish; one chooses endless wine, the second fat cattle and the third a young Christian wife. A year later the beggar returns, but only the third brother, still poor, gives him hospitality. He is generously rewarded but his greedy brothers return to poverty, guarding their lone pear tree.