The Talking Eggs

San Souci, Robert. The Talking Eggs. New York:Dial Books for Yong Readers, 1989.
ISBN 0-8037-0619-7

Summary:

A poor young girl named Blanche lives with her selfish mother and sister goes to fetch water from the well one day and meets an old woman. She gives the old woman a drink of water, and went home to take water to her family. Her sister complains about the water being too warm, and mother and sister begin to beat her. She runs off into the woods, and meets the old woman again. The woman offers to take her in as long as she agrees not to laugh at anything she sees. She agrees, and sees amazing, unbelievable things at the old woman’s house. The next day, the old woman tells her that she must go home, but since she has been a good girl, she could go out to the chicken coop and pick the eggs that say, “take me.” She does, and out of them comes great gifts. When her mother and sister see all of her gifts, they want some of their own. Blanche’s sister goes to find the old woman, and succeeds only to show her selfishness, and get what she deserves in the end, while Blanche moved into town to live like a lady.

Reviews:

A lively retelling of a rather hard-hearted Creole version of a widely collected folktale. Blanche does all the work while her mother and older sister Rose put on airs and treat her cruelly. To repay a kindness, a mysterious old woman leads Blanche to her magical shack deep in the backwoods, where the chickens have rainbow colors, the two-headed cow brays like a mule, and nattily dressed rabbits dance.
Kirkus Review (1989)

This adaptation of a Creole folktale contains familiar European fairy tale elements, but certainly stands on its own and is a unique contribution to the American folktale repertoire. In imagistic language spiced with Southern folk flavor, San Souci tells of a cruel mother and her two daughters, Blanche and Rose. Rose is just like her mother, while Blanche is good and kind, and consequently abused. One day Blanche meets an old woman and treats her with a ``spirit of do-right.'' Soon they meet again, when Blanche runs away from mistreatment and the old woman takes her back to her house.
School Library Journal (September 1989)

Enrichment Activity

Students could decorate eggs based on the story- more ornate for the eggs that say “don’t take me,” and simple looking eggs for the ones containing gifts.

Another activity would be to read other Cinderella stories, and draw pictures of the magical animals that occur in the story.