The wisdom of Enid Blyton (quotes on various subjects)

[Jeffery Greyling]

Anita, there was something in (I think) Sixth Form At Malory Towers that Miss Grayling said to Bill about trying hard at her work for her parents(as they were paying for her schooling). We've lent our copy to someone, so could you, or someone else, find it and post it for me?

[Anita Bensoussane]

Just had a flick through Last Term and Third Year but I'm afraid I couldn't find it, John. Hope someone else has more luck. Doesn't Miss Theobald say something similar to Bobby in one of the St. Clare's books?

Anita

[Jeffery Greyling]

That's probably what I'm thinking of. Sorry, but I haven't read them in so long...

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've just found the reference in Summer Term at St. Clare's. Bobby (Roberta) claims to detest cheating and declares that, unlike her classmate Prudence, she has never cheated in her life. She is shocked at Miss Theobald's reply.

On cheating - "I don't know about all your life, but I do know about the last two months of it, Roberta. Why have your parents sent you here? To have a good time and nothing but a good time? Why are they paying high fees for you? In order to let you slack and play tricks the whole time? You are cheating, Roberta - yes, cheating badly. You are cheating your parents, who are willing to pay for you to learn what we can teach you here - and you won't learn. You are cheating the school, for you have good brains and could do well for St. Clare's - but you won't try. And last of all you are cheating yourself - depriving yourself of all the benefits that hard work, well done, can bring you, and you are weakening your character instead of making it strong and fine, because you will not accept duty and responsibility. You just want to go your own way, do as little work as you can, and make yourself popular by being amusing and thinking out ingenious jokes and tricks to entertain your form. I think, in your own way, you are just as much a cheat as Prudence is." (Miss Theobald in Summer Term at St. Clare's.)


When Bobby resolves to turn over a new leaf, we have more words of wisdom:

On being honest with yourself: "You are honest enough by nature to be able to see and judge your own self clearly - and that is a great thing. Never lose that honesty, Bobby - always be honest with yourself, know your own motives for what they are, good or bad, make your own decisions firmly and justly - and you will be a fine, strong character, of some real use in this muddled world of ours!" (Miss Theobald in Summer Term at St. Clare's.)

[Aunt Fanny]

How do you do it Anita!? You should do Mastermind on Enid Blyton!

[hope189]

I agree with you, Aunt Fanny. For me, Anita is the ultimate Blyton encyclopedia.

[Aunt Fanny]

On being a judge of character - "The point is not that I don't recognise bad people when I see them - I grant you that I may quite well be taken in by them - the point is that I know a good person when I see one." (Snubby in The Rubadub Mystery.)

On acquiring useful skills - "I'm good at exploring roofs. You never know when that kind of thing comes in useful." (Snubby in The Rubadub Mystery.)

I love this quote from Snubby...both my father and father in law were of the "it may come in useful one day" school.
To this day we have inherited a box in our garage labelled"Small objects of no use whatsoever"!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I agree with you, Aunt Fanny. For me, Anita is the ultimate Blyton encyclopedia.

Heh - a very muddled and incomplete encyclopaedia that would be!

[Ming]

If you're muddled then I don't know what I am.

[Anita Bensoussane]

If you're muddled then I don't know what I am.

Mingled?!

On making mistakes - "Leaving a gate open is a very small thing, but unfortunately small things have a way of leading to bigger things. An open gate - wandering cattle or horses - maybe damage by them to be paid for - loss of hours of their labour - loss of our time looking for them. It all means a pretty big bill when you add it up. But we all make mistakes, Mark - and providing we learn our lessons and don't make the same mistakes twice, we shan't do so badly. Don't worry too much about it." (Father to his children's friend Mark in More Adventures on Willow Farm).

[Lucky Star]

There is a Blyton short story called (I think) It Came Back to Him in the End which illustrates that point very well. I cant quite remember the story details as I dont own a copy of it anymore but it concerns a little boy who is rude to someone and after we have followed a whole train of disaster it turns out that the final indignity is suffered by the little boy himself.

[Anita Bensoussane]

'It Came Back to Him in the End' (Fireside Tales, Purnell) is one of my favourite Blyton stories, Lucky Star. It all begins when Tom steals a bar of chocolate from Mrs. Trent's bag, after being dared to do so by his friend. Mrs. Trent blames someone's dog for stealing the chocolate, putting the dog's owner in a bad mood. The bad feeling gets passed on from person to person, eventually resulting in Tom suffering the loss of something he cherishes. A dark cautionary tale which ends with the customary words of warning:

"Poor Tom! I feel sorry for him, don't you? He really didn't know that one wrong deed will set a whole lot of other wrongs going round the world, and will often come back to the one who starts them. Well - I'm going to be very, very careful - aren't you? I think I'll set a good deed going, not a bad one!"

A similar story is 'A Bit of Bad Temper' from Funtime Tales.

Anita

[Fiona1986]

I recently read a Blyton tale with a similar message, when a boy feels bad as he is poor and cannot give out any presents, so his mother tells him smiles are free. He smiles at an old man who realises he cannot be as nasty as he thinks he is if a child smiles at him, so he is cheerful and buys a several new suits. The tailor is then happy as he has made lots of money, and send money to his nephew for his birthday. His nephew buys his dog a license, and that dog then saves the first boy's life when he nearly drowns. So his smile saved his life!

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I have just got The Second Holiday Book, which contains the gloriously non-pc title The Golliwog who smoked.

Needless to say, it is a very moral tale about how smoking is bad for toys (and children), and how a terrible and soggy fate befell the smug golliwog.



Viv

[Lucky Star]

I have just got The Second Holiday Book, which contains the gloriously non-pc title The Golliwog who smoked.

Needless to say, it is a very moral tale about how smoking is bad for toys (and children), and how a terrible and soggy fate befell the smug golliwog.



Viv

I read that one in Purnell's Toyland Tales. I remember thinking it was very funny although, alas, it didn't stop me taking up the vile weed about twelve years later. I simply cant imagine it ever being published in its original form again. There would be such an uproar that the government would probably fall.