The Tale of Bushy the Fox and other stories by Enid Blyton is a collection of fourteen short stories titled The Tale of Bushy the Fox, The Very Strange Hat, A Surprise for Molly, Tinker-dog and Prince, Mother Winkyn's Washing, Now Then, Mr Stamp-About, Clever Old Budgie, Do Hurry Up, Mr Twinks!, Billy-up-the-Tree, The Enchanter's Poker, Simple Simon Makes a Mistake, Mr Smick Plays a Trick, She Forgot to Say Thank You! and The Very Safe Place.
Tinker-dog and Prince is a story about breeding, courage and cowardice. Tinker is a common dog whereas Prince is a so-called ‘pure’ bred Alsatian. Prince is vain and arrogant and participates in useless and silly dog shows which are a waste of time and money. Tinker, on the other hand, is down to earth, humble and useful.
One day Tinker and Prince were by the river when a little boy who was playing by the river fell into the water and screamed for help. The other children who were nearby told Prince to jump into the water and rescue the child, but Prince was a coward and ran away.
Tinker jumped into the river and swam courageously and saved the little boy from drowning. This story teaches a moral lesson that being high born or high class is not important, but what is important is the character of a person and his good nature and good qualities.
A Surprise for Molly is about a little girl who is fond of playing with her doll. One day, after Molly puts her doll to sleep in her cot and goes outside to play with her brother Alan, a baby monkey enters the nursery through an open window and throws Molly’s dog out of the cot and gets into the cot and falls asleep comfortably.
The baby monkey does not have beautiful manners and he is naughty but he is not bad natured. The monkey belongs to Major Beeton who invites Molly and Alan to tea and to play with the monkey and teach him good manners.
Reviewed by Hannah William