Taran´s willing to run adventures but he´s just an assistant pig-keeper and the only tasks old Coll and Sorcerer Dallben want him to do is to take care of Hen Wen, a oracular little pig.
What Taran doesn´t imagine is that his life´s about to change forever...
A menace spreads over peaceful Land of Prydain because Arawn, evil King of Annuvin, has sent his faithful Knight, terrible Horned King, in search of valuable Hen Wen. When the little pig feels her life in danger, gets away from the farm and Taran runs to rescue her but The Horned King is powerful and, soon, Taran´ll be in a fix. Fortunately, brave warrior Gwydion appears in the scene and, with the company of nice creature Gurgi, Taran´ll travel over Prydain to look for Hen Wen.
With enemies surrounding everywhere, the journey becomes very dangerous and when evil Queen Achren shuts them in her Spiral Castle, Taran´s hopes are buried too...
But, again, the assistant pig-keeper will find some unexpected allies in rebellious princess Eilonwy and bard Flewdur Flam, both Achren´s prisoners, who´ll help him to face evil Queen and powerful Horned King.
Let´s wish Taran the very best in his adventures because, now, more than ever, the fate of Prydain depends on an assistant pig-keeper...
"The Book of Three" is the first volume of "The Chronicles of Prydain", a collection of stories where american author, Lloyd Alexander (1924-2007), using the Fairy Tales and Legends "formula", creates, with an easy and nice style, a fantasy world where friendship, loyalty and sacrifice are as valuable as swords and magic cauldrons.
Taran´s adventures not only turned "The Chronicles of Prydain" into a classic title in Children Literature but the entertaining 1985-Walt Disney-film "The Black Cauldron" based on, partially, the assistant pig-keeper´s facts where children and parents will have the opportunity of enjoying a classic animated film like Yesterday´s ones.
The others titles in "The Chronicles of Prydain" are "The Black Cauldron", "The Castle of Llyr", "Taran Wanderer" and "The High King".