Les Moomins

Dans la vallée des Moomins, le printemps est de retour. Moomin, Papa Moomin et Maman Moomin sortent de leur hibernation. Pipo est de retour après son voyage hivernal annuel. Durant leur première promenade de l'année, Moomin, Pipo et Sniff font la découverte d'un grand chapeau plutôt mystérieux...

Tout le monde dort dans la vallée des Moomins, sauf Pipo qui vient réveiller Moomin en pleine nuit. Ensemble, ils se rendent à la rivière dans les bois et découvrent le chapeau qu'ils avaient jeté, coincé dans des branchages. Le chapeau avait encore fait des siennes en transformant l'eau de la rivère, qui s'écoulait à l'intérieur, en sirop de framboise. Moomin et Pipo décidèrent de ne parler à personne de leur trouvaille mais c'était sans compter sur Jolimie qui les avait suivi...

Après un copieux repas, que Maman Moomin avait préparé et auxquel Jolimie, Sniff et Shuka étaient conviés comme toujours, Moomin quitta précipitament la table pour rejoindre Pipo pour aller en expédition. Mais jolimie, comme à son habitude, s'invita à la promenade et ne se géna pas pour emmener Sniff et Shuka avec elle. Le but de l'expédition était de descendre dans un gouffre donnant dans le fond d'une grotte menant à la plage. Pendant que Moomin et Pipo descendaient à l'aide d'une corde, Sniff, Jolimie et Shuka les attendaient à l'entrée de la grotte. A l'intérieur, Pipo et Moomin firent une rencontre hasardeuse avec un Monsieur Carousel plutôt déprimé d'avoir fini sa collection de timbres. C'est lui qui leur montra un bateau échoué sur la plage et tous décidèrent de le remettre en état, avec l'aide de Papa Moomin et de Cachou...

Papa et Maman Moomin s'activent pour préparer les bagages car aujourd'hui, tous ont décidé de partir à l'aventure grâce au navire récemment rénové que Monsieur Carousel a découvert sur la plage. Maman Moomin, très prévoyante emmène toute sorte d'objet, ce qui a le don d'irriter Moomin quelques peu. Monsieur Carousel, attiré par la perspective de trouver de nouvelles fleurs pour sa collection, décide d'être du voyage. Jolimie, Shuka et Pipo sont également de la partie, et quant à Sniff, la peur du large le fait renoncer au départ. Voyageant au grès du vent, la petite troupe fini par découvrir une île qu'ils décident d'explorer. Une fois à terre, ils comprendront vite qu'ils sont très loin d'être seul...

Une féroce tempête a contraint Papa Moomoin, Maman Moomin, Moomin, Monsieur Carousel, Pipo, Jolimie et Shuka de rester sur l'île de Roudoudouks le temps qu'elle se calme. Sous la tente, que Maman Moomin avait eu le génie d'emmener dans les bagages, tous attendent la fin du déluge. Shuka, quant à elle, est terrifiée par le tonnerre. Pendant ce temps, les Roudoudouks, créatures vivant sur l'île, s'activent. La tempête provoque chez eux une frénésie autour du grand piquet où Monsieur Carