Book excerpt: This is comical retelling of an Indian legend from the Punjab, about alazy barber and his quick-witted wife. When the barber drives away allhis customers with his slapdash techniques, his wife sends him to theking to seek financial help - or else they'll starve. The king providesthem with a plot of barren land, but thanks to the clever wife'sfertile imagination the couple's fortunes take a turn for the better.But will her ingenuity be any match for the trickery of a persistentband of thieves, determined to cash in on the couple's new-foundsuccess?