When Señor Lion and Señora Lioness find themselves facing hard times, the hungry couple decide to throw a party, inviting all their animal friends, including Señor and Señora Goat. But their carefully laid plans - featuring a large pit, some surreptitious pushing, and a juicy goat-meat meal - begin to go awry when thin Señor Goat arrives with his friend, Señor Dog, rather than his plump wife; and come to nothing when the two friends catch on to the scheme, and slip discreetly away. Will they be able to escape hungry Señor Lion, who pursues them...?

Originally published in Pura Belpré's The Tiger and the Rabbit and Other Tales, this Puerto Rican folktale is the kind of humorous animal adventure that young readers enjoy, although particularly sensitive children may be put off by the idea of the lions eating their "friends." Like Belpré's Oté: A Puerto Rican Folk Tale, the artwork here is done by Paul Galdone, who manages to capture the sly intentions of the leonine characters with his expressive illustrations. ( )