William Does His Bit facts for kids
First edition
|
|
| Author | Richmal Crompton |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
|
Publication date
|
1941 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) & Audio book |
| OCLC | 810795579 |
| Followed by | William Carries On |
William Does His Bit is the 23rd book in the popular Just William series by Richmal Crompton. It's a collection of short stories about the adventures of William Brown, a mischievous boy.
This book was first published in 1941. It contains 10 exciting stories. Early versions of the book are now quite rare and sought after by collectors.
Like other books in the series from that time, William Does His Bit has a main theme of World War II and the efforts people made to help during the war. This was happening when the book was first released.
Template:TOC limit=3
Contents
Story Summaries
William Does His Bit
William overhears his family talking about a man called Quisling. They say this person helps the Germans. William misunderstands and thinks "Quisling" is one person who can be in many places at once! He decides to find and capture this mysterious helper of the enemy.
His search leads him to the village. There, he sees two older ladies whispering about secret passwords. William decides to follow one of them. She goes into a school building. William peeks through a dark window and sees an older man with many women. They are talking and putting flags on maps. William thinks they are a secret enemy group planning bad things. He follows the man home. When the man starts mowing his lawn, William calls the police. He hopes they will arrive just in time, like in his adventure stories.
The police arrive and find William trying to "steal" plates and forks. He was just trying to find the man's secret papers! William tries to explain about the "enemy helper." The man, who is actually a kind local, tells the police it's okay. He even gives William some money, a bun, and lemonade for his "efforts to the country." William walks home happy, but his mother doesn't quite believe his wild story.
William The Highwayman
William and his friend Ginger decide to become highwaymen. They want to steal money to make up for some money they lost. Also, William's bike was taken away because he rode over flowers. They dress up in what they imagine highwaymen look like.
Their first attempts to rob people don't work very well. But then, they manage to steal a man's briefcase. They think it's full of treasure! It turns out the briefcase is only full of rocks. Luckily, William's sister, Ethel, is starting a rock garden. William sells the rocks to her for six pennies. Later, a gentleman visits the family. He mentions that highwaymen held up his car. William is found out, but everything ends well. William even gets to watch a movie about highwaymen with the gentleman!
Boys Will Be Boys
William's family is getting a bit stressed out by his constant presence and adventures. They decide it would be a good idea for him to stay with one of his relatives for a while. At first, William is not happy about going to his aunt's village. But then, he discovers the village isn't as boring as he thought!
Two older gentlemen, a colonel and another man, are always arguing. They have been bickering for years about their garden prizes. One grows amazing asparagus, and the other grows fantastic peaches. Both men promise to grow the other's best plant and win. William gets caught up in their rivalry. He accidentally damages their plants. This causes the contest to be called off for the year. After his adventures with them, William decides not to tell his mother all the details of what happened.
William The Fire Man
The Outlaws, William's gang, often visit the Village and Marley. They notice that an old garage has been turned into a fire "station." The boys watch in amazement as the firefighters, who seem like "god-like beings," walk around in tall boots, carrying hoses, and dripping with water. At first, the gang just watches from outside.
Then, they get brave enough to go inside. The firefighters even enjoy their company for a while. But things go wrong when William's gang decides they want to join the fire squad. Mr. Perkins, the officer in charge, decides that schoolboys shouldn't be parading with his men. He kicks them out. But William isn't finished! His gang makes their own fire squad area next to the garage. They find a perfect unused spot.
Mr. Perkins tries a new trick to get them to leave after one of the Outlaws accidentally sprays him with a hose. He threatens to talk to their fathers. However, William soon finds a real fire! And it's in Mr. Perkins's house! When the section officer finds out, William is rewarded, even though it's a bit awkward.
William the Parachutist
William and the Outlaws see members of the Home Guard practicing. The Home Guard were volunteers who protected Britain during the war. The boys wish they could do something similar. The Outlaws build a fortress using sandbags and boxes. It even has small holes for them to shoot their toy weapons through.
One night, a man dressed in what looks like a "woman's dress" walks along the road they have blocked. The boys think he is an enemy parachutist! The Outlaws shoot at him, and accidentally knock him out when their barricade falls over. They find a pass to Marleigh Aerodrome on him. They quickly send someone to run and get the police.
