"Bottersnikes and Gumbles" Was the first in a trilogy of books written by
S.A (Samuel. A) Wakefield and was published for the first time in 1967 by William Collins
Australia.
The three
books (including
Gumbles in Summer (1972), and
Gumbles on Guard (1975)) revolved around a
friendly group of creatures called the Gumbles, and their not-so-friendly counterparts, the Bottersnikes, and their
adventures in the Australian bush.
A bit of a
background:
The Bottersnikes, often described as the "Fattest, laziest
creatures you could ever clap
eyes on" are partial to living in
rubbish heaps. This is because they are altogether too lazy to build
homes for themselves, and much prefer
poking around under a bit of tin in the Australian
outback. It pays to find a home quickly though, for Bottersnikes
shrink when
wet. Incidentally, their
favourite type of
rubbish are jam tins, for reasons we will come to in due course.
On the other hand, we have the Gumbles. About
half the size of the Bottersnikes, and not nearly as
ugly, these
apple-sized creatures are
jolly,
happy-go-lucky, and always willing to help a fellow bush
resident in
distress. By far their most problematic trait, though, is that they have the
consistency of warm
putty. Because Gumbles' bones are not of the kind that can be
broken, a Gumble can be
squished into any
shape desired, but if squished too hard they might require help to pop back into their proper Gumble-shapes.
Unfortunately this putty-ness leads one fateful day to a Bottersnike
discovery. If
squished hard enough into a jam tin, A Gumble couldn't
escape, and thus the laziest creatures on
earth had lifetime
servants. But not for long, and thusly does the book tell its
story.