Aldous Huxley wrote very few children’s stories. “The Crows of Pearblossom” is believed to be the only one that has survived. Huxley wrote this story in 1944 as a Christmas present for a neighbors five year old daughter. By standards of today this story would be deemed questionable at best for younger readers.
Mrs. Amelia Crow is feeling down. For the last two hundred and seventeen days she has gotten up, laid an egg and gone shopping. Everyday when she returns, the egg is gone. She returns early one day to finds a huge snake swallowing her egg! He brags that he has eaten all the previous eggs as well. That evening Mrs. Crow demands that Mr. Crow, a quiet assistant manager of the local pharmacy, take action. Having little experience with snakes or taking action he consults his friend Owl. They devise a plan to fool the snake with two extra large eggs made of baked clay. The next day the snake is delighted to find two eggs and greedily bolts them down.
When Mrs. Crow returns home, she finds the snake in agony dying of numerous
internal ruptures and gastric strangulations. As he shudders and convulses in the branches above Mrs. Crow delivers a very stern lecture regarding proper manners and
other peoples eggs. With the villain removed from the piece, the Crows raise many fine
young feathery children. The always resourceful Mrs. Crow uses the snakes mummified
remains as a clothesline. All is well.
If you enjoy reading children’s and young adult books as much as I do,
please try and find a copy of “The Crows of Pearblossom”. The period illustrations, and
Huxley’s matter-of-fact dialogue style make the book well worth it. I got mine at The Friends Of The Library Book & Bake Sale. Three dollars well spent.
By Doug Mathewson, editor of Blink Ink.
