''Whistle Down the Wind'' was a novella written by

Mary Hayley Bell Mary Hayley Bell, Lady Mills (22 January 1911 – 1 December 2005) was an English actress and writer, married for 64 years to actor Sir John Mills. Her novel '' Whistle Down the Wind'' was adapted as a film, starring her teenaged daughter, ...

and illustrated by Ōven Edwards. It was published in 1958 by T.V. Boardman & Co. and retailed for 12 shillings and sixpence (62½p). The central characters are three children — Swallow, Brat and Poor Baby who are based on the author's own children Juliet,

Hayley Hayley (pronounced ) is an English given name. It is derived from the English surname Haley (surname), Haley, which in turn was based on an Old English toponym, a compound of ''heg'' "hay" and ''leah'' "clearing or meadow".Katie Martin-Doyle, '' ...

and Jonathan Mills. The story is narrated by Brat. Hayley Bell developed the concept for the story in the summer of 1957 in a gypsy caravan at the family's farm in Sussex. The story was filmed as '' Whistle Down the Wind'' (1961), starring the author's daughter, Hayley Mills in the lead role.

Plot

One day ten-year-old Brambling (nicknamed "Brat") and her seven year old brother Merlin ("Poor Baby") are told by their twelve-year-old sister Swallow that she and their five-year-old friend Elizabeth found a man hiding in a barn of the family farm who they believe to be

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

after taking his exclamation of "Jesus" literally when they asked who he was. The Man seemed feverish so the children take care of him sworn to secrecy fearing the adults would take him away. Over the next few days, the children's school was closed with their father claiming there was a plague so the children introduce the Man to their friends who are also sworn to secrecy. Brat, Swallow and Poor Baby later learn from their grandmother that there was not actually a plague but refused to give the real reason for the school closure other than there being a scare involving the police. The children learn from a friend that the grandmother of another child named Amos Nodge told him that the police were searching for an escaped convict which the police had traced to their local area. The children's father later told them not to leave the farm and to tell him if they saw any strange men around. The secret is finally blown after Amos, who suffered a mishap in front of the Man, betrayed them. The police arrive to arrest the Man, who they call Blake, believing him to be the convict but not before a large group of children, some from far away, gathered in front of them and the Man set the barn and the

oast house An oast, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. They can be found in most hop-growing (and former hop-growing) areas and are often good examples of vernacular architecture. Many re ...

on fire and escaped. The Children's father show Brat, Swallow and Poor Baby a cross left behind on a wall still standing after the blaze and they assure him that the whole affair has not changed how they felt about Jesus.

References

1959 British novels British children's novels British novels adapted into films 1959 children's books {{1950s-child-novel-stub

Plot

See also

References