The King of Capri is so greedy that he wishes he had two mouths with which to feed himself. Meanwhile, across the bay in the city of Naples, the washerwoman Mrs. Jewel barely manages to feed herself and her very skinny cat. But one night a great wind blows in and carries everything away from the King's castle, towards Naples, and into Mrs. Jewel's yard. The King is left alone and forlorn as everyone leaves Capri to visit the generous Mrs. Jewel, who has become the Queen of Naples. When he goes to make this new queen's acquaintance, the King of Capri and the Queen of Naples fall in love and they have nothing left to wish for.
Jeanette Winterson is a novelist whose honors include England's Whitbread Award and the American Academy's E.M. Forster Award. With her debut in the early eighties, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, she soon won the praise of such masters as Gore Vidal ("the most interesting young writer I have read in twenty years"). She lives in London and the Costwolds.
Illustrator: Jane Ray has illustrated many wonderful books for children including Twelve Dancing Princesses. She lives in the UK.