The witch in the broom cupboard and other tales - Pierre Gripari

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.