Playing tag

Rumy tagged me a few weeks back to find the 5th sentence of my 23rd post and paste the text. Now that I finally have a 23rd post, here it is: "Had to read one William short story before I could settle down."

To those of you who know me, my love affair with William is hardly news. I must have picked up my first William at the age of 8 from my aunt's collection in Delhi. The grandparents and aunt were based in Delhi from 1978-84. And my father had been posted up north in Chandigarh for a good part of that period. Delhi being 5 hours by car from Chd, we were frequent visitors. And as my brother and I started reading, it was to my aunt's well-stocked bookshelf that we went. I can still see the colourful book covers: Five go to Demon's Rocks, Mystery of the Hidden House, The Ring O' Bells Mystery, The Secret of Moon Castle, What Katy Did, Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School, various pony club books and the Williams.

Needless to say I was hooked, and still am. In fact, William is more a part of my life today than it ever was. The stories never pall, no matter how often I read them. The vocabulary still challenges and the wit never ceases to sparkle. After a day in front of the computer and then the TV, I suppose I could close my eyes without going adventuring with William. But would the sleep be as deep or as sweet?

All the William stories are enjoyable. But some nuggets gleam a little brighter. My all time favourite is "The Bishop's Handkerchief" in which William wants his brother Robert's colourful neck kerchief. But Robert will only give it to him in exchange for the Bishop's hankerchief. The problem with Robert, Crompton writes, was that he thought himself a wit. And the problem with William was that he took himself seriously.

Another favourite has William wreaking sweet revenge on his savage, ape-like neighbour by contriving to ring the doorbell numerously and surreptitiously with hilarious results. Then there's the one where William and his friends go carolling with the village choir to the homes of relatives bearing unacceptable Christmas presents. And sing tunelessly till the hapless aunts and uncles have been induced to part with their loathsome gifts, paving the way for monetary rewards on Christmas.

I could go on. But here's a link that says it better.

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article304347.ece

Now the tag: I'm tagging Bash, Nishu and Alina. This is what you need to do:

1. delve into your blog archive.
2. find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. tag five people to do the same.