A spoiled and demanding princess sends her nanny off to get her a pet. The indefatigable nanny bravely treks all over the world, bringing back a variety of creatures, each of which the princess rejects. The puffer fish doesn't pay enough attention to her; the unicorn from the enchanted forest doesn't listen; the toucan from the Amazon isn't clever enough; the flying kangaroo is boring, and so it goes, until the nanny says she thinks the princess has enough pets. But the ensuing ruckus sends the nanny off in a hot air balloon to the ends of the earth to find a gryphon. The delighted princess says, "He's perfect." The gryphon swallows her, burps, and flies away. For this is "a cautionary tale," after all. Chesworth uses watercolors with colored pencils and gouache lightheartedly, telling the visual tale mostly in action vignettes with occasional full-page scenes to add comic touches. The princess's appearance, fat and ugly, matches her disposition; the nanny is thin but resolute to the end. The other "pets" are charming, while the gryphon fills a full page with regal, even threatening posture, as all but the unaware princess cower in a corner.