1969. I was 8. I dreamed of being a saint, and greatly admired by nuns. We had a little shelf of books in the classroom that we were allowed to read if we finished our work ahead of time.
There were four books that fascinated me, written by Arthur Mee of the Children's Encyclopaedia fame, they were large square hard covered books. One green, one orange, one red, one brown.
They contained short stories about heroic acts of saintliness by ordinary children - not the faraway, long-sainted children who saw Our Lady of Fatima, but stories set in England in the 1940s and 50s.
The only one I remember now was about a little girl who was saving up for a new frock. When she finally had enough money she and Mummy set off for the shop. But on the way she came across a lady collecting money for the missionaries, so they could help poor children in Africa. Of course the kind girl gave all her money to this lady, and made her mummy cry because she was so generous.
Why do I tell you this? Because I stole all four books. Couldn't bear to part with them, even after my father picked one up, skimmed through it and declared it, 'appalling evangelical piffle.'
So, tell me which is the first book you ever stole, and did you give it back? ... See more
