When Tamsin picked a particularly odd-looking fungus and then dropped it, she was asking for trouble. The fungus was magic, and it was offended; by the time Tamsin saw it again she had had some very peculiar and unwelcome experiences. Magic is always risky, but some people, unlike Tamsin, are fascinated by it; they include Tabitha, a girl who greatly admired witches, and Peter, who was a perfectly commonplace young prince except that he preferred enchantresses and mermaids to common or garden princesses.

The human characters in most of the stories in this collection become involved by choice or accident with a variety of witches, wizards, kobolds, demons -- and cats, who of course are more than a match for all the rest.

Nicholas Stuart Gray recounts their adventures with an elegant wit and an underlying seriousness that comes to the surfaces in the concluding story, Once Upon a Time there was a Chance

Condition: Pre-loved book.  First edition. Minor yellowing of pages. Otherwise in good condition.

Format: Hardcover
Year published: 1978
Pages: 155
Sub-genre: Children's fantasy; short stories
Imprint: Faber and Faber Ltd