Tricky Nelly’s Birthday Treat
Tricky Nelly’s Birthday Treat is a funny story about Tricky Nelly and Billy the Bamboozler and the tricks they play on each other. Illustrated by Tony Ross. 6+
Sadly, Tricky Nelly’s Birthday Treat is no longer available, although you may be able to find secondhand copies on Amazon or elsewhere.
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Some people said it was the silliest thing in the world when Tricky Nelly and Billy the Bamboozler ended up living in the same house together. They couldn’t help playing tricks on each other.
Tricky Nelly’s Birthday Treat was also published in Wales.
When Nelly asks for a pretty feather hat for her birthday, Billy comes up with a crafty plan to give her what she wants, and more. But Nelly has plans of her own to make him look like a silly Billy!
I love trickster tales, and every culture has its trickster heroes, such as Anansi and Renard. I love the idea of someone smarter than the trickster playing tricks on him – and so I got the idea of Tricky Nelly out-tricking Billy the Bamboozler.
Invent a trickster story yourself. Think up a character who is sly and slippery, who tries to get what he wants by playing a trick on somebody. If you can make the trick go wrong – even better! If you can make the other person turn the tables on the trickster, better still!