Wanda Gag's the Earth Gnome

Tomes has painted new, marvelous pictures for the versions of the Grimms' tales that Gag completed before her death in 1946. The translations, including this story, won posthumous awards in recognition of Gag's fidelity to the originals and her contributions to literature. Animated, ink drawings supplement the rich color illustrations of fraught events caused when a king's beloved daughters vanish. One tempts her two sisters to eat a forbidden apple, and they sink deep into the ground. The king promises the hand of a princess to the hero who rescues the missing maidens. Dull Hansl is the youth who performs the valiant deed, with the help of the Earth Gnome. But Hansl's bad brothers grab the credit until the truth is known, whereupon the king punishes the wicked and Hansl marries his bride. ""He liked them all the three princesses but chose the youngest because she was just his age. . . . '' (59)