The Enchanted Bellows and other stories by Enid Blyton is a collection of eighteen short stories titled The Enchanted Bellows, The Garden Party, The Nine Wooden Soldiers, Go Away, Black Cat!, The Very Forgetful Gnome, That Girl Next Door!, Annabel's Nest, The Rascally Goblin, The Little Domino House, Hot Potatoes, The Tale of Paddy-Paws, The Higgledy Piggledy Goblins, Cross Aunt Tabitha, Dame Crabby's Surprise Packet, The Goblin Who Broke His Glasses, The Left-Behind Bunny, On Christmas Night and The Box of Magic.
The Enchanted Bellows is about two mischievous little imps named Bubble and Squeak who lived in Puff Cottage and made bellows for a living. Bubble and Squeak made bellows with beautifully carved animals on the handles and the fairies who bought them were very pleased.
One day Squeak who was very naughty, told Bubble of an idea he had of getting a wind-spell from the Blowaway Witch and putting it into a pair of bellows and selling them to someone they did not like and see what happens. Bubble is initially reluctant but he agrees to Squeak’s naughty plan and both of them go to see the Blowaway Witch who lives on the top of a hill and is friends with the South Wind. The two imps tell the Blowaway Witch about their naughty plan and she is reluctant to oblige them until the South Wind who was having tea with the her came round and told her to give the spell to Bubble and Squeak.
The Blowaway Witch took her box of spells and chose a wind-spell that was not very strong because she knew the two imps were very naughty. But just as she was going to give the wind-spell to the imps, she dropped it and the South Wind picked it up. The South Wind was also a very mischievous fellow and he breathed into the wind-spell to make it ten times as strong. Bubble and Squeak knew nothing of this and paid the witch for the spell and went home and waited until someone they did not like came along. And that someone was Grunts, a bad-tempered and rude gnome who lived in Bluebell Wood and arrived the very next day because his bellows were broken and he wanted a new pair. The two naughty imps give the wicked gnome the enchanted bellows, and can you imagine the chaos that happens next?
Reviewed by Hannah William