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    The Magic Pudding
    The Magic Pudding
    The Magic Pudding
    Ebook186 pages1 hour

    The Magic Pudding

    By Norman Lindsay

    4/5

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateJan 1, 1972

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    Reviews for The Magic Pudding

    4/5

    125 ratings10 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I just didn't enjoy it.
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable bit of nonsense and silliness from 100 years ago
    • 5/5
      A wonderful bit of Commonwealth nonsense, at times as giddily creative and deliciously dry as Lewis Carroll.
    • 3/5
      Very peculiar children's book. Rhyming dialog! Songs without music (or much reason.) A pudding (Aussie - think meat pie) that has no end, can change flavors, and has a personality and an attitude. A gentleman koala with a problem uncle. Quite peculiar.
    • 4/5
      "The plain truth was that Bunyip and his Uncle lived in a small house in a tree, and there was no room for the whiskers. What was worse, the whiskers were red, and they blew about in the wind, and Uncle Wattleberry would insist on bringing them to the dinner table with him, where they got in the soup. His Uncle refused to listen to reason on the subject of his whiskers. It was quite useless giving him hints, such as presents of razors, and scissors, and boxes of matches to burn them off."

      This is a delightful book reminiscent of Lewis Carroll. It doesn't have the brilliance and perfect light touch of Carroll, but it's a fine, tasty morsel, nonetheless. It follows the adventures of three respectable puddin' owners who are beset by a pair of low puddin' thieves. Fortunately, the thieves are caught repeatedly by our heroes, and their snouts are properly punched and bent as punishment.

      Please note that the pudding is not a custard pudding, like Americans are used to, but rather a steak and kidney pudding. It's not false advertising, it's Australian.
    • 5/5
      One of the most completely enjoyable books of my childhood, written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay, whose primary career was as an Australian political cartoonist. Bunyip Bluegum is a spiffily dressed gentleman koala who goes out walking and falls in with Sam Sawnoff, a sailor, and Bill Barnacle, a penguin, who by dubious means (set out in one of the many lively poems which add a great deal to the fun of the narrative) had gained possession of a magic "cut and come again" pudding -- a pudding which can turn into any desired dish, and regrows after eating, and what is more, possesses an acerbic personality of its own. Naturally, it is pursued by pudding thieves, against whom the heroes must defend themselves, thieves eventually brought to trial in a fine parody of traditional British-style justice.
    • 2/5
      This is what I think would be called a farce. It shines light on and pokes fun at some of the uglier and funnier sides of human nature, especially those that stand out in Australian history. The idea of ownership and us-and-them, and the absurdity of authority...it's all done in a very funny and cheeky way. I did feel that I got a sense of a time and place and a voice in Australia's cultural history, which is why I read the book, but I really didn't enjoy it much. It made me very uncomfortable, and though I don't think the racism and violence in the book were really being condoned by the author - I think he may have just trying to shed some light them it as some of the absurdities of his day -I still wouldn't read this book to my kids, or recommend it to them while they're young.
    • 5/5
      Zany. A pudding that everyone wants to steal. You better not take your eyes off that pudding for one second. Even people you trust will do anything to get their hands on that pudding. A delight that was completely unknown to me before two weeks ago. A delight that I loved, despite the fact that I really wasn’t clear on the appeal of the pudding or the knavish associations of many of the characters. It isn’t important; it’s just great fun.
    • 4/5
      This book is great.It is a real classic. It has a nice story line, how bunyip blue gum goes off on an adventure and the magic pudding saves a whole lot of prisoners by getting eaten. Im sure small children would really enjoy it. By Rishi
    • 4/5
      This book has gotten a mention in a lot of other books I've read, so I decided to check it out. It is very funny, particularly the verse bits! I look forward to gifting this to my friends' offspring.

    Book preview

    The Magic Pudding - Norman Lindsay

    The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Magic Pudding, by Norman Lindsay

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

    almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

    re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

    with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

    Title: The Magic Pudding

    Author: Norman Lindsay

    Release Date: November 26, 2007 [EBook #23625]

    Language: English

    *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAGIC PUDDING ***

    Produced by Suzanne Shell, Janet Blenkinship and the Online

    Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

    The

    MAGIC PUDDING

    Written and Illustrated by

    NORMAN LINDSAY

    DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

    Mineola, New York

    Bibliographical Note

    This Dover edition, first published in 2006, is an unabridged

    republication of the work published by Angus and Robertson, Ltd.,

    Sydney, Australia, in 1918.

