Ten Sorry Tales About the book

The book consists of:

  • The Pearce sisters in which Lol and Edna Pearce save a young man from drowning. When he fails to show sufficient gratitude he is roundly punished, as indeed all bad-mannered young men should be.
  • The boy who fell asleep in which a boy falls asleep and doesn’t wake up for a long time, causing considerable distress for his parents and confusion for the boy in question.
  • A row-boat in the cellar in which a newly-retired pensioner builds a boat to keep himself busy, but fails to check whether it will fit back up the stairs. (Involves some scenes of tunnelling).
  • The lepidoctor in which a young boy discovers a Victorian set of instruments said to be capable of reviving dead butterflies.
  • Hermit wanted in which a man without means volunteers to pose as a hermit for a wealthy couple but becomes a little more savage than they would like. (A traditional ‘comeupance’ tale)
  • Alien abduction in which the pupils of a junior school go on the rampage because of an alleged alien landing cover-up.
  • The girl who collected bones in which Gwyneth Jenkins displays an unerring talent for unearthing bones and uses them to conjure up the spirit of a beloved relative.
  • Neither hide nor hair in which Finton Carey runs away from home and hides in the woods and meets a dog with whom he can have a decent conversation.
  • Crossing the river in which a hearse gets lost but the undertakers inside it discover a novel means of transporting their charge to the other side.
  • The button thief in which a bad-tempered old horse comes up against the mighty little Thelma Newton