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1. The Purple Pig
   Story: Specially Written
2. He Couldn't Be Trusted
   Story: Specially Written

The Purple Pig

The children's mother wants them to deliver a spare coat to Mrs. Lump but Jenny and Will are reluctant to go because Mrs. Lump wears such big thick glasses, one of her hands is knobbly, and she looks so cross. Mummy counters by explaining that Mrs. Lump's almost blind, she has a bad hand, and the woman's led a hard life.

Simple as that!

After packing the coat into a box the children carry it down the lane to Mrs. Lump's tiny cottage and Jenny knocks on the door. Unfortunately, the old dame is hanging out clothes at the bottom of her garden so there's no answer. The children express annoyance because they'll have to come back again, but Will has an idea — they can just open the door, pop the box on a table, and disappear without having to confront Mrs. Lump.

He pushes the door open and they enter a cosy kitchen with a fire burning, flowers in a vase, and a big cuckoo clock ticking merrily away. A purple ornamental pig sitting on the mantelpiece attracts their attention and Jenny suggests it might be a money-box. Will thinks it's plain ugly,

"How can Mrs. Lump bear to look at such a thing all day long?"

Jenny takes it down at exactly four o'clock. We know the hour because a cuckoo flies out of the clock cuckooing madly and frightening the little girl so abruptly that she drops the pig. It falls onto the hearth and breaks into a hundred pieces —

CRASH!

The children stare at the mess in dismay, watching coins rolling all over the place.

"Quick!" says Will grabbing Jenny's hand. "Let's go before Mrs. Lump gets back. Quick!"

They tear out of the door like frightened rabbits thinking how cross the old lady will be. A few moments later however Jenny stops to remind her brother that Mummy had always told them never to run away from something they've done. Are they cowards? Will thinks for a moment and decides they are being cowardly so after summoning up their courage, it's agreed they'll return and face whatever consequences might await them.

Their knees are shaking as they knock on the door once again and this time Mrs. Lump opens it, peering at them through her thick glasses. She asks if it was they who'd brought the coat over and Will begins to stammer. He tells Mrs. Lump what had occurred when the cuckoo shot out of its clock just as they were examining her money-box.

Now what could possibly happen to turn this account into one that ends in delight and happiness? Well, there's a tail behind all pigs ...

But this pig has a 'tale!'

He Couldn't Be Trusted

Could Jeffrey be the perfect little boy?

He's good looking, laughs a lot, has merry eyes and is always willing to do anything for anyone. He'll call at the baker's for you or post your letters or take anyone's dog out for a walk, so at first glance this lad looks as if he's destined for heaven.

Unfortunately, there's a slight downside.

He'll offer to post your letters all right but he rarely completes the task. He forgets to call at the baker when asked and, surprisingly, when the dog's taken out for a walk he forgets to bring it home again ... so we can understand the story's title.

"You can't trust Jeffrey," the people said. "He's nice, but unreliable."

Jeffrey gets older and attends a school for big boys. There's a picture of him looking far more mature ... still merry and handsome with all his good intentions intact but, as always, forgetting to follow up on his promises.

This Enid Blyton boy is really springing up because now he's a soldier in the army and promotion prospects are high due to his popularity with the men. They reckon he'll be a captain one of these days. Unfortunately, he still suffers from the lack of responsibility in everyday life although, in his defence, he usually has good excuses for breaking his word!

This tale is really moving on because now the country has gone to war. Yes, in one single story an Enid Blyton character has matured from a schoolboy into a grown-up and now he's an army officer about to fight in a war. Sure enough, the enemy attacks and the antagonists set themselves up in the hills and surrounding towns. Jeffrey's captain says they'll have a hard fight ahead of them but they have clever and trusted generals and if they do their best, the invaders should be driven off.

They lay plans.

If a spy could be sent into the enemy's camp a great many things might be learnt and a surprise attack could then be mounted. That sounds a good idea, so the young army officers are called in, amongst whom is our Jeffrey, and they're quizzed.

"Who will go into the opposite camp and find out what we want to know?"

A tall brave-eyed man offers to go. The captains look at Jeffrey's confident bearing and immediately secure him for the task — he'll leave at midnight and go by way of the river-bank. That evening, Jeffrey starts a game of cards with his friends and the hours roll by — eleven — half-past eleven, and then midnight arrives. The game hasn't quite finished so despite his orders to depart at midnight, it's not until twelve-thirty that Jeffrey sets out under a bright moon that's lighting up the river-bank. He forgot it'd be flooding the valley at this time of night so he decides to detour over the hill and keep close to the trees. Unfortunately there are enemy scouts in that part of the woods and Jeffrey is taken prisoner while his own officers wait in vain for him to return.

There's a very unfortunate ending to this story ... no, not 'that' unfortunate, but big changes come into operation all because a man who couldn't be trusted was chosen for a very important assignment.

A twist in the tale makes the ending even more distasteful.

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#1:

'Mrs. Lump!' Who else but Enid Blyton would name an elderly woman thus?

#2:

How could Jeffrey forget to bring the dog home?

Britain is usually the predominant country in EB stories but possibly the situation involved a British interest overseas. Doesn't sound like a World War Two incident.

Another story entitled "He Couldn't Be Trusted" exists. Apart from gracing 'Sunny Stories' (of course) it resides in the "Sixth Holiday Book" and deals with a lad called Rilloby who, like Jeffrey, simply couldn't be trusted. These illustrations are hidden by default to ensure faster browsing. Loading the illustrations is recommended for high-speed internet users only.