The sultan and the mice

Description

The Sultan liked cheese very much; he had rooms full of cheese from all over. But the palace soon filled with mice that ate the Sultan´s cheese, and the councillors had to look for a solution: to get rid of the mice, they brought in cats; to get ride of the cats, dogs; to get rid of the dogs, lions; to get rid of the lions, elephants; to get rid of the elephants, mice…leading to no end! This story, of Arabian origin, links a series of events in such a way that the situation gets progressively complicated to the end of the story, which takes us back to where we started. In all the scenes, sense of humour appears along with witty and absurd situations. Bearing in mind the ludic nature of the circular tale, the formal repetitions work effectively to connect with young readers. So that the story doesn´t appear to be never ending, in these types of structures, it is common that the narrative is brought to an end using a final formula underlining the everlasting nature of the tale. The illustrations by Txell Darné, using a collage technique with antique objects, gives the book an air of belonging to another era. Showing a clear command of the technique used, this Catalonian artist surprises with original and imaginative compositions, in which grace and ingenuity are present. Text by Joan de Boer, from a popular Arabian tale Illustrations by Txell Darné Translation by Mark W. Heslop