I Dare You To…

[Morgan Jones]

Hope it’s OK to start a new topic as I didn’t want to piggyback on anyone else’s.

I remember reading a short story with the title I Dare You To or very similar.

I can’t be certain it’s Blyton story but I suspect it is. The plot line was about a group of boys who dared each other to do silly and increasingly dangerous things. One involved doing something on a bike and one of the boys knocks down and seriously injures a younger girl called Bets or Bess. This makes him repent and see how stupid the boys were being, and I believe he sells his bike and spends all the money on Bets/Bess.

Can anyone identify it?

[Wolfgang]

Look in the cave book section for "I Dare You To!", Morgan.

[Katharine]

Yes, I've read that story. I think I probably read it in the Eighth Holiday book.

I followed Wolfgang's suggestion of looking in The Cave and see that it's been printed in several other books too.

[Anita Bensoussane]

There are two short stories called "I Dare You To!" or I Dare You To! (speech marks are sometimes included as part of the title to show that someone is speaking the words, but the speech marks are inconsistent and have been used for both tales on occasions).

The one you're thinking of, Morgan, appeared in The Eighth Holiday Book (1953) and Enid Blyton's Happy Time Stories (Purnell Sunshine Library, 1970), having first been printed in the booklet Safety Fun! (1950). More recently, it has also been included in The Wishing Wand and Other Stories and The Smugglers' Caves and Other Stories. It was one of my son's favourites when he was little.

The other story, which can be read in A Picnic Party with Enid Blyton and various other publications, is about some boys who go skating on a frozen pond even though they've been told it isn't safe.

[pete9012S]

Here's the one from The Eighth Holiday Book Morgan,
Regards
Pete

[Moonraker]

Look in the cave book section for "I Dare You To!", Morgan.

A timely reminder of how wonderful the Cave of Books is, Wolfgang!

[pete9012S]

Here's I Dare You To! from A Picnic Party with Enid Blyton for comparison:

[John Pickup]

Lovely stories, beautifully illustrated. Thanks for posting those, Pete.
Who's going to make the carol singer's lantern for next Christmas?

[Morgan Jones]

Thanks for all the replies. I should have checked the Cave, but it’s a while since I did so and wasn’t sure how to search. I’ll have to investigate!!

Thanks so much Pete for sharing both stories. I really enjoyed reading the Bill and Bets take again! Isn’t it funny how after all this time, you clearly remember certain lines: “I was the boy”. “He thinks she should hate him”. “He spent every penny on Bets”!

[Lucky Star]

Marvelous stories. Beautiful illustrations too. What a fabulous resource the Cave of Books is. It's really a crying shame that it's not better and more widely known.

[Courtenay]

Thanks for sharing those, Pete. I already knew the first one from Happy Time Stories and remembered a lot of it — like Morgan, I often find so many things from these stories stick in one's head! — but hadn't read the second one. They're both excellent stories and it's interesting to compare two different takes from Enid on the foolishness of doing something dangerous just because others "dare you to"!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I'm familiar with both stories but I particularly like the one featuring Bill and his bicycle. It's all the more horrifying that Bill is unaware of the disaster he has caused at first, feeling proud and expecting praise. The fact that he has hurt someone else rather than himself also makes things extra dark and dramatic (of course, he himself suffers emotional turmoil once he realises the far-reaching consequences of his thoughtless actions). Blyton at her best!