Wishing to control the outcome of her father's hat contest, because she knows she must marry the winner, Princess Abigail accepts the help of a strange green lizard from the forest Kindergarten-Grade 2-- A story about a princess who runs away rather than be married to flabby, ugly, and horrible Prince Grindstone. Her vain father, who loves hats, has offered his daughter's hand in exchange for a new idea in hat design and Grindstone has won. When Abigail leaves, she shows little more resourcefulness than her father, since she wears her nightgown. Fortunately, as she sobs in the forest, she meets a kindly giant lizard who creates a hat from nature, the most beautiful the princess has ever seen, and he sends her home with it. In the morning, the king, delighted with this creation, declares he has made a mistake. The lizard's hat is superior, and the princess must marry him. The princess's tear trickles onto his head, he becomes a handsome prince, and they marry. The paintings are colorful but unexceptional fairy tale illustrations with many romantically swirling tendrils of plants, hair, and ribbons. They are perhaps slightly better than the trite story line and shallow characters. --Marilyn Iarusso, New York Public Library Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Used Book in Good Condition