The Enid Blyton Society
I'll Tell You Another Story
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Book Details...

First edition: 1942
Publisher: Macmillan
Illustrator: Eileen A. Soper
Category: Macmillan Readers Story Books
Genre: Mixed
Type: Short Story Series Books

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List of Contents
Review by Terry Gustafson

  1. The Dumpy-Witch's Garden
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  2. Jimmy's Lucky Day
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  3. The Tail of Sausages
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  4. Knick-Knock's Bad Temper
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  5. The Wizard's Watering-Can
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  6. The Knotty Handkerchief
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  7. The Little Chocolate Man
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  8. Poor Old Podge
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  9. Wanted A Royal Snow-Digger
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  10. Nobbly-One the Gnome
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  11. The Lost Gnome
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 3
  12. Bim-Bam's Magic Currants
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 2
  13. The Enchanter's Kite
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 2
  14. The Clever Toy Policeman
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 2
  15. The Little Pixie-Cat
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 2
  16. The Pirate-Ship
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 2
  17. The Boy Who Didn't Think
    Story: Enid Blyton Readers 2
The Dumpy Witch's Garden

The fairies aren't happy because a rogue element has come to live in Fairyland. Yes, the Dumpy Witch has arrived and although she knows that fairies hate all witches she just laughs and sets herself up in a little crooked cottage on the hill-top surrounded by a beautiful garden, compliments of the previous pixie occupant.

The Dumpy Witch hates flowers so she employs Snoopy the horticulturist to dig them all up. Snoopy's quite shocked but the witch is insistent so out they all come - but in an undamaged state because Snoopy puts them all carefully into his barrow and wheels them down the hill where he replants the flowers in his own garden. He then buys some flag-stones and lays them in the Dumpy Witch's section making it look cold and ugly - but the old lady is delighted because the fairies will be so annoyed knowing that a patch exists with no flowers in it at all. Snoopy smiles when he sees the witch's apparent pleasure in the flowerless garden and she demands to know why he's grinning. Snoopy tells her that she can't stop flowers growing because they'll just keep on appearing, so the Dumpy Witch tells him she'll put a spell along all the walls and then no one, but no one, will be able plant a single seed in her yard.

Snoopy lets on to her that someone more powerful than she lives in Fairyland and the witch retorts that if what he says is true, she'll leave Fairyland immediately. When Snoopy's gone she darts into her cottage and hunts through some books for a suitable spell and, choosing one, she wafts it all over the garden walls then shuts herself up in the sitting room to study magic.

Who could be more powerful than the Dumpy Witch, or should it be said - 'What' might be the superior entity?

Jimmy's Lucky Day

Jimmy's teacher informs the class that Sir William Robinson no less is going to pay them a visit. Apparently his sister lives near the school, so she's bringing him along to relate some of the wonderful adventures he's experienced.

As can be imagined there's great excitement amongst the children because they've already seen the famous explorer's picture in the papers and some have even seen a film of his at the cinema. Miss Brown tells everyone to be at school tomorrow and not to be later than a quarter past two. Jimmy informs his mother about the pending visit when he goes home for lunch and she tells him that tomorrow he must wear his new suit, wash his face, and sit up straight when Sir William looks round at all the children.

Jimmy plans it all out. There's a bus at five minutes to two which means he'll get him to school at ten past so he'll be well on time. However next day it's unfortunate that Irish stew is on the lunch menu because Jimmy doesn't like it all that much. He dawdles through his meal and then rushes off to change and that's when things start going horribly wrong. He's obviously grown since last donning his duds because 'Pop!" - one of the buttons flies off. Mother has to grab her work basket and sew it back on. Time's flying by - Jimmy will miss the bus unless he hurries. He races to get his shoes and then discovers one of the laces is broken in half which results in a hunt for some spare ones that his mother had told him to put into his top drawer. He can't find them. He must have forgotten to put them in ... where oh where are they?

Toy cupboard! That's right, he'd left them there. Jimmy slips them into his shoes, kisses his mother goodbye and races off to catch the bus.

It's almost ten to two!

Down the lane, across the field, and over a stile into the meadow beyond. Whatever will he do if the bus has already gone? Jimmy races frantically across the grass and then becomes aware of an aeroplane circling above him. The boy's in Coney-copse. He's terribly late. He may not catch the bus ... but he puts all those considerations aside in order to perform a kind act.

Good old Jimmy! He's definitely one of Enid Blyton's nicer characters.

The Tail Of Sausages

It would appear that Bingo's a fortunate hound owing to the fact he lives right next door to a butcher's shop. Yes, he's, as they say, a lucky dog because of all those free sausages available to him ... when the butcher isn't looking in his direction of course. Bingo's mistress is very upset with her pet and warns him not to take any more of the butcher's produce whatsoever.

Unfortunately she doesn't seem to have made much of an impression because the very next Friday, Bingo notices a spare string of sausages in the shop - a temptation too strong to ignore. He creeps in and then, when the butcher's not looking, he snaps up the sausages and makes off to his hiding-place under the lilac bush. Unfortunately for him his mistress happens to walk by and hearing him munching his ill-gotten goods she calls out, but naughty Bingo runs off.

