Death in a Nut

When Jack meets Old Man Death coming towards his cottage, he realises at once what's up. "You're not taking my old mother!" he cries, and hits out at Death with his fists.

With each punch, Death gets smaller and smaller, until Jack is able to squeeze him inside a hazelnut shell.

He throws the nut far out to sea, and goes home...Then the trouble begins: eggs won't break, the cockerel's head won't be wrung and the butcher confesses that he can't slaughter any livestock.

What has Jack done? How he discovers one of life's basic truths - that without Death there can be no Life - is delightfully retold by professional storyteller Eric Maddern, while Paul Hess's artwork gives a glorious comic lift to a thoughtful story.