Enid Blyton Read Free Page B

Wilfred down the street, whistling—and on his back the sheet of paper said:
    "I'VE BEEN VERY RUDE TO MY MOTHER."
    Well, it wasn't long before all the passers-by saw the paper and began to laugh at it. "Fancy!" they said to one another, "he has been rude to his mother! Well, he looks a most unpleasant boy, it's true— but fancy being rude to his mother!"
    The other children soon saw the notice and gathered round, giggling. Wilfred glared at them. Whatever was all the giggling about?
    "You've been rude to your mother!" shouted Kenneth.
    "Bad boy! You've been rude to your mother!" yelled all the children.
    Wilfred stopped in surprise. Now how in the world did the others know that? He hadn't told anyone—and his mother certainly hadn't, for she would be too much ashamed of her son to say such a thing.
    "How do you know?" he demanded angrily.
    "You've got it on your back," shouted the children in glee.
    Wilfred tore the paper off his back and looked at it. How he scowled when he saw what was printed there! But how could it have got on his back? And who could have written that sentence?
    He tore the paper into little pieces and stuffed them into a litter bin. Then he stamped off angrily. Just wait till he caught anyone pinning paper on his back again! He kept turning round quickly to make sure that no one was creeping behind him.
    Soon he met Alison, and she had a bag of sweets. "Give me one!" said Wilfred.
    "No," said Alison bravely. Wilfred gave her such a pinch that she squealed loudly and ran away, hugging her bag of sweets and crying.
    Well, you can guess that it wasn't more than half a minute before Mr. Pink-Whistle had pinned another sheet of paper on Wilfred's back! This time it said, in bold black letters:
    "I HAVE PINCHED ALISON AND MADE HER CRY."
    Everyone who saw it looked surprised-—and then grinned. "What a nasty little boy that must be!" they thought. They wondered if he knew that he had the paper on his back. He didn't know at first— but as soon as he met some other children, he knew at once!
    For they danced around him, shouting, "You pinched Alison! You horrid boy! You pinched Alison and made her cry!"
    "How do you know?" shouted Wilfred. "Did she tell tales on me?"
    "No—you're telling tales about yourself!" yelled back the children, keeping a good distance away from the angry little boy. He at once felt round at his back and tore off the paper. When he read what was written he was rather frightened. He felt quite certain that no one had been near enough to him to pin on that paper—he had been keeping a good watch. Then how did it get on his back?
    Wilfred thought he would go home. He didn't like these queer happenings at all. It wasn't a bit funny suddenly to have horrid things pinned on his back for people to laugh at. He ran home, quickly.
    His mother was out in the garden. Wilfred thought that no one else was in the house, so he crept to the jam cupboard, and looked for a pot of strawberry jam. He didn't know that Mr. Pink-Whistle was just behind him, quite invisible! The naughty boy ran off with the jam and sat down under a bush in the front garden to enjoy it.
    Mr. Pink-Whistle busily wrote on another sheet of paper, then sat down beside Wilfred, and pinned it gently on his back. The boy couldn't see Mr. Pink-Whistle, of course, and he was so busy with the jam that he didn't even hear the very slight rustle of the paper.
    He finished the jam and went indoors, and as soon as he turned round his mother saw what was pinned on his back!
    "I HAVE STOLEN A POT OF STRAWBERRY JAM,"
    "Oh, have you!" said Wilfred's mother, and she went to her jam cupboard to look. Sure enough a pot was gone.
    "Wilfred! You bad boy! You've taken my jam!" she cried. "Go straight upstairs to bed and stay there for the rest of the day! Go quickly before I smack you!"
    Wilfred rushed upstairs, for his mother was really very angry indeed. He took his coat off to undress—and saw the notice that said so plainly, "I HAVE STOLEN A