When the policeman arrives, the "parachutist" explains he is dressed as a woman because he is in a play that night. He forgives William and lets him see the play at Marleigh Aerodrome. William and the Outlaws have one of the happiest days of their lives.
William the Salvage Collector
William is in an air raid shelter when he hears that more scrap iron should be collected for the war effort. After the "all clear signal" sounds, William goes to bed. He dreams of strange things, like Hitler pushing a wheelbarrow with Ethel. When he wakes up, he decides he must collect scrap iron.
The Outlaws put letters into people's mailboxes. They ask for "skrappion" (their spelling of scrap iron). The results are mixed. Some people find it funny, while others are annoyed, saying they can't "play games." William finds some scrap iron and takes his cart to the next house. He gets a big surprise there!
He finds the Bevertons' exhibition of war items. William thinks it's just a pile of scrap iron. He is very pleased with what he finds, including parts of German planes! However, the Bevertons are not happy when they find out. William also leaves his own old junk on their exhibition table. This makes guests think it's a trick to make money, which makes the Bevertons even angrier.
William Helps The Spitfire Fund
William feels bad about ruining the Bevertons' Spitfire fundraising exhibition. A Spitfire was a famous British fighter plane. He decides to raise money himself by having his own war exhibition museum. The only item he can find is a sign that a prankster must have put on the ground, saying "unexploded bomb." His museum has no visitors and fails.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Bott is being nagged for hours by The Dig For Victory committee. They want her to give up her land for vegetable gardens to help the war effort. She is very annoyed and refuses. But then, she sees the "unexploded bomb" signpost in front of her mansion. William and the Outlaws had left it there because they were too tired to carry it further. Mrs. Bott runs to the Browns' house for safety.
Mrs. Bott believes seeing the sign was a sign from above. She signs the paper agreeing to give up her land for gardens. When William takes the sign away and the Browns don't see it, she says it was a vision telling her to sell her land. She gives William three pounds for the Spitfire Fund, hoping for more good luck.
William Gets A Move On
William wants to do something good for the war. He sees two men pulling up road signs. He tells them it would be better to turn the signs the other way around so German invaders would get lost. This gives him an idea. He sees two houses with identical nameplates but different names. He uses his screwdriver to switch the "Laurel Bank" plate with the "Heather Bank" plate.
When he gets home, his brother Robert asks if he passed Laurel Bank. Robert likes a blonde girl named Dulcie who lives there. The owners of the two houses, Colonel Peabody and Mr. Bagshott, used to be good friends. But they had a big argument. One thought gardens should be for vegetables to help the country, and the other thought they should be for flowers to keep up country pride.
They both send for gardeners to destroy the flowers in the vegetable grower's yard and the vegetables in the flower grower's yard. But when the gardeners arrive, they find the nameplates on the wrong houses. So, they dig up each owner's pride and joy in the wrong garden! Each owner blames Robert first, then each other, for the mix-up. In the end, they make up, and Robert and Dulcie meet for the first time. Robert doesn't mind William's actions when he finds out.
Claude Finds a Companion
The Outlaws hear from William that sweet production has stopped during the war. They decide to make their own sweets and sell them, and eat them themselves. Each boy rushes to his mother's pantry and brings back strange items. These include a tin of sardines and some coconut pieces. They mix it all together to create "sardine toffee."
They taste it. First, it seems tasty. Then, it has a lasting flavor. Finally, their faces turn green! One by one, the boys leave until only William and Ginger remain. When William casually mentions the cakes and sweets they would get at a party that evening, Ginger leaves too. But William, who never gives up, bravely (though worriedly) goes to the party.
The party is at Mrs. Bott's house. A woman is there looking for a child who seems very serious. She wants to take him home to be a companion for her son, Claude. Claude, it turns out, is a bully, even bigger than William. Claude's mother writes books about child psychology. She believes Claude should play with a quieter child. This would make the quieter child braver and more manly, and Claude more gentle. If she had seen William's usual look when he hadn't eaten sardine sweets, she might not have chosen him. But she did.
Claude expects another small child he can easily push around. His father, gardener, and housemaid were told not to interfere. So, they watched as poor children were left to Claude's strength. But Claude finds that William is not his usual punching bag. William is much more manly! When Mrs. Brown expects William to come home changed, she gets a big surprise. William walks in, not only unchanged but full of energy!
