The Adventures of Mr. Pink-Whistle

Read this when I was a little kid. I can't remember rightly what they're about now... but I read them over and over. I bet I couldn't stand them now, but for a young child Enid Blyton is so magical and takes you away into this fantastic world.

This is a collection of stories about a half-brownie named Mr Pinkwhistle. One day Mr Pinkwhistle realises that bad things seem to happen to good people so he decides that he will use is abilities to actually try to set things right for these people because it hurts him to see all of these bad things happen. This is a very noble cause, and not only that, I also notice that it is not just a nice person helping people out, but rather a person who has abilities using these abilities to actually help people. The thing is that Mr Pink Whistle knows what it is like to be different (we are told that because he is a half-brownie he doesn't fit in with the brownies or the humans), but instead of wallowing in his misery, he uses his uniqueness to show more do good for people.
As mentioned, this is a collection of stories, and the main gift that he uses is his gift of invisibility, though we also note that he can understand and speak with animals. However, it should also be noted that he does not just help people, but he also gets back at bad people. In one instance he frees some caged rabbits who have not be fed by their owners, or have not cleaned their hutch, so he steals their food and messes up their bedroom, and in doing so, gets them into trouble. In another adventure, he stalks a rather mean boy and pins notices to his back, which seems to have a tendency to make him angry.
While the idea of trying to set things right is a noble cause (such as buying a new doll for a girl who had hers broken, or buying some good clothes for a poor family) seeking vengeance against bad people is probably not something that we should be encouraging children to do. While it is true that we should look after our pets by making sure they are fed and given clean places to live, I don't think stealing the bad owner's food, or messing up their bedrooms a good thing. Okay, in the story Mr Pink Whistle did teach these children a lesson, which they learnt, but that is not always the case. For instance there is the story about Wilfred. It is clear that he is a self-centred bully that lives by instilling fear among those around him. What Mr Pink Whistle can get away with, we can't, and while the best way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them and not let them scare us, we do have to be intelligent about the way we go about it.
Of course, the deal with Wilfred was that Mr Pink Whistle turned him into a laughing stock, and not only did that shame him, but it also instilled fear into him. A bully rules by fear, but when the fear is turned back against them then it pretty much neuters them. They also work by the principle of divide and conquer. Notice that bullies always seem to be at their worse when they are surrounded by their friends, because they then have backup; however, when they are alone, notice that they tend to be a lot friendlier. They also tend to target those who are isolated and alone, because these people are unable to draw upon the backup that gives the bullies their power. Personally, I guess the best way to deal with them is to simply not let their fear override you, but that may not be as easy thing to do, however, the other thing to remember is that one should learn to count our friends, whoever they may be, because sometimes we get so caught up on being friends with the beautiful people that we ignore the people who really are our friends. show less

Eh. Glad it was a short read :-)
I'm sure the storylines would have been interesting for some kind of child ... wasn't my cup of tea :-) but cute nonetheless.

Adrianne

Another great collection of stories by Enid Blyton about Mr Pink Whistle

Short Story Series