King Stern rules over a dark empire of hares. His brother Atta leaves. Before his love Hulde gives birth to their first child, he wants to find a field of his own, bathing in light. Every day Hulde runs to the frontier, where she stands on the lookout for Atta. But then the baby arrives, too soon.
At a rapid pace, Princess Ebba grows into a smart child. Hulde notices that this curious girl resembles Atta more and more – and that is not a gift. When they discover an abandoned bird’s nest in a rabbit cave, Ebba wants to go on a trip just like her father. But, is she as brave as him?
"Overall, an interesting children's story despite being slightly difficult to follow."
Reviewer: Angel for Bookangel.
Ebba is a young princess in the realm of hares ruled with an iron fist by her Uncle Stern. Her father does not believe in the who is elder brother is ruling and seeks to find a new place beyond the borders where he and other will be free the tyrannical reign. In his absence Ebba tries to survive with her mother, gathering food and avoiding trouble. This lasts until they find a set of eggs still unhatched, with the rule of the land that they should be destroyed if they take food from the hares. Rebelling against the rules, Ebba resolves to take the eggs to somewhere they can hatch out and be safe from her Uncle's rule.
This is an interesting children's story, pitched firmly for younger readers to follow along. The plot is fairly simple in basis but does have some interesting twists and turns along its route. The morals of the story are fairly clear and should be worthwhile to teach children the good they can accomplish. Despite the same kind of setting as Watership Down, which the book précis reminded me of, this is not the same kind of story and after a while it becomes obvious that it will take a different direction.
Translated into English from the original Dutch, and as such there are no spelling errors or problems with grammar, but otherwise there are no problems with it. However, while the story is descriptive and well-written, it can sometimes be a little hard to follow what is going on now and again and you wonder if a little something has been lost in translation, although not enough to stop enjoying the tale.
Overall, an interesting children's story despite being slightly difficult to follow.
