Adults love obedience. But give them a simple kid who is plain subservient and they start complaining about life being rather monotonous and dull. Kids who are not naughty at all could prove to be somewhat boring. The higher the Naughtiness Quotient (NQ) of a kid, the brighter the life is. The challenge of having a high NQ kid around keeps one on one’s toes. One becomes hotter at one’s job. Outlook towards life becomes more indulgent. Capacity to handle the harsh slings and arrows of life shows a substantial improvement. Spiritual growth gets hastened up.
P G Wodehouse gave us such sterling kids as Thomas Travers, Seabury, Edwin the Scout and many others. Hanry King Ketcham gave us Dennis the Menace, based on the daily exploits of his own son.
Here is a quick look at some of the escapades of Dennis which amuse and entertain us just like those of Plummy kids.
Just the question Algernon Aubrey Little would have asked his parents, Bingo Little and Rosie M Banks, had they been living in our internet-infested times these days!
A scene of unalloyed domestic bliss, with the chivalrous husband wearing an apron and pitching in to assist in domestic chores!
When hapless parents bringing up a Thos-like son yearn for some kid-free time!
This is what could happen if Edwin the Scout were to complain to D’Arcy Stilton Cheesewright about a friend of his!
The progeny of Stiffy Byng and Harold Stinker Pinker would invariably be unpopular amongst the public at large. The poor souls get to inherit the combined loopiness of both their parents.
A sentiment dreaded by such lion-tamers as Rev. Aubrey Upjohn, Miss Mapleton and Miss Tomlinson!
Refuse to cough up protection money and the prospect of treading down a hard staircase covered with soft butter would await one.
When he grows up a little bit, he might make some such confessions so as to be worthy of the affections of either a Greta Garbo or a Clara Bow.
Many of us would be inclined to be patient and give Dr. E. Jimpson Murgatroyd here a chance to check on the pink spots on Dennis’ chest!
The fate of a clueless Ann Banister when endeavouring to baby sit for Joey Cooley!
It is not easy to compare the brilliance of the written word with that of an illustration. Perhaps, there is no need for us to compare the two genres. We just need to sit back and bask in the pristine humour these two forms of art represent.
The fulcrum which makes the two forms of art converge is that of the Naughtiness Quotient of the kids in general. Or, their rank on the Richter Scale of Roguishness.
(Dennis the Menace cartoons courtesy the world wide web)
(Related Posts:
https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2015/07/05/the-gallery-of-rogue-kids-in-plumsville
https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/when-masters-thos-bonzo-and-moon-rise-in-love)
ashokbhatia 
Life is not boring with the NQ kids around. Dennis has given us our own Wodehouse menagerie.
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True!
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Reblogged this on ashokbhatia.
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Brilliant! Made me chuckle all through. Yes, one must not compare the two genres. Here it is your incmparable way of juxtaposing our beloved Dennis with those Plummy brats from his stories– and their guardians. Liked it very much, Ashokji. You have written with the same kind of humour as the Master.
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Kind of you to say so, though I daresay that if Plum is a Mount Everest in the Himalayan terrain of humour, we are merely small dunes which try to reflect a tiny fraction of his blinding brilliance!
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What fun to recall the adventures of Dennis the Menace in relation to Wodehousian kids! By the way, the Man of the House doing dishes is wearing an apron, not a skirt 😊
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Thank you for your kind observations. Have replaced the term ‘skirt’ with ‘apron’!
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Arun Kumar Bhatia you dear man, how did it occur to you to yoke these two oeuvres into a marraige made almost in Heaven? There s an element of genius lurking within somewhere. Simply put, I love this piece.
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Glad it appealed to you. This is perhaps the outcome of one suffering from both Wodehousitis and Dennisitis!
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