Blinky Bill Grows Up, Chapter 3: Mr Smifkins's Farm

To skip distressing content, (details below) skip from 0:27:20 (marked with a sound warning) to 0:29:54.

Blinky investigates Mr Smifkins' farm, and decides that a farmer's life is not for him!

Blinky Bill Grows Up was first published in 1934, and as such it contains material that might be outdated, inaccurate or offensive, as well as material that would now be considered quite dark for children’s fiction. Aside from language that Madame Magpie is personally uncomfortable using, the text has been left as it was originally published. There is no bad language, but below is a list of potentially distressing content that appears in this episode:

• 0:27:20 - Mr Mouse is killed by a mouse trap: '“Here it is! Come and smell,” Mr. Mouse called. Blinky crawled over to the corner, but he was far too big and fat to squeeze round behind the sugar-bin.
  “Let’s have a look,” he said in a whisper.
  “See, here it is, right in the corner!” Mr. Mouse said, pointing to a funny looking object.
  “It looks like wood to me,” Blinky replied as he squeezed his nose and eye round the end of the bin.
  “It looks different to what it usually is,” said Mr. Mouse. “But I can smell it, and the smell’s the same.”
  “Stick your paw in and see,” advised Blinky.
  “All right,” said Mr. Mouse. “You keep an eye open for Mrs. Smifkins.”
  “Hurry up, then,” said Blinky. “She may be in any minute.” Really and truly he had forgotten all about the Smifkinses, and now that Mr. Mouse mentioned them, he felt rather nervous.
  Mr. Mouse crept closer to the strange object. He put out his whiskers and sniffed. Yes, it was cheese, and no mistake.
  “Grab it,” Blinky whispered.
  Mr. Mouse became braver and made a dart at the cheese.
  Snap!
  “Goodness! What was that?” Blinky asked, frightened beyond everything. Mr. Mouse made no reply.
  “What was that noise?” Blinky asked again. But still Mr. Mouse did not reply.
  “Are you gobbling up all the cheese?” Blinky asked angrily. Still Mr. Mouse did not reply.
  Becoming alarmed at his friend’s silence, Blinky pushed his other eye into the narrow space and—oh, how dreadful! He turned pale with fright and sprang out of the corner.
  Poor Mr. Mouse was lying on the floor, his head caught in the trap and his body as flat as a pancake. Even his tail looked dead, Blinky thought. It lay so still and straight.'
• Mention of dead character: 'He wasted no time in climbing up again, and in his excitement knocked down Mrs. Smifkins’s very best fruit dish.
  “Hmf!” he said as he took a hurried glance at the broken dish. “Serves her right for killing Mr. Mouse.”'

Blinky Bill was written and illustrated by Dorothy Wall, first published by Angus & Robertson in 1933. Sound effects are from Zapsplat, Epidemic Sound, Pixabay, Soundly and Dylan Barfield.

All images are made by Josh Dykgraaf using Dorothy Wall's original illustrations. Madame Magpie is a creation of Alix Roberts. Narration and character voices by Alix Roberts.

Madame Magpie’s Bedtime Stories are recorded and edited by Alix Roberts (aka Madame Magpie) on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Bunarong Peoples of the Kulin nation. Madame Magpie acknowledges the rich and extensive history of storytelling among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and pays her respects to past and present elders of all nations.