Once again the butcher will have to be recompensed for his filched sausages. As for Bingo, he's not worried about any misdemeanour he may have committed because they were so tasty and satisfying; but he might have felt worried if he'd seen his mistress embark on a visit to the funny little shop standing all by itself at the end of the village. Dame Snooty runs it and her establishment is full of queer powders and strange-smelling liquids which hints at the proprietor being a maker of spells.

When first coming across the name of this tale I thought that 'Tail' was an odd way to spell 'Tale' but the outcome of this tale is very much to do with 'Tail.'

Knick-Knock's Bad Temper

The chap with such an odd name is a tailor by trade and he has a tempestuous disposition. One day Knick-Knock tramps off to Deep Pool for a little fishing and when the rod's set up, his pipe is lit and he leans back to await results. It's obviously Knick-Knock's lucky day because he manages to catch seven fish - a feat which puts him into quite a good temper. Leaving the pool with a full basket, the pixie sets off for home - but when passing Dame Higgle's shop he leaves his basket on the bench outside and calls in to purchase some more tobacco for his pipe. There's a rather tired looking brownie sitting on the bench where Knick-Knock has placed his basket and this chap also has a basket by his side. He's been out nutting so his own container is naturally full of the day's harvest. It's been an active day so the exhausted brownie leans against the wall and falls fast asleep.

When Knick-Knock exits the shop, we know exactly what he'll do ... and he does it. Homeward he strolls but upon entering a delightful little dell with hundreds of harebells scattered around, he stops for a few minutes to rest and have a smoke of his pipe. His new tobacco is delicious and whilst the blue smoke is floating up into the air, Pipkin, Knick-Knock's cousin passes by and stops to enquire as to what his relative has been doing with himself.

"I've been fishing," says Knick-Knock - "... and I've had splendid luck. Seven fish!"

He opens the basket to display his catch for Pipkin's edification and they both receive a surprise. The basket's full of nuts instead of fish and Knick-Knock simply can't believe his eyes. His temper rises when Pipkin says he's been nutting, not fishing; knick-Knock stamps his feet and yells that someone's played a trick on him. The dell's residents are frightened when Knick-Knock spots them. He grabs hold of Silvertoes, Twinks, and the Goblin twins in a furious rage, and he also drags Sandy Rabbit from his burrow. He even pulls Mowdie Mole from underneath the blackthorn bush where she'd been sleeping.

"One of you has taken my fish and put nuts into my basket instead," Knick-Knock roars at them. "It's no good shaking your heads!"

He jolts poor Silvertoes, smacks Twinks, and chases the Goblin twins round and round but no one will admit any guilt whatsoever - which is as it should be. Pipkin is shocked when he sees Knick-Knock holding Sandy Rabbit up by his ears and spanking Mowdie; he reprimands his cousin who responds by picking up the basket and emptying nuts all over Pipkin's head.

People who have quick tempers often do silly things and Knick-Knock's no exception, so Enid Blyton's version of retribution now has to make an entrance.

The Wizard's Watering-Can

Daddy's upset because the hot weather has placed his garden in jeopardy and caused the grass to fade. He shouts out to Polly and Bobby who interrupt their game of hide-and-seek to see what's wanted of them. Daddy tells them to water the garden that evening and every evening until the rain comes, but this doesn't go down too well with them because, as Bobby states,

"Do we have to? Billy and Peter come to play with us in the evenings."

Daddy responds as parents often did in those days,

"You'll do as you're told!"

Mummy tells them to go for a walk when Bobby and Polly start acting all cross and sulky so they decide to visit the woods where it's cool. They sally forth and upon reaching their destination they take a narrow path running between the hazel trees. The children have often wondered why it's called 'Wizard Wood' but nobody has been able to answer that question. They branch off and enter another part of the forest so thick with trees that not a spot of sunshine can penetrate through and come across a queer little house set in a little clearing. Bobby and Polly stare at the bright garden alongside because it contains the largest most brilliant flowers they've ever seen in their lives. Suddenly the cottage door opens and a small man dressed in a shabby tunic and tall hat decorated with a peacock's feather emerges. As the children watch, the dude takes a watering can down from where it's hanging and proceeds to fill it with water from a well. He then stands it on the ground and says,

"Watering-can, do your work to-day,
And water my garden as well as you may!"

At once the can rises in the air, tilts itself, and proceeds to sprinkle the colourful flowers. It doesn't seem to empty at all but just passes from bloom to bloom and then finishes by watering the little patch of grass and some other flowers sitting in a tub.

Enid Blyton had definitely tailored this story - as she often does.

The little man, whom the children decide is a wizard, disappears indoors but as they move closer to witness more of this phenomenon, he comes out again - so Polly and Bobby quickly duck down. Peeping out from their hiding place they observe the watering-can is back on its hook, and the wizard now has a basket on his arm. He makes his way down a path at the rear of his house and disappears - to visit the market no doubt.

What to do?

Well, we know what they do and sure enough, at Polly's insistence, the children do what they must do and then make off home for their tea after hiding their ill-gotten item in the gardener's shed.

"Don't forget. Daddy's told you to water the garden thoroughly this evening," Mummy reminds them when they leave the dinner table.

Water the garden? No problem at all. They'll toss it off so to speak. The children go outside to greet Billy and Peter who've arrived to play with them and in no time at all the visitors are shown the recently borrowed watering-can. The two boys can hardly believe their eyes when Polly sets it to work after reciting the little rhyme committed to heart.

"Watering-can, do your work to-day,
And water my garden as well as you may!"

The magic sets to work and all would seem to be going extremely well in the garden-watering department, but ... (there's always a 'but'). The end result can be hinted at by printing six words recorded in capitals on P.64 - no doubt to give appropriate emphasis:

BLACK AS THUNDER!

"WHAT'S ALL THIS?"

The Knotty Handkerchief

One hot summer's day Too-Hot takes a basket of peas outside and proceeds to shell them. He wishes he'd brought out a hat to wear because it really is sweltering but being too lazy to fetch one he simply takes out his big yellow handkerchief, ties a knot in each corner, and places it on his head.

When all the peas are all shelled, Too-Hot goes back inside, takes off his handkerchief cap and puts it into his pocket - forgetting to untie the knots.

Now, how is Enid Blyton going to make an interesting story out of that? Well ... being a 'Master Storyteller,' we can suspect she'll manage all right.

Next morning, Too-Hot pulls this handkerchief out only to discover it has four knots in it. As his memory is not up to scratch, the question arises ... why are there four knots in the hanky? He always ties a knot in his hanky to remember a particular thing he has to do such as buying more bacon for breakfast or taking the dog for a walk, but four knots! It must have been something very important if there are so many in the hanky, but what could it be? He sits down for a full five minutes trying to remember ; is it to remind him of someone's birthday? A friend coming to tea?

"Perhaps I'm meant to visit someone!"

No answers are forthcoming so he sets off to see Wise Man Twinkle hoping that he can make something of the conundrum. The Wise Man swings into action by boiling the hanky in purple milk for five minutes, squeezing it dry, and then reading a word that appears on the wet fabric - "Sunshine!"

"There you are. Here's the reason your handkerchief is knotted."

"Whatever does that mean?" Too-Hot wonders to himself. "It's now a greater puzzle than ever."

He pays the sixpence fee and leaves the premises frowning hard. Was he meant to put something out in the sun to dry? Still baffled, he heads for Breezy Cottage on Tall Hill where Twiddle-Thumbs lives. Twiddle-Thumbs has an excellent memory that often allows him to remember what other people have forgotten. He's sitting outside knitting a scarf when Too-Hot arrives and puts the question to him. Twiddle-Thumbs takes the hanky indoors and throws it onto the fire where it lays there turning blue and green and then red before springing out and landing at Twiddle's feet. Weird things are taking place all right because now the handkerchief is yellow with purple spots and green knots.

Curiouser and curiouser - because now two more words have appeared written across the hanky - "Too hot." Why should Too-Hot's name be written there? Twiddle-Thumbs suggests he might have not wanted something to get too hot, but what could that be? After paying Twiddle-Thumbs a shilling, Too-Hot heads off again to visit another person who might be able to help him - Dame Squeeze. He has only a silver sixpence left so this'll have to be his last attempt at solving the riddle. He makes his way to the centre of Ho-Ho Wood and confronts the dame who informs him that she's very busy making a new spell but, fortunately, what Twiddle-Thumbs is asking of her is easy to solve.

After she has treated the handkerchief with butter, honey and a fish-tail, Too-Hot is still completely at a loss when he reads the word that appears emblazoned on the greasy, sticky, smelly rag. It's all too mysterious! He parts with his very last sixpence and returns home with the almost unrecognisable handkerchief. Will he ever solve the knotty problem that has entered his life?

An incident of history repeating itself might supply a solution for those who are intrigued. The end picture shows Too-Hot weeping buckets of tears!

The Little Chocolate Man

At the Sunday School party there's a fine Christmas tree covered with presents and Eileen's very pleased with the one she receives because it's a little fat man made of chocolate from top to toe. He also has a top hat and walking stick both made of chocolate so he's definitely a class above the ordinary confection, or at least he thinks he is. The little chocolate man turns up his nose at the chocolate rabbits and cockerels and he actually laughs out loud at the little tin motor-car near him on the tree.

"I'm a real slap-up, right to the minute, chocolate man," he informs the others.

He doesn't know exactly what that statement means but he'd heard the shopkeeper say it when he was sold to the Sunday School teacher. Eileen takes the chocolate man home and places him on a shelf with her golliwog, soldier boy, and Dutch doll. The chocolate man decides he's far grander than any of them,

"... after all they're stuffed with sawdust, whereas I'm made of chocolate!"

He repeats his "I'm a real slap-up, etc." mantra and the Dutch doll speaks,

"What a lot you think of yourself to be sure!"

"Speak when you're spoken to," the chocolate man retorts.

"I thought I was spoken to," says the doll. "Anyway, we'll last longer than you - chocolate men last for only a day or two!"

This is news. Scary news!

"What do you mean?"

"Never you mind!" says the golliwog - but the chocolate man does mind.

"I shall live for years like you - till the children are grown up and don't want me anymore."

The fact is hammered home ...

"Don't you know that chocolate men are made to be EATEN?" the soldier-boy explains to him.

Silence!

Then a trembling voice is heard,

"Eaten? I don't believe you!"

Just then Eileen comes in to kiss them goodnight, although she doesn't kiss the chocolate man. No indeed. Instead she picks him up, bites off half his top-hat, and runs off to bed leaving a frightened but also very angry individual behind her. The golliwog thinks he looks a bit funny, but now it's time to retire so they all drift off to sleep except for the chocolate man who decides to make himself scarce ... and quickly.

Jumping down from the shelf when the others are asleep he races away as if every child in the world was after him. In the hall he sees a basket so he jumps in and covers himself with a convenient rug. Unfortunately it's Bob's basket, so there's the little chocolate man racing away with a dog after him. The terrified confection experiences more frightening encounters that night ... including one with a rodent, and another with the family cook.

The ending could be described as descriptive, sad, un-Enid Blyton, or whatever you fancy.

Poor Old Podge

Going by his name we might expect Podge to be a greedy little boy - and we are indeed right. The pictures show him with a rather pleasant face but the fundamental fact is that he can't bear anyone to possess something that he hasn't got, so if one of his contemporaries has a box of chocolates you can be sure Podge will be hanging around just waiting to be offered one. Same thing with toys. He already has his own fine collection but he wants those that aren't his - especially the motor-car belonging to Pete. Pete's pride and joy is one of those toy automobiles with pedals that are pushed up and down by the driver to propel him or herself along the footpath. Podge is really desperate to own one of these so he badgers his mother day after day until finally, in desperation, she opens his money-box and counts out all the pennies, sixpences, and shillings.

"There you are!" (crossly) "Go to the toy-shop and get what you want; it'll take all your money but that's your affair!"

A delighted Podge races off with the cash safely placed in his marble-bag. Hurrah! What Ho! He's about to possess his very own motor-car, or to be accurate, his very own pedal car. It's a long way to the toy-shop but at last he arrives and notices there are three cars for sale - red, yellow, and blue. The surprised shopkeeper is told that it's all legitimate ... Mother has said that Podge can spend his money on a car, so the transaction takes place. Podge is so excited. He tries all the horns and finally he chooses the red car.

Proud as anything, Podge pedals his brand new automobile out of the door and down the road hooting loudly and making people jump when they hear it. No other boy has so fine a toy ... he's sure of it, but when passing Windy Hill he notices Andy and Jim flying a huge kite. Podge calls to them, and I think what follows can be imagined by any reader of EB tales. As Podge continues on his way home he happens to meet a boy wheeling a barrowful of conkers along the footpath so he accosts him and a conversation ensues. The boy with the conkers remarks that kites can be flown only when there's a wind blowing, whereas a barrow can be used anytime.

Sounds reasonable!

Now we meet Lilian, a girl whom Podge encounters further on and who happens to be pulling a big brown bear on wheels behind her. What a lovely looking animal it is. After another conversation Podge sets off again until he meets up with Bill and Tom who have a real live puppy in their possession. Unfortunately, this synopsis cannot be continued because it's becoming too painful.

Especially the last page and a half!

Wanted - A Royal Snow-Digger

The Fairy Queen has ordered Domino the brownie to find someone who'll dig away the snow from her palace gates. Domino's sure anyone would be pleased as punch to be made the Royal Snow-digger but when he asks Slicker the Grass Snake whether he'd like the job, Snicker tells him that he doesn't know what snow is because his family sleeps right through the winter. How about Dozy the dormouse? Would he like to be the Royal Snow-Digger? Of course not because, like Slicker, he also hibernates during winter.

The question is put to a flock of swallows flying past but if the Enid Blyton nature tales are recalled we all know that swallows emigrate south for the cold season. Brock the badger and Spiny the hedgehog are interviewed for the exalted position but they're in the same boat of course. Crawler? Ditto! Bushy? Not really ... squirrels only wake up from their sleep during the warmer periods of winter, so who's it going to be?

Eventually, Domino manages to locate someone to be invested as Royal Snow-Digger with the appropriate badge of office being hung round the candidate's neck.

Nobbly-One The Gnome

Nobbly-One is plump, sharp as a needle, poor as a church mouse, and he lives all by himself in Snowdrop Cottage. However the dwelling does not reflect it's name if 'white' is what we're looking for because, although the walls once shone brightly in the sun, they're now dirty and grey due to the fact that Nobbly-One simply doesn't possess sufficient funds to purchase a little whitewash.

People are starting to talk. Gobo thinks the place looks disgusting and Pippitty the pixie turns up his nose whenever he walks past the unsightly cottage. Nobbly-One is very much aware of their attitudes and he doesn't like his home being so dirty either but the money he pulls in from scrubbing work is simply not enough for the purchase of whitewash. It's no use buying enough for just one wall because then the others would then look dirtier in contrast - so what can he do?

Eventually an idea flashes into Nobbly-One's mind ... an idea that should not only allow him to buy his whitewash, but he may be able to get all the work done for nothing. Reading this immediately brought up an image of Mark Twain, but any pilfering of plot remains to be seen.

Next day Nobbly-One takes out what whitewash he has and proceeds to slap it onto a wall whilst singing merrily. Along comes Criss-Cross the brownie who watches for a bit and then asks if he could have a go seeing Nobbly-One looks so happy doing it. Nobbly-One says he may do so on payment of a penny and the, as the whitewash is getting low he tears off to buy some more. Upon his return he sees Binkie the pixie and Snippo the elf watching Criss-Cross at work. Naturally they want to be in on the action and Nobbly-One, pretending to be reluctant and telling them he's hardly had a turn yet, agrees to let them in on the fun.

Nobbly-One knows his psychology.

Snippo says he'll pay twopence for the privilege of having a go after Snippo's finished and Binkie follows suit. Payment is made and Nobbly-One races off to buy more whitewash, wearing a grin that won't come off. Hi-Ti the gnome and Twinkle the Pixie also wander by up and add their expertise to the whitewashing of Snowdrop Cottage that day.

There's little more to relate that we haven't already visualised.

The Lost Gnome

Lightfoot happens to be eating hot muffins at his Aunt Twinkle's place when a thick fog descends on Clickity Town. About to depart for home Lightfoot dons his coat and opens the door to swirling fog so thick that he can't even see the corner lamp-post. His Aunt suggests he stay the night but her nephew shakes his head because Wuff, Mew, and Purr need to be fed, so Auntie kisses him goodbye and off he goes.

Reaching the corner he can't see where to go next in the thick mist so decides to slip inside a nearby gate and sit down somewhere until the fog lessens. Poor Wuff, Mew, and Purr will miss their dinners of course but it simply can't be helped. As he sits on a garden seat with fog all round him, he suddenly hears a tap-tapping sound and the soft click-click-click of a stick hitting the pavement. A voice sounds:

"Oh dear, wherever can that dog of mine be? Tinker, Tinker where are you?"

No answer! No dog runs up to whoever's outside the gate.

"How am I to get home without my dog? There doesn't seem to be anyone near to help me because not a soul have I met tonight."

The lost individual is about to meet someone because Lightfoot gets up and feeling his way through the fog he undoes the gate and goes up to whoever it is standing in the murk. He introduces himself and in return the man minus dog informs him he's Tappitty the blind brownie. Lightfoot tells him he'd be happy to take him home if he wasn't so completely lost in the fog but Tappitty says:

"Oh, don't worry about that. I know my way quite easily. I'm always in darkness so fog means nothing to me - I just need a little guiding so that I don't slip off the kerb or walk into a wall."

Lightfoot thinks.

'What happens after I've taken the brownie home? I'll be more lost than ever then, but he does badly need help so I'll go with him and then wander about until the fog clears. Then I can find my way home.'

So, taking Tappitty's arm, he sets off with the brownie directing - across the road, down a passage and further on with Lightfoot guiding him carefully.

It's interesting to see the balance that good turns often bring.

Bim-Bam's Magic Currants

Bim-Bam is a fat little goblin with pointed ears, large feet and green eyes. Like Nobbly-One he lives all by himself and the name of his home is Geranium Cottage. He works ... but only to ensure he's always got enough of his favourite foods on supply - currant buns, plum cake and jam tarts. That's about all he needs to stay happy. One morning when walking home from the market with a bag of currant buns and half a pound of salt butter he meets Dame Twisty who stops him and hands over a note addressed to Mrs. Hoppetty-Ho.

"Bim-Bam, you go past Mrs. Hoppetty-Ho's place don't you, so could you just hand this note to her?"

She goes on her way leaving a rather reluctant Bim-Bam turning the envelope over in his hand. He doesn't really want to visit Mrs. Hoppetty-Ho because she's a witch, but the fellow decides he'd better do what has been asked of him so he trots away to the witch's house and knocks at the door. No answer. He rings the bell but still no one is evident until he suddenly hears someone singing; he walks round to the back to peep in the kitchen window - and what does he see?

Mrs. Hoppetty-Ho is chanting a queer song over some black currants that are sitting on the table and then, when the singing finishes singing, every single currant springs up into the air and shouts,

"Ho ho ho! We hear you! Ho, ho, ho!"

Bim-Bam nearly jumps out of his skin at such a such a strange happening. Mrs. Hoppetty-Ho suddenly spots him and beckons, so Bim-Bam sidles into the kitchen and hands over Dame Twisty's note. He then asks Mrs. Hoppetty-Ho what she was doing and she tells him the currants are now magic so that when she plants them in the garden they'll grow into large curranty buns which she'll pick and have for her tea.

Knowing Bim-Bam's affinity for the aforesaid food-group we can now begin predicting the course of this story. After looking enviously at Mrs. Hoppetty-Ho's currants, Bim-Bam bids her goodbye and returns home. Naturally he can't help thinking about those magic currants and as most would have surmised, an illegal act is performed which only results in a staggering amount of misery for the unfortunate goblin.

Demanding imps. Pinches to his legs. Kitchen forks stuck into his ankles. Considerable loss of money. Extremely hard work. Bim-Bam will never forget this painful period in his life!

The Enchanter's Kite

Tallyho Village is full of happy little pixies and life's wonderful ... that is until a new resident appears in the form of Nid-Nod the goblin. He's a very unpleasant fellow because for one thing this neighbour is partial to using his rather comprehensive knowledge of magic; an example is in the case of Mother Twinkle who refused to sell him her butter at the price he was willing to pay. Nid-Nod placed a frowning spell on her so that she now stands at the counter of her shop with a perpetual frown on her face. When Mister Tippy wouldn't lend him a broom one morning, Nin-Nod muttered some magic words and hey presto - that poor chap now has a nasty snappy voice. One can imagine what this would lead to and sure enough, what with Mister Tippy growling at people and Mother Twinkle frowning all day, the atmosphere changes. For the first time since Tallyho Village was built, all sorts of quarrels spring up and now we have a frowning, grumbling, and snappy bunch of villagers.

At last High-Hat the head pixie decides something has to be done, so he trots off to the blue hill and visits an upside-down house built right on top. There's a picture of it on the next page and as to the reason for its existence ... the Enchanter who occupies this weird dwelling was permanently inverted by a faulty spell.
High-Hat calls out and the Enchanter emerges to sit himself on the upside-down steps. High-Hat asks him how his sister, Witch-in-the-Moon, is faring and the Enchanter extracts a letter received only that morning. He informs Nid-Nod that Witch-in-the-Moon's goblin servant who's been with her for one hundred years has finally married, so she's on the look out for another domestic worker.

The Blytonites can probably make a fairly accurate assessment of what may eventually happen.

"Do you know of anyone available?" the Enchanter asks High-Hat.

The pixie does happens to know of a spare goblin and the Enchanter, who's not one for small talk says,

"Good. Well, any time next week will do."

But, how will the new servant get to the celestial body in question?

The Enchanter nips inside the house and comes out holding a very large bright green kite with a long feathery tail. Throwing it down he shouts to High-Hat,

"Careful of the string. Anyone who holds it with their bare hands will be transported to the moon!"

High-Hat departs with the kite and with much hope in his heart. A secret meeting is held by the Tally-Ho pixies whereby a plan is formulated and Dame Trixie is involved because her toy shop stocks a good selection of kites. A notice is drawn up: -

Great kite-flying match on Thursday evening. Prizes.

We can now sit back.

The Clever toy Policeman

The nursery sweet-shop is naturally smaller than a normal one but it contains a wide variety of treats such as boiled sweets, peppermints, bulls-eyes, bars of chocolate, sticks of nougat and barley sugar. On the counter some pink and white sugar mice are displayed together with three chocolate rabbits, so Timothy, Ronald and Mary can be looked upon as very lucky children to possess such a plaything. They don't overindulge however because Nurse says that helping themselves to sweets all the time would spoil their dinner. The toys play with the sweet-shop as well, taking turns to weigh the confectionery and bag it up but none is eaten of course because Timothy, Ronald and Mary own all of the stock.

One day the children take their white teddy bear, blue rabbit and big doll away with them for a summer holiday. The toys left behind are lonely at first but eventually they occupy themselves by riding in the train or motor-car and even building a house of bricks. One evening they open up the sweet-shop and discover to their dismay that someone has been eating the sweets. One of the mice, one chocolate rabbit, a bottle of peppermints, and a few bars of chocolate have completely disappeared.

"A very serious matter indeed," states the toy policeman taking out his note-book to record what's missing. He then beckons the donkey into a corner and they whisper together. The policeman, aware that Neddy's not the culprit because the he eats only carrots, reveals a plan with which they should be able to locate the thief. He then confronts the toys and tells them all to meet on the hearthrug next evening so that he can pin down who's responsible for the theft.

There have been one or two instances in other tales where groups have been assembled and a small trick has been employed to find someone who's committed a bad deed ... so, will this tale have a similar ending?

A little further on, the reader might consider that one of the toys commits himself out of his own month simply by what he happens to say. Anyway they'd better hurry up and do something because that very night some acid drops and another sugar mouse disappear; the toy policeman doesn't seem all that worried however so he's probably quite confident his plan will work.

When the appointed time arrives, every toy is present on the rug - Dutch doll, pink teddy, golliwog, toy clown, baby doll, sailor doll, rabbit, elephant, dog and tiger. Neddy the donkey is standing with the policeman.

The scene is set!

The Little Pixie-Cat

Grubby the goblin owns a little Pixie-Cat given to him by the Green Witch in payment for doing her a good turn. A Pixie Cat is valuable due to the fact it contains magic that can he be highly profitable for the owner because the animal can turn everything it sits upon to pure gold. There's a tiny hitch - it can perform this feat only one night when it turns one year old ... so a Pixie-Cat's owner had better know exactly when that fateful time is due.

As one might assume when hearing his name for the first time, Grubby's dirty, untidy and disagreeable. He's also short of money so things are looking on the up and up for him now. After shutting the cat in his cellar Grubby goes out to boast of the luck that's befallen him, but no one seems particularly interested and that's because the neighbours don't like him very much at all ... and for good reason.

Grubby reflects,

"Horrid things! Everyone's jealous of me because I'll be so rich they'll have to make me chief of the village ... and won't I punish them for all the nasty things they've said about me!"

The Pixie-Cat turns a year old in three days time so Grubby prepares for the event by acquiring three sacks filled with pennies, stones, and dust. On the big night he'll stack them up, place his Pixie-Cat on top and reap the reward due - a sack of gold coins, a sack of golden stones and a sack of gold dust. Yippee! He sends out invitations to everyone because that's the custom when a Pixie-Cat is about to celebrate its first anniversary. Round ten o'clock the pixies, brownies, elves, gnomes and fairies all begin arriving to witness the event. Everybody squeezes into Grubby's kitchen where the Pixie-Cat is displayed sitting on a cushion that straddles the three stuffed sacks. Grubby, ill-mannered chap that he is, hasn't supplied refreshments or anything - he just greets them upon their arrival and then at eleven o'clock he begins talking about his good fortune and how he's going to build himself a new cottage with six rooms and acquire two servants to wait on him. Wonderful feasts will be held for all the witches and goblins he knows, although none of the villagers will be allowed to attend.

Skinny the Brownie remarks that no one would want to come anyway seeing Grubby hardly ever washes his neck ... and this insult is met with,

"I'll buy your cottage when I'm rich Skinny, and turn your family out. So there!"

Silverwings pipes up with his thoughts on the subject and reaps even more bitterness from the soon-to-be-rich goblin. A gnome tells Grubby his gold won't make him any happier and the host becomes so angry he can hardly speak; meanwhile the clock's hands are swinging round to the witching hour whilst Grubby continues boasting and telling everyone what he'll be doing once the sacks contents have been changed into gold.

What Grubby the Goblin does next, although an accident, ends up with a rather dire consequence.

The Pirate-Ship

Bill and Mab live up on a cliff top where the sea's crashing waves can be heard all day and night. Their dad has a boat tied up at the cliff's base but the children aren't allowed to use it by themselves so their own sea-craft is an old wooden box with a homemade sail. Adventures come thick and fast for these two souls; they sail to faraway lands and experience astonishing adventures. Their exploits involve fighting other ships (presumably loaded with pirates) and there are also shipwreck incidents. Once they almost drowned when falling out of their ship onto the grass.

They'd love to take Daddy's boat out although it would be a little big for them to manage. What they really need is a smaller boat just big enough for two but Daddy wouldn't be able to afford a proper boat in the present climate so they have to make do with their box. Today they're going to be shipwrecked again and Bill wonders if they could borrow Daddy's telescope so that when they end up on a desert island they'll be able to look for a passing boat to rescue them. He nips off to the study and takes it from the mantelpiece.

Two brave children leave this fair and pleasant isle and it seems that in a very short time they're once again having to endure a terrible storm on the high seas. The boat's rocking about like anything and the fear of sharks is very real as the boat suddenly capsizes, and the children are flung into surging waters. Goodness knows how, but they manage to reach a desert island and stagger up onto the beach. Saved! Bill raises his telescope and sweeps the horizon until it rests on a tiny object drifting in the water.

What then takes place leads to the children being praised by none other than Sir James and Lady Wright so, unlike the last tale, this one ends with positivity all round ... and a wonderful surprise.

The Boy Who Didn't Think

John is extremely absent minded. For instance he might sprinkle salt on his porridge instead of sugar, or put his shoes on the wrong feet - and we're even expected to believe that he once carried the cat all the way to school instead of his satchel. If that's true, then he must be one of the most forgetful kids about whom Enid Blyton has ever written. Mother warns John constantly about his carelessness but the boy takes no notice at all of her admonishments, which means that in this particular case, John's destiny is now subject to the fickle finger of fate.

After school one day the children file out of their classroom to don hats and outdoor shoes. John buttons up his footwear, puts on his headgear and leaves for home - but after a spell he notices something queer is taking place. His shoes are flopping about like anything, so he checks to make sure they're on the right feet. They are. Then he notices his hat has sunk right down to his nose. How odd is that? The only explanation John can think of is that his feet and his head have somehow grown smaller.

The lad thinks woefully, "Mother always said something would happen to me, and now it has!"

The boy's walk home is, to say the least, uncomfortable and upon his arrival John rushes to Mother and informs her he must be growing smaller. Mother rubbishes the theory and asks him if he's feeling all right - but with a growing concern about her son's behaviour, she tells him to undress and pop into bed. She repairs to the kitchen and prepares a bowl of bread and milk rather than a normal meal seeing her son might be coming down with something.

Of course John's not too happy when instead of receiving a delicious hot meal, Mother delivers to him a bowl of bread and milk; but he can't really complain if he's 'sick' can he? Suddenly, Mother begins laughing like anything because she's just realised what caused the 'sickness.'

I think most of us can as well.


Chapter 1

Good news. Fairyland has lost its unwanted citizen.

Chapter 2:

Jimmy lives a long way from the school so he has to catch catches a bus home every day for his lunch.

Miss Brown is no doubt EB's most popular school mistress.

Jimmy's place of learning is in a village named 'Brent.'

Chapter 3:

There's a picture of poor Bingo being pursued by a crowd of dogs and cats on Page 36.

Chapter 4:

In this age when many governments are endeavouring to stamp out the custom of smoking, some children might not know what 'tobacco' is. Tobacco is a brown herb of sorts similar to dried grass and it's used for stuffing cigarettes.

How can tobacco smoking be 'delicious?' Some people are known to chew tobacco so maybe they find it quite satisfying (and delicious).

Harebells? Apparently these flowers are often referred to as 'bluebells.'

There'd be several EB stories featuring the word Mowdie in reference to moles. One example is in 'Enid Blyton's Animal Lover's Book,' Chapter Nine - 'Mowdie The Mole.' The OED defines Mowdie as an Eurasian mole, and another reference informs us that 'Mowdie' is a Scottish word.

Chapter 5.

On Page 55 the word 'today' is hyphenated: 'to-day.'

Once again this is a many times used plot but, as always, very readable. 'Rubbalong Tales' is just one book with a similarly themed story.

Chapter 6:

Would a mere knotted hanky supply any protection at all from the sun's rays?

There don't seem to be any 'Mistresses in the world of books so I guess the author is a 'Master Storyteller.'

Twiddle-Thumbs is referred to as 'Twiddle' a few times.

Chapter 7:

Most toys seem to be active at night but these ones obviously sleep the hours away.

Chapter 8:

Presumably Podge was driving his car on the footpath and not on the actual road.

Another Windy Hill has been discovered. A prominence so-named features in Five And A Half-Term Adventure (EB's Magazine Annual #No.3) and now we have one in this particular tale. Might there be others?

Chapter 9:

'Crawler' is a toad of course.

Chapter 11:

Wuff, Mew, and Purr are obviously Lightfoot's dog and two cats.

Lightfoot resides in 'Lemon Cottage' which is next to 'Orange Cottage.'

Tappitty has a nephew named 'Bron.'

Chapter 13:

I wonder if an upside down house has been pictured in another Enid Blyton book. There's a spinning house in 'Adventures of the Wishing Chair,' and of course Mr Tumpy's house (caravan) travels on its own feet.

Enid Blyton often creates descriptive words that she may use in other tales and in the case of Tally-Ho,' we have a cottage by that name featuring in one of her exciting Find-Outer books. A 'Must-Read!'

Chapter 14:

Neddy is defined simply as a child's name for a donkey. From where might the first child to use the name have obtained it?

Yes! As would be fairly obvious to a Blyton fan, the plot is a re-used one.

Chapter 15:

One of the gnomes invited to Grubby's house told him that all of his visitors would rather be friendly with a lame earwig than with such an unpleasant goblin as him.

Chapter 16:

In the very real world we may not countenance that children aged about seven or eight would be allowed to sail their own boat on the ocean all by themselves but the final picture illustrates that Bill and Mab have overridden any inherent objections.

Chapter 17:

A boy with the name 'Ronnie Brown' is also mentioned in this story. Now, or in the far future an Enid Blyton follower using the EBS search facility may investigate his or some other character's name in order to locate a long lost tale.
So many of Enid Blyton's short narratives were originally in the Sunny Stories magazines that it looks as if the fabulous book-count could be much lessened were one to consider the number composed of reprints. For example: the dozens and dozens of short story collections such as 'Bedside Books,' 'Brockhampton' series, 'Colour' books, 'Flower' collection, 'Holiday' Books and other similar compilation are generally classed as separate publications whereas if another author brought out a previously printed novel with a different title, would it be classed as another book or simply a reprint? Enid Blyton's previously published tales have been reproduced continuously and seemingly added to the final count. Also ... should two stories with exactly the same theme, but with differently named characters be treated as a separate tale? Maybe. Maybe not.

Many of Miss Blyton's plots are not that difficult to work out but even if they're transparent, one can repeatedly enjoy the atmosphere conjured up by the author's choice and placement of words. Also, memories of one's own childhood can often be stimulated by comments some of the characters make.

Children in the Blyton books seem far more moral and 'good' than we ever were in our boy or girlhoods; however there are also some utterly wicked and depraved youngsters gracing the pages of selected volumes, and several obnoxious adults as well. For examples of the former one can simply leaf through the two 'Naughty Children' books, and as for the latter - could there be any villains more loathsome than 'Jo Jo?' 'Rooky' might be a contender. (Island of Adventure and Five Get Into Trouble respectively).

The two books in this 'series' are excellent collections of short stories with plenty of pictures by one of the more notable artists. Eileen Soper seems at her best when illustrating children, and many an older adult can relate to the settings. Selected illustrations of merit: Page 14 showing Jimmy and schoolmates in class, Page 58 where four children are observing a very special watering-can. Podge is well portrayed, and in 'The Pirate Ship' there's a picture of Mab and Bill in a moment of tension. The final drawing in that tale is simple and with a tad of romance - setting-wise. John in bed on Page 190 is a well balanced sketch.

It's been said before - the two books in this 'series' have charming covers (both the same). It'd be well worth hunting down copies in their original garb for adding to one's collection.