Short stories - Caterpillar Fur Coat - Help needed !

[Moonraker]

Cheers, Moonraker . No special "knowledge" required - I just enjoy reading the books .


As you liked the Faraway Tree and Wishing-Chair books, I'm sure you'd enjoy The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies, if you haven't already read it. More magical lands and strange characters, this time in a story that is less episodic - the book is a full length novel, dealing with a journey and a quest. Marvellous stuff.
Anita

Hi Anita

Thanks. I've just ordered it from Amazon. That's another 6 quid you've cost me!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Oops - sorry! Still, hopefully you'll come to consider it money well spent . Let us know when you've read the book! The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies was the first full-length novel I ever read (by any author) and it enthralled me - I wanted it to go on forever.

Anita

[Topsy-Turvy]

Well Moonraker (James Bond??), count yourself fortunately...I've just bought Norman Wright's Everything You Wanted to Know about the Famous Five for £10! I hope you managed to get one of those older version (don't know if anything has been edited with the modern ones....are there modern ones?)

Anita please refresh my memory....(I invariably get pixies/brownies and elves mixed up) - Is this the "Oh my goodness!" story? And what about Book of Fairies - what was that about...? I don't think I have the latter...

[Moonraker]

Well Moonraker (James Bond??)

It's actually to do with the old smugglers of a Wiltshire village; after hiding their booty in the village pond to avoid capture, they later tried to recover it by raking it out of the water. On being seen by the local bobby, they explained they were trying to get a large cheese out of the pond......the cheese being the reflection of the moon! Hence, people from Wiltshire are known as moonrakers.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Hi,

[Topsy-Turvy:] "Anita please refresh my memory....(I invariably get pixies/brownies and elves mixed up) - Is this the "Oh my goodness!" story? And what about Book of Fairies - what was that about...? I don't think I have the latter..."

Yes, "goodness" features significantly in The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies. The Enid Blyton Book of Fairies is quite different, being a collection of unrelated short stories. It contains some great tales, including "Pinkity and Old Mother Ribbony Rose," "A Fairy Punishment" and "The Tenth Task."

Fascinating story about smugglers, Moonraker. I didn't know that before. Blyton wrote several stories about moons in ponds - the one I remember best is "Brer Rabbit and the Moon" (Brer Rabbit's a Rascal), in which Brer Rabbit convinces Brer Fox et al that the moon has fallen into the mill-pond, and gets them trying to catch it in a drag-net. Of course, it's just the reflection. There are several more similar stories in other Blyton books.

Anita

[Topsy-Turvy]

Hello! I thought I would write to say I managed to somehow find the exact copy with all the (very confused state of) stories I had in my head for the book I'd been searching for. The cover isn't quite the same which I'm not sure why is the case but maybe it's a newer reprint as it's dated 1983. Amazingly I don't think a single word has been changed! It's called Enid Blyton's Storybook and it has both the 2 stories I'd put up and other stories such as how the rose got its claws. I got it in very clean and nice condition too which was amazing as I randomly bought it over the internet! What a wonderful blessing The hunt is over!

Anita, I also like The Birthday Spell, epecially the description of the curious things Derek first stumbles across in the forest. They are very magical and delicate sounding!

Interesting story Moonraker Tee hee, all this time I thought you were a secret agent *looks over shoulder*. Hope you managed to get your Book of Brownies - how was it? I think it was quite a great adventure, nice to have it all in one book. Tales of Toyland was similar in that way as well and I quite enjoyed that too, though it was only half the length of BOB I think.

[Anita Bensoussane]

[TT:] "Hello! I thought I would write to say I managed to somehow find the exact copy with all the (very confused state of) stories I had in my head for the book I'd been searching for. The cover isn't quite the same which I'm not sure why is the case but maybe it's a newer reprint as it's dated 1983. Amazingly I don't think a single word has been changed! It's called Enid Blyton's Storybook and it has both the 2 stories I'd put up and other stories such as how the rose got its claws."

Hurrah! Pile a plate with ginger buns, pour yourself a glass of home-made lemonade, settle down with your book and enjoy!


[TT:] "Anita, I also like The Birthday Spell, epecially the description of the curious things Derek first stumbles across in the forest. They are very magical and delicate sounding!"

Yes, Enid Blyton's "spells" are great. Something along the lines of "Take the first primrose of spring, sprinkle it with dew at dawn, bind it with a gossamer thread from a spider's web, add the laughter of a baby and the cry of a gull, and stir it by the silvery light of a moonbeam at midnight. Hmm - wonder what that would make ?

Anita

[Moonraker]

Interesting story Moonraker Tee hee, all this time I thought you were a secret agent *looks over shoulder*. Hope you managed to get your Book of Brownies - how was it? I think it was quite a great adventure, nice to have it all in one book.

I'd never make a secret agent TT! I really liked The Book Of Brownies; as you say, it was good that it was a complete story.

[Topsy-Turvy]

I just reread this again lately and what a great story! I thought it was really funny about them being in the Land of Clever People. I remember being alarmed that the witch got away though