Nobbin, Prince Charming's assistant, returns for a third outing of mixed-up fairy-tale mysteries, this time featuring Cinderella.
Although he's determined to defend his family's honor through winning the joust in their upcoming tournament, Prince Charming lacks the confidence to pull things together. Searching the castle's lost and found for a good luck charm, he finds a goose that attaches itself to him. Between the goose and a lucky handkerchief his mother made for his father (which is then passed on to Charming), things start to look up. But after he misplaces the handkerchief and believes a mysterious maiden he met at the ball made off with it, Charming takes the glass shoe she left behind to the village. The villagers assume he means to marry the shoe's wearer, leading to funny moments. The hunt for Cinderella leads the plucky hero to the evil stepmother and stepsisters who, in mixing up their lies, accidentally dub Cinderella a step-scullery maid in another running gag. Meanwhile, the story gets further convoluted when villainous Rumpelstiltskin uses Charming's honor against him to claim the goose. The layered, wild-goose-chasing mysteries are kept straight through the illustrated lists that Nobbin makes-other illustrations take advantage of the goose for comedic effect-and provide cover for the villainous actions of scheming Sir Roderick that are revealed in the final act, when all storylines converge. Characters default to White.
A joustingly jolly good time. (map, author's note) (Fantasy. 8-12)