Queen flab's Daughters. From the French of Jerome Doucet. (H.
Frowde ; Hodder and Stoughton. 6s.)—We do not think that we should class M. Doucet with Perrault. Here is a summary of his first story. Princess Minna is rude enough to throw a snow- ball at an old woman and in doing it falls into a hole in the ice. The old woman, who is the bad fairy, Hoar Frost, helps her out, and makes her a prisoner. In the huts she finds a prince meta- morphosed into a bear—also for rudeness to the old woman. The task which is imposed on the prisoner is to build up such a fire as will make the fairy cry : "I am stifled with heat." This heat is produced by "Tom Midge" and " Zimzum," who bite the old woman, while Minna rubs the wounds to make them worse. So the prisoners are set free. We do not call that a pretty story. The illustrations are certainly amusing.
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