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1. The Wonderful Hooter
   Story: Specially Written
2. Crack! Crack! Crack!
   Story: Specially Written

The Wonderful Hooter

Jack's a lucky boy because he owns a car. One with pedals of course because he's too young to obtain a licence for the type his dad might own, but Jack's vehicle lacks something it really needs.

A hooter!

He'd really like one because sometimes people don't hear him coming and he wants to warn them to get out of the way. One day he pedals off to the shop hoping it might have a hooter for sale — and he's lucky. There's a large one up on the shelf that's normally used for a motor-bicycle so it hoots very loudly indeed when the rubber bulb is pressed. This is exactly what Jack wants so he pedals home fast and confronts his mother.

"Can you possibly allow me two and six for a lovely hooter please, Mother?"

Looking at the vintage of this story takes us back to 1950 and in that year two shillings and sixpence would be quite a sum for a little boy to ask of his mother, or anyone to ask of anyone's parent. To put some perspective on it, Jack receives one penny a week and there are thirty of those in a half crown (two shillings and sixpence). Thirty weeks is a long time to wait for his pride and joy, and no doubt it would also a period bereft of sweets and other treats on which one's pocket money is generally spent. His mother has to graciously decline his request of course so Jack hunts down his father who's outside and puts the question to him. Unfortunately all his dad's spare money is going to buy seeds for the garden, but he dispenses some sage advice to his son,

"If you want something badly enough Jack, you'll think of a way to get it!"

We've all heard that before today and it's probably quite true. Readers with well-developed lateral thinking abilities can perhaps work out a way that Jack could earn the required amount of money, and sure enough after thinking hard about the problem he comes up with an excellent idea. His mother laughs when told about it but she goes along with her son and even gives him a chance to earn his first penny; however Jack tells her she doesn't have to pay him because he'll do what she requests for pure love.

Now isn't that nice of him?

For the next three days Jack works extremely hard for the object of his desire and finds that earning money can be quite a tiring occupation. Mrs. Jones comes into the tale, as do Mrs. White, Mr. Tomms, Mr. Long and Mrs. Harris, and at the end of it all the old maxim is proved to be valid:

'Where there's a will, there's a way.'

Crack! Crack! Crack!

It's a cold and frosty day. The puddles are like glass and the pond is frozen over so Doris remarks they'll soon be able to go skating on it. Peter thinks the ice would already be hard enough but the teacher disagrees and she announces that no one, but no one, is to attempt skating on the pond until she gives permission.

So, now we have a good indication what's going to happen, and who's going to be involved in the 'happening.'

It's a half-holiday and on the way home Peter tests the edge of the pond with his foot and reckons it's definitely hard enough to support a skating attempt. He thinks Miss Brown is silly but Doris says that while they can't disobey her orders, they can all come back this afternoon and slide on the nearby puddles; so after lunch, that's exactly what they do. A man passing by yells out to them,

"Now then, don't you go on that ice. It's not thick enough yet!"

Peter taps it again with his toe and is not convinced. He reckons it is thick enough and as he's a spoilt boy who hasn't yet been taught true obedience, he urges the others to join him in a little skating but they wouldn't dream of it because Miss Brown trusts them, even when she's not around. Peter calls them "Goody-Goodys" and "Cowards" but Doris corrects him by saying it's not being cowardly to obey orders.

"Well — I'm going and you'll be glad I'm brave enough to try even if you aren't!" Peter declares.

He steps onto the ice and even stamps on it. He runs a little way and slides, but firm as it looks, the other children mean to obey their teacher's orders. Peter slides right to the middle of the pond and the inevitable happens.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Great Scott! He falls head first into the icy water but manages somehow to rise and clutch at the edges of the hole which has suddenly appeared, but it splinters some more —

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Across the way a man is spotted and Doris rushes to him for help. The chap races off to fetch a ladder but will be in time because Peter's now slipping away from the ice and it looks as if he's facing a very uncomfortable end to his life. That can't be allowed to happen when 'Harry' the ever-present Blyton character is on hand, so he begins crawling bravely towards the stricken boy, but the ice cracks even more and Doris rushes to grab hold of him. Unfortunately they both fall in with loud screams as the cold water envelops them.

"Oh! Oh! Fetch help quickly."

The man returns with his ladder which is placed on the ice. Slowly and carefully he crawls along it towards Peter ... and falls in.

This is rapidly becoming a calamity of giant proportions because when another man appears on the scene to assist, he also disappears into the drink. There's a picture of this happening with several distressed children watching in horror from the bank. Peter can be seen lying on his back in an expiring position ...

Could it possibly get any worse?

<>hr<>

#1:

Enid Blyton males are attracted to hooters. Harry the Indomitable wanted one for his own motor-car because it had a bell! Imagine that ... "A silly bicycle bell," as he told his mother. (Harry's Toy Motor-Car — Blue Story Book). Derek also wanted one, and he obtained it in exactly the same way as Jack did. (Derek's Motor-Car — Fourth Holiday Book). Fatty, or Frederick Algernon Trotteville (to those in the know) acquired a hooter when involved in the Find-Outer investigation connected with a man who went by the alias of 'Number' Three ... he used a hooter on his bicycle. The little boy who appeared briefly in a related incident had one attached to his tricycle. (Mystery Of The Missing Necklace). Brian desired a hooter for his toy car (The Yellow Motor Car — Poppy Story Book). Yes, they all want them, although Peter has a bell on his. He'd probably prefer a hooter but the bike was given to him by Leslie who must have chosen to use the former — so there's always an exception to the rule (The Old Bicycle — Fourth holiday Book).

Females might prefer bells because Belinda has one on her tricycle and she can be seen in the Fabulous Cave of Books, riding towards us and looking quite scared (Friendly Story Book).

'Motor-bicycle' sounds a little odd but I suppose a motorbike qualifies as a bicycle. Of course there are ordinary bicycles with small motors attached to their wheels.

#2:

One of the men, who tried to help with the rescue, lost his job over the incident.

Miss Brown! Yes, once again, Enid Blyton has put her favourite schoolmistress into another of her stories. "EB's Book of The Year" (1941) has a collection amongst which she and her little schoolhouse feature regularly, and here's the lady almost a decade later.

Surely Peter's experience would be one of the unluckiest in the series — Pennant Series No. #13!

There's a very happy-looking 'Soper' picture on Page #9. These illustrations are hidden by default to ensure faster browsing. Loading the illustrations is recommended for high-speed internet users only.