The fisherwoman - Louise Brierley

All her life, Maud the fisherwoman has worked hard to earn her living from the sea. But her dream is to dress up in beautiful clothes and move among the rich and famous people in the mansion above her village. One evening, when she hauls in her net, she finds - among the flapping bream and mackeral - an old pink vase. The vase, she discovers, has magical properties, which allow her to realize her dream. In a short time she is beautifully dressed and sitting at the table of a sumptuous feast. After a while, however, she starts to feel disgusted at the greed and selfishness of her fellow guests and realizes that her place is in the real world, doing the work she knows, among her friends. So she runs away from the banquet and throws the pink vase back into the sea.;Louise Brierley has also illustrated "The Twelve Days of Christmas" Award), "The Singing, Ringing Tree" and "Songs From Shakespeare".;Anne Carter won the Scott Moncrieff Prize for her translation of Michel Tournier's "Gemini". Her other work includes retellings such as "Love and be Wise", "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses".