The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater, 1944

A fun romp with two very naughty girls

Eric Linklater's fun romp about two mischievous girls kicks off with a father's warning: "When there is wind on the moon, you must be very careful how you behave. Because if it is an ill wind and you behave badly, it will blow straight into your heart, and then you will behave badly for a long time to come." With their father gone, Dinah and Dorinda do their best to make mischief as when they try to do good they end up with a scolding. First the sisters eat too many pies, steaks and bread to blow themselves up into the shape of balloons. Then, after the village kids prick them with pins to see if they would burst, they cried themselves thin. Their real adventures begin with thoughts of revenge. With the help of Mrs. Grimble, they bewitch themselves into kangaroos ("I have often wondered what I shall be when I grow up, whether a teacher of dancing, or a circus rider, or a mother of ten, but never, never, never did I expect to be a kangaroo."). With kicks, leaps and bounds they terrify the village people. But their rampage is short-lived. Lassoed by the zoo's owner and caretaker, they are caged and tended as other zoo animals. Here, they solve the mystery of lost Ostrich eggs and free two beasts who become their loyal friends. Their appetite for naughtiness and cleverness whetted, they turn their attention to freeing their beloved dancing teacher from the county jail. All this is just preparation for the greatest escape adventure of all, rescuing their father from the castle dungeons of a far country. Eric Linklater's humor shines and the plot zigs and zags unexpectedly. Dorinda and Dinah will be the envy of any child who yearns to take their naughtiness to a higher level. Caution: Some sentiments in the book may be offensive to some: that fat people are ugly or a person whose face is blackened by dirt looks like a 'negro'. Overall it is a fun romp with two very naughty girls. Just one thing boggles this reader's mind: Why doesn't their mother ever notice them missing for days or weeks at a time? living archive amazon.com amazon.co.uk