![]() So Moominmamma packs their bags and makes sandwiches and off they go on a raft down the river. To find out more they must go to the observatory high in the Lonely Mountains. The muskrat tells Moomintroll and Sniff that a great comet is coming. The muskrat is a philosopher who lies around in a hammock all day contemplating the pointlessness of everything. It is the muskrat who is welcomed in and made at home by Moompappa. One dark and stormy night a bedraggled visitor knocks at the door. But everywhere they go secret signs have been laid out – carved in trees, marked in the sand, laid out in pearls – the sign of a circle with a flaring tail. ![]() Moomintroll and his friend Sniff go exploring, make friends with the silk-monkey, then discover a wonderful cave by the sea, and Moomintroll goes diving for pearls. Moominpappa has built a little bridge over the river and Moominmamma is making jam. The Moomin family have settled into Moomin Valley after the great flood carried their house there. Just handling them brings back memories, and immersing myself in the stories brings back a wonderful warm feeling of safety and adventure. I’m reading the old Puffin paperbacks my parents bought me back in the late 1960s when I was 8 or 9. Inspired by the current exhibition about Tove Jansson at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, I am rereading the Moomin books. ‘You must go on a long journey before you can really find out how wonderful home is.’ ![]()
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