Nogwaja the Hare is always mischievous, and sometimes downright villainous and spiteful. It is he who tries to cheat Elephant out of his precious waterhole, or Serpent out of his banquet. He steals First Woman’s pumpkins and chases Field mouse away from her nest of babies. But some of his naughty tricks turn out well in the end for his victims — lion learns to roar, Giraffe’s neck stretches enough to be able to eat the tender leaves at the top of the tallest trees. And it is Nogwaja who thinks of the plan that saves the animals from Wild Dog. Not that they thank him — he has no friends left! Diana Pitcher has been fascinated by African legends since as a child she first heard stories from her Zulu nurse. Her first collection of folk tales retold, The Calabash Child, has been reprinted several times, and in The Mischief Maker she has collected together some of her favourites from the many original stories of that rascal Hare that appear throughout Africa. Sally Dove’s many skilful and delicate animal drawings complement the stories and beautifully illustrate the world of African folk-tale.