STORY TIME MRS. PEPPERPOT

OK, after telling you about Sweeney Todd yesterday, today it is the turn of Mrs. Pepperpot! A story which was read to me as a little girl. It was at boarding school and to be honest, we didn’t get suffocated with love or warmth there, but on a Tuesday night, we received a wonderful treat. An old silver haired lady with very long slim legs, I know this because we used to sit on the floor in front of her sitting on her chair and I used to think how pretty her legs were. Haha. You can tell where my Son gets his talent for mind being elsewhere? Well, my best friend at school with the beautiful name who I write about and still we are great friends, used to run through the spooky corridors of our dull lit school and up and down loads of steps. Through the huge lounge and into the enormous conservatory with gigantic plants and slippy tiled floors. Around corners and in the night, voices could be heard echoing as our backs would face more down stairs to the closed kitchens. There were no lights on in the conservatory but when we went from one door through there to the next one, a dull orange glow told us we were almost into the room of relief.

The library was situated in a totally different part to the school and it was the only really bright room. Away from the horrible housewife Elizabeth and strictness of the so called home life as we knew it at boarding school and to see “Aunt Jessie”.

 The old lady had no warmth and was  matter of fact, but, she wasn’t horrible and read so well. It was my turn to escape. My friend and I would take our positions on the floor and be transported into the world of this story.

 Mrs. Pepperpot Teskjekjerringa, translation: the teaspoon lady) is a fictional character in a series of children's books created by the Norwegian author Alf Proysen. Alf Prøysen (23 July 1914 - 23 November 1970), was a writer and and musician. He was from Norway. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the twentieth century, and he made significant contributions  to literature, music, radio and TV. His childhood was typical for those of the husmann class; the landless  lower class. of rural Norway. This is reflected in his songs and short stories, where he draws realistic, satirical and harsh pictures of class relations and everyday life in rural Norway .

The book/story he wrote Mrs Pepperpot, amazed me how she could continue doing her everyday duties/tasks though she was tiny. She never knew when she was going to shrink to the size of a tea spoon. I wonder about the reasons behind this book? Was the author a tiny man? I wonder if not, did he have an elderly family member who was his hero?

  His first book in the series was printed in 1956. The main character, Mrs. Pepperpot, is a little old lady who lives in a cottage in the countryside together with her husband, Mr. Pepperpot. Mrs. Pepperpot has a secret - she occasionally shrinks to the size of a pepperpot, but nevertheless always manages to cope with the tricky situations that she finds herself in, at least partially thanks to the fact that upon shrinking she also gains the ability to understand and talk to all animals.

A successful Japanese anime TV series adaptation of "Mrs. Pepperpot" called " “Spoon Obosan, was produced by Studio Pierrot, in the 1980s

 

 

 

Some of the Mrs Pepperpot stories are:

• Little Old Mrs Pepperpot
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Mechanical Doll
• Mrs Pepperpot buys Macaroni
• Queen of the Crows
• Mrs Pepperpot at the Bazaar
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Bilberries
• Mrs Pepperpot Minds the Baby
• Mrs Pepperpot's Penny Watchman
• The Bad Luck Story
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Moose
• Mrs Pepperpot Finds a Missing Treasure
• Mr Pepperpot
• Mrs Pepperpot to the Rescue
• Mrs Pepperpot on the Warpath
• The Nature Lesson
• Mrs Pepperpot is Taken for a Witch
• Mrs Pepperpot's Birthday
• Mrs Pepperpot Turns Fortune-Teller
• The New Year's Eve Adventure
• Fate and Mrs Pepperpot
• Mrs Pepperpot Helps Arne
• Spring Cleaning
• Easter Chicks
• The Cuckoo
• Midsummer Romance
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Peddler
• The Moose Hunt
• Mr Pepperpot and the Weather
• Mrs Pepperpot in Hospital
• Mrs Pepperpot's Christmas
• Mrs Pepperpot in the Magic Wood
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Puppet Show
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Baby Crow
• Mrs Pepperpot Learns to Swim
• Mrs Pepperpot Gives a Party
• Mrs Pepperpot's Outing
• Mrs Pepperpot has a Visitor from America
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Budgerigar
• Mrs Pepperpot turns Detective
• Mrs Pepperpot and the Brooch Hunt
• The Ski Race