Sheep in Wolves' Clothing

Abstract

This is a delightful story whose title parodies that of an Aesopic fable. The fable connections tend to stop there, I believe, but the fun does not stop. The LC information lists this book under mystery and detective stories, and it is correct. Three sheep go off for some fun at the beach. The trip is not easy, but with help of a car and then a boat they arrive. On the beach, they meet some golfling wolves who stop them from running straight into the salt water and ruining their beautiful coats. The wolves generously offer to watch their coats while they swim. Of course, at the end of the swim there is nothing to be found of either the coats or the wolves. The sheep track the wolves into town. One of them has a cousin who is a detective, and he agrees to help them. He happens to notice some cats playing rugby with an unusual ball, namely a ball of wool. The group follows the string of wool back to its source, which is of course the wolves' knitting shop. When the wolves start to attack the sheep, the detective throws a basket of wool into the air and shouts At 'em, cats! After a free-for-all, the wolves admit that they have unraveled the coats. One of the sheep picks up a bag instead. The bag, as the last picture shows, contains striped shirts for these coatless sheep to wear with their friends back in the meadow. Fun! Copyright 1995 by Satoshi Kitamura. First published in Great Britain by Andersen Press in 1995.