THE MOST TIMID IN THE LAND: A Bunny Romance

Chronicle Books, 1992. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. New/New. Color illustrations by Sylvia Long. CONDITION: UNREAD 1992 Chronicle hardcover (pictorial boards) and dust jacket, first edition, first printing. The original publication of the story was sometime around the turn of the 20th century. The illustrations by Ms Long were added with the 1992 Chronicle edition. Decorated end pages. CONTENT: Written at the turn of the century, this whimsical poem is a reversal on the standard medieval awarding of a princess to the bravest in the land. A bunny king offers his daughter's hand to the most timid in the land. On the appointed day, the contestants gather to prove themselves and scatter to the four corners of the kingdom, not to be seen until the fastest timid bunny returns. Princess Bunita isn't concerned that her intended may not appear for a hundred weeks or even a hundred years; the pictures show her content in her castle with her books and the companionship of her jester. Long's elegantly bordered and detailed paintings depict bunnies in various activities and are more complicated than those she did for Ten Little Rabbits (Chronicle Bks, 1991). Older readers who understand the folktale convention of proving oneself worthy will smile at the story's reversal of the theme--if they can understand it through Herford's convoluted syntax and often difficult and sophisticated word choice. Surely this qualifies as an "Epic Poem.