The Trial and Execution of the Sparrow for Killing Cock Robin

When Cock Robin is found dead, the woodland community demands justice, and the Sparrow is brought before Judge Hawk on suspicion of murder. A lively courtroom assembles, though the proceedings are anything but orderly: the Cuckoo acts as accuser, while a parade of feathered and four-legged witnesses offers testimony that is confused, comic, and often self-contradictory.

A cat examines the body, a dog questions the evidence, and creatures from the barnyard, brook, and night air each claim to have seen—or almost seen—the fatal arrow. Told in jaunty rhyming verse, this playful picture book turns a familiar nursery rhyme into a mock trial filled with rustic characters, absurd legal language, and mischievous wordplay. Young listeners will enjoy guessing which witnesses can be trusted as the jury weighs the Sparrow’s defense and the case moves toward its startling judgment.