When a learned beggar-woman stops at the home of a miller, her gift of reading earns her a home for the winter. But the miller's three daughters - each beautiful in her own way - have very different priorities, and only the youngest attends to her lessons. Her dedication is rewarded when she and her sisters are each tricked by an evil enchanter into accompanying him to his castle, and she alone can read the counter-spells necessary to free his many captives...

This Polish folktale, originally part of a collection of tales published in 1954, is accompanied by Jan Brett's colorful, full-page illustrations, with their distinctive folk-motif style. The narrative is a little awkward at first, but I was soon won over by the reverence the characters clearly feel for the power of the printed word. Their respect for anyone who has mastered the "magic" of reading is quite apparent, and that is a motif which will always win my sympathy. ( )