The Magic Finger

The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short story about a little girl who gets cross portrays perfectly guilty feelings of regret and remorse; a Dahl’s take on an Aesop’s Fable. We do not know how the little girl got her powers as she doesn’t know herself; but the tale is very entertaining as it is told innocently through her eyes in the first person. The Gregg family; having been turned into birds by the young witch; adapt very nicely to their new surroundings; and even enjoy it at first as they try to make the best of their new situation. Their reason of questioning their predicament is always overruled by their instinct to survive; which also teaches an important lesson. Perhaps the whole tale is even a prequel for Dahl’s longer story, The Witches. All that’s now needed is a longer story that links all three. As with many of Dahl’s books, the tale is beautifully illustrated by drawings by Quentin Blake which matches the fable’s simplicity.

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