"I will share my kingdom with anyone who can make Princess Alice laugh."
Many people try but they all fail. Then along comes young Peter and as you might expect he is poor but also kind and honest. On the way to the palace, he sees an elderly lady who is tired and hungry. He gives her his bread and wine - I told you he was kind. YES of course, this is a fairy tale or should we call it a folktale? To repay this kindness the old woman reveals a golden goose under her cloak.
"Tuck this magic goose under your arm and carry it to the palace, where you will be rewarded."
As he travels along the road a woman reaches out and touches the fine feathers of the goose and immediately she is stuck. Seeing the problem a man on the road takes hold of the woman but - YES - he is now stuck. And so the procession is formed. Honk honk! Hold tight. A chain of people now travel behind young Peter. Can you guess what happens when Princess Alice sees this huge procession of characters? Yes she does laugh and YES they do get married (it is a fairy tale after all) but there is one delicious twist - it is Alice who proposes to Peter and he says YES!
"And they lived merrily ever after."
Notice the goose on the cover - the image above doesn't show this properly but the goose is actually gold foil. The end papers are filled with gold feathers.
Bookseller blurb: This very funny folktale tells about the princess who will not laugh. Her father says he will give her hand in marriage to the man who can make her laugh â?? and one boy plus a golden goose set off to the palace to try their luck? As they go along, the animals and people they meet all try to steal one of the golden goose's feathers â?? and they stick fast to the goose. "Honk Honk Hold Tight!" says the boy, and the whole parade soon ends up at the palace. What will the princess do? A fabulous read-aloud, laugh-out-loud story that has its origins in Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK, with variants discovered in Russia and Egypt.
Check my earlier post about Jessica Souhami. I should not have been surprised to discover the library I visit each week had so many books written and illustrated by Jessica Souhami including this one.
Here are some other books about Princesses or daughters of wealthy men which include a set of challenges to find a prince and/or to make the princess smile or laugh or in some way be restored.
With all the people stuck to each other you might also like to revisit this classic story or a variation:
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