When a king's son hears of a beautiful princess whose enchantress mother sets every one of her daughter's prospective suitors an impossible task, and then executes them when they fail to perform it, nothing will satisfy him but to set out to win her himself. Encountering six unusual men along his journey, each with an unexpected skill - one can hear everything in the world; another can withstand any extreme of temperature, hot or cold; a third can shatter any object, just by looking at it - the prince engages them as servants, finding their aid invaluable in his quest to win his chosen bride...

Listed as tale-type #1513 ("The Extraordinary Companions"), or, more specifically, #1513A ("Six Go through the Whole World"), in the Aarne-Thompson folktale classification system, this basic story can be found in many folk traditions, the world over. In Russia, it is known as The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, in Mexico, as The Riddle of the Drum. The German variant, recorded by the Brothers Grimm as Die Sechs Diener, is presented here as a picture-book, and the results are quite compelling. Russian-born artist Sergei Goloshapov's artwork is dark, with a sinister, brooding quality that suits the tale. The book itself is unusually tall, ensuring that it stands out, both on the shelf, and in the memory. I can't say that this is a "pretty" book, but for those fairy-tale fans who like stories and illustrations with a bit of an edge (the prince makes sure the princess suffers for him as well, at the end), The Six Servants will have great appeal. ( )