The Story of King Kabul the First and Gawain the Kitchen Boy

Beloved for his whimsy as much as his genius, Max Jacob wrote works for every age and taste. In the two stories contained in this volume, 'The Story of King Kabul the First and Gawain the Kitchen-Boy' and 'Vulcan's Crown,' he writes for the young at heart. The stories appear with the original drawings by Roger Blachon from the French edition of 1971. The hero of 'King Kabul' is Gawain the kitchen-boy, who dreams of marrying Julia, daughter of Kabul the First, King of the Balibridgians. To earn Julia's favor, Gawain becomes the best cook in the world. King Kabul enjoys Gawain's cooking but refuses to let his daughter marry a mere cook. In order to win Julia's hand, Gawain sees that he must do something more heroic than cooking. 'Vulcan's Crown' is a tale of fantastic adventure involving Toulic, a humpbacked tailor and blacksmith in small-town Brittany. One day as Toulic peels onions for his soup, the Lord Jesus Christ appears and tells Toulic that he will soon be rich. But first he must earn his wealth. Toulic goes off to sea with a drunken admiral, flies through the air on a fish's back, listens to unlikely but evocative poetry, and is mockingly crowned by the King of the Cheeses before returning home.

Author: Max Jacob

Publisher: Nebraska

Released Date: 1994

ISBN: 0803225776