    International Standard Book Number: 0-486-45281-6

    Manufactured in the United States of America

    Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, N.Y. 11501

    CONTENTS

    Contents

    First Slice

    This is a frontways view of Bunyip Bluegum and his Uncle Wattleberry. At a glance you can see what a fine, round, splendid fellow Bunyip Bluegum is, without me telling you. At a second glance you can see that the Uncle is more square than round, and that his face has whiskers on it.

    Looked at sideways you can still see what a splendid fellow Bunyip is, though you can only see one of his Uncle's whiskers.

    Observed from behind, however, you completely lose sight of the whiskers, and so fail to realize how immensely important they are. In fact, these very whiskers were the chief cause of Bunyip's leaving home to see the world, for, as he often said to himself—

    'Whiskers alone are bad enough

    Attached to faces coarse and rough;

    But how much greater their offence is

    When stuck on Uncles' countenances.'

    The plain truth was that Bunyip and his Uncle lived in a small house in a tree, and there was no room for the whiskers. What was worse, the whiskers were red, and they blew about in the wind, and Uncle Wattleberry would insist on bringing them to the dinner table with him, where they got in the soup.

    Bunyip Bluegum was a tidy bear, and he objected to whisker soup, so he was forced to eat his meals outside, which was awkward, and besides, lizards came and borrowed his soup.

    His Uncle refused to listen to reason on the subject of his whiskers. It was quite useless giving him hints, such as presents of razors, and scissors, and boxes of matches to burn them off. On such occasions he would remark—

    'Shaving may add an air that's somewhat brisker,

    For dignity, commend me to the whisker.'

    Or, when more deeply moved, he would exclaim—

    'As noble thoughts the inward being grace,

    So noble whiskers dignify the face.'

    Prayers and entreaties to remove the whiskers being of no avail, Bunyip decided to leave home without more ado.

    The trouble was that he couldn't make up his mind whether to be a Traveller or a Swagman. You can't go about the world being nothing, but if you are a traveller you have to carry a bag, while if you are a swagman you have to carry a swag, and the question is: Which is the heavier?

    At length he decided to put the matter before Egbert Rumpus Bumpus, the poet, and ask his advice. He found Egbert busy writing poems on a slate. He was so busy that he only had time to sing out—

    'Don't interrupt the poet, friend,

    Until his poem's at an end.'

    and went on writing harder than ever. He wrote all down one side of the slate and all up the other, and then remarked—

    'As there's no time to finish that,

    The time has come to have our chat.

    Be quick, my friend, your business state,

    Before I take another slate.'

    'The fact is,' said the Bunyip, 'I have decided to see the world, and I cannot make up my mind whether to be a Traveller or a Swagman. Which would you advise?'

    Then said the Poet—

    'As you've no bags it's plain to see

    A traveller you cannot be;

    And as a swag you haven't either

    You cannot be a swagman neither.

    For travellers must carry bags,

    And swagmen have to hump their swags

    Like bottle-ohs or ragmen.

    As you have neither swag nor bag

    You must remain a simple wag,

    And not a swag- or bagman.'

    'Dear me,' said Bunyip Bluegum, 'I never thought of that. What must I do in order to see the world without carrying swags or bags?'

    The Poet thought deeply, put on his eyeglass, and said impressively—

    'Take my advice, don't carry bags,

    For bags are just as bad as swags;

    They're never made to measure.

    To see the world, your simple trick

    Is but to take a walking-stick—

    Assume an air of pleasure,

    And tell the people near and far

    You stroll about because you are

    A Gentleman of Leisure.'

    'You have solved the problem,' said Bunyip Bluegum, and, wringing his friend's hand, he ran straight home, took his Uncle's walking-stick, and assuming an air of pleasure, set off to see the world.

    He found a great many things to see, such as dandelions, and ants, and traction engines, and bolting horses, and furniture being removed, besides being kept busy raising his hat, and passing the time of day with people on the road, for he was a very well-bred young fellow, polite in his manners, graceful in his attitudes, and able to converse on a great variety of subjects, having read all the best Australian poets.

    Unfortunately, in the hurry of leaving home, he had forgotten to provide himself with food, and at lunch time found himself attacked by the pangs of hunger.

    'Dear me,' he said, 'I feel quite faint. I had no idea that one's stomach was so important. I have everything I require, except food; but without food everything is rather less than

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