Hope's Gift

Mercy, her brother Samson and her sister Hope are part of a family of actors traveling across Europe. Hope is the slow one in the troupe, always forgetting her lines and always the last to finish eating or dressing. Then the siblings watch as, with a touch, Hope heals an injured bird. Mercy trades on her sister's gift by promising a lord's son that Hope will cure his crippled sister. The agreed-upon gold sovereign is forgotten, however, when Hope miraculously heals the girl. The children are too afraid and awe-stricken to worry about payment, and run away; soon the little band of actors is on the road again. The healer's powers, seen through a child's eye, is innocently revealingHope evidently is more of an angel than a magic-maker. Brighton's watercolors provide the real enchantment of the tale, with her brilliant patterns and intricate representations of 16th century life; each illustration ornately frames the action. Ages 3-8. (September)