Tricky Nelly’s Birthday Treat
Walker Books Sprinters, 2003. ISBN 0 7445 9083 3
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Some people said it was the silliest thing in the world when Tricky Nelly and Billy the Bamboozler ended up living in the same house together. They couldn’t help playing tricks on each other.
When Nelly asks for a pretty feather hat for her birthday, Billy comes up with a crafty plan to give her what she wants, and more. But Nelly has plans of her own to make him look like a silly Billy!
I love trickster tales, and every culture has its trickster heroes, such as Anansi and Renard. I love the idea of someone smarter than the trickster playing tricks on him – and so I got the idea of Tricky Nelly out-tricking Billy the Bamboozler.
Writing tip
Invent a trickster story yourself. Think up a character who is sly and slippery, who tries to get what he wants by playing a trick on somebody. If you can make the trick go wrong – even better! If you can make the other person turn the tables on the trickster, better still!
