The Queen’s Croquet-Ground. It is a wonder that anybody is left alive, the Queen is so busy calling for the executioners. The Queen meets her match though in the disappearing form of the Cheshire cat.
Aesop’s fable of the runaway slave and the lion with a thorn in its paw. A story of gratitude.
Pig and Pepper. We meet the Duchess, roughly handling a baby who looks like a pig, and the Cheshire cat who likes to vanish leaving only his grin behind. All this and two footmen who look like fish.
The rags to riches story of Dick Whittington and his cat is not just a fairy tale: it is part of the folklore of London. Today there is a monument to his cat near the Whittington Stone pub at the foot of Highgate Hill where Dick sat down and heard the famous Bow Bells of East London ring out: Turn Again Whittington! Thrice Lord Mayor of London!
The plucky Indian Mongoose defends an English family from the evil cobras, Nag and Nagaina. The climax on the veranda where Nagaina confronts the family at breakfast is one of the most thrilling in children’s literature.
Natasha speaks to Charlie Higson about his third Young Bond book, Double or Die. Young Bond traces the top secret agent, James Bond, back to his boyhood when he was at the top British public school, Eton.
Although on an epic scale, the Battle for Troy involves some very personal grudges between the warriors. The climax of our story is the showdown between the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Hector.
This charming tale comes from Japan. Two cats – Gon and Koma – fall in love and run away together. They are separated when they meet a fierce dog. Gon becomes the pet and defender of a princess – but will he ever see his true love again?