Tales of the Unexpected

cupped around the enormous patent lighter. He glanced up and saw Louisa looking at him – at his shoes and the bottoms of his khaki slacks, which were damp from walking in long grass.
    ‘I just went out to see how the bonfire was going,’ he said.
    Her eyes travelled slowly upward and rested on his hands.
    ‘It’s still burning fine,’ he went on. ‘I think it’ll keep going all night.’
    But the way she was staring made him uncomfortable.
    ‘What is it?’ he said, lowering the lighter. Then he looked down and noticed for the first time the long thin scratch that ran diagonally clear across the back of one hand, from the knuckle to the wrist.
    ‘
Edward!
’
    ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I know. Those brambles are terrible. They tear you to pieces. Now, just a minute, Louisa. What’s the matter?’
    ‘
Edward!
’
    ‘Oh, for God’s sake, woman, sit down and keep calm. There’s nothing to get worked up about. Louisa! Louisa,
sit down
!’

PENGUIN BOOKS
    Published by the Penguin Group
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    Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
    www.penguin.com
    The first seven stories are from
Someone Like You
, originally published by Martin Seeker & Warburg in 1954 and republished by Michael Joseph Ltd in 1961. The remaining stories are from
Kiss Kiss
, first published by Michael Joseph in 1960. All the stories appeared in an omnibus volume entitled
Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl
published by Michael Joseph in 1969.
    This selection first published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph 1979
Published in Penguin Books 1979
    Copyright © Roald Dahl, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1979
    The moral right of the author has been asserted
Acknowledgement is hereby made to
The New Yorker, Collier’s
, Harper’s
Magazine, Esquire, Nugget
and
Playboy
, in which some of his stories included in this volume first appeared.
    Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
    ISBN: 978-0-14-192901-9

There’s More to Roald Dahl than Great Stories …
    Did you know that 10 per cent of author royalties* from this book go to help the work of the Roald Dahl charities?
    Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity exists to make life better for seriously ill children because it believes that every child has the right to a marvellous life.

    This marvellous charity helps thousands of children each year living with serious conditions of the blood and the brain – causes important to Roald Dahl in his lifetime – whether by providing nurses, equipment or toys for today’s children in the UK, or helping tomorrow’s children everywhere through pioneering research.
    Can you do something marvellous to help others? Find out how at: www.marvellouschildrenscharity.org
    The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, based in Great Missenden just outside London, is in the Buckinghamshire village where Roald Dahl lived and wrote. At the heart of the Museum, created to inspire a love of reading and writing, is his unique archive of letters and manuscripts. As well as two fun-packed biographical galleries, the Museum boasts an interactive Story Centre. It is a place for the family, teachers and their pupils to explore the exciting world of creativity and literacy.

    Find out more at www.roalddahlmuseum.org
    Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity (RDMCC) is a registered charity no. 1137409.
    The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre (RDMSC) is a registered charity no. 1085853.
    The Roald Dahl Charitable Trust is a registered charity no. 1119330 and supports the work of RDMCC and RDMSC.
    * Donated royalties are net