Originally written as a poem, and published in 1836 in the weekly periodical, Den danske Bondeven, this comic tale of a woman who spins an elaborate and ever-expanding plan, all built upon the proceeds from the eggs she is taking to market, has been adapted in this prose picture-book by Jan Wahl. An extended play on the old adage about not counting one's chickens before they're hatched, it is a cautionary tale intended to warn the reader of the dangers of greed, and of not paying attention to the immediate task at hand.

The only adaptation of this tale I have ever encountered, The Woman With the Eggs was published in 1974, and is long out of print, something that does not particularly surprise me. There is, after all, very little to the tale, and it suffers from a rather moralistic ending. Still, readers who enjoyed Ray Cruz's colorful illustrations in Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day might want to take a look at this one, for the sake of his artwork. ( )