First published by William Heinemann Ltd in 1968
Published in paperback by Pan Books Ltd in 1972
This edition published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2017
HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,
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Text copyright © Paul Gallico 1968
Why You’ll Love This Book copyright © Michael Bond 2012
Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers 2017
Cover illustration © Jarom Vogel 2017
Paul Gallico asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
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Source ISBN: 9780007457311
Ebook Edition © 2017 ISBN: 9780007457328
Version: 2017-03-02
For Grace
Contents
Why You’ll Love This Book by Michael Bond
1 – The Story of the Tiddly Mouse-Maker
2 – The Story of Manxmouse and the Clutterbumph
3 – The Story of the Happenings in Nasty
4 – The Story of Manxmouse and Pilot Captain Hawk
5 – The Story of the Great Bumbleton Mouse Hunt
6 – The Story of Nervous Nelly
7 – The Story of Wendy H. Troy
8 – The Story of the Terrified Tiger
9 – The Story of the Greedy Pet Shop Proprietor
10 – The Story of the Marvellous Manx Mouse Auction
11 – The Story of Manxmouse Meets Manxmouse
12 – The Story of Manxmouse Meets Manx Cat
About the Author
Books by Paul Gallico
About the Publisher
Why You’ll Love This Book by Michael Bond
There are untold millions of mice in the world. They come in all shapes and sizes, colours and nationalities. There are Japanese Waltzing Mice, Frizzie Mice with curly whiskers, Singing Mice, pink Hairless Mice, Chocolate coloured Mice, Long Haired Mice, Mice from the Himalayas and Siam …
And then there are mice that can be found in a small shop in the tiny village of Buntingdowndale in the heart of England. They come in a choice of colours; brown, green or white, and they all have pink ears. But they lack one important item.
That’s because they are made by an elderly ceramist whose life’s work is to fashion them out of a mixture of various clays from Scandinavia and loam taken from the banks of Deedle, a brook that meanders through the village.
Baked in an oven overnight, they are very brittle, which is why he doesn’t give them a tail, for fear it might break off and spoil his creation.
And therein lies the rub: the old gentleman is a perfectionist and his dream is to one day make a Super-mouse. A mouse which is like no other.
Does he achieve his dream? Well, in the hands of Paul Gallico he has certainly inspired a delightful story, head and shoulders above the rest. So read on …
By any standards you will find Manxmouse to be a very special character indeed, and the book itself is unputdownable.
Michael Bond
Michael Bond began writing the stories about a bear called Paddington in 1958 while working as a cameraman for BBC television. They are loved the world over and have been translated into more than 30 languages. The 50th Anniversary novel Paddington Here and Now was shortlisted for the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize. 2014 saw the publication of a new title, Love from Paddington, as well as the movie adaptation.
In 1997 Michael was awarded the OBE for services to children’s literature, and in 2007 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Reading University. He lives in London with his wife, Sue.
THE STORY OF THE TIDDLY MOUSE-MAKER
There was once rather an extraordinary old ceramist who lived in the village of Buntingdowndale in the heart of England. Ceramics is the art of making pottery into tiles, or dishes, or small glazed figures.
What was unusual about him was that he only made mice. And they were not the ordinary kind either. Other potters in the village, and there were several, turned out birds or dogs, kittens or rabbits and many different kinds of animal, but this one made nothing but the most lifelike and enchanting little ceramic mice from morning until night.
He was a happy fellow who hummed to himself contentedly throughout the day as, with his clever fingers, he modelled mouse after mouse after mouse. In the evening he would put those that were dry into a special oven and let them bake overnight. Then the next day he would take them out, polish them, file off the rough edges and look at them lovingly before either setting them in the window of his shop in Buntingdowndale or sending them off up to London.
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