The Witch in the Broom Cupboard and Other Tales

Absurd fairy tales, very sensibly told

There once was a good little devil - did you read that right? Yes you did: not a wicked little devil but a good one, and boy, was he in a fix Instead of doing bad things like forgetting his homework and playing tricks on his teachers, this little devil kept trying to be good. He did all his homework - and sometimes enjoyed it He was never rude and he even encouraged sinners to say sorry. His parents were at their wits' end. So the little devil struck out on his own. On his quest to learn to be good, our little devil meets all kinds of people, from priests to police and from the Pope in Rome to Little Jesus himself. But will the angels let a little red devil with black horns into Heaven? In these thirteen tales, clever young people find nifty ways to overcome greedy kings, wicked witches, unlucky spells and even silly names. And there's a big dash of magic to help them on the way

In these tales, the giants, witches and mermaids of traditional fairy tales leap from the page, animated by a very modern spirit. Blessed with a healthy disrespect for authority, the author took great pleasure in upsetting the natural order of the fantastic.

Pierre Gripari (＂Gree-par-ee＂) was born in 1925 in Paris. He studied at the prestigious Louis-le-Grand lycée, and tried his hand at various jobs, including serving in the army and acting as a trade-union delegate for an oil company. He resigned in 1957 in order to become a writer, but it was not until the 1970s that he became famous, with the publication of his Contes de la rue Broca, translated in this volume.

Pierre Gripari died in Paris in 1990.

TRANSLATOR: Sophie Lewis from the French.

Puig Rosado was born in Spain on April Fools’ Day, 1931--a date of birth that is surely not entirely free of responsibility for the course the rest of his life then took. His humorous posters, drawings and cartoons have been published in numerous countries, his work is on display in museums across Europe, and he has been honoured with many prizes. Puig Rosado is absolutely convinced that people with no sense of humour go, without exception, to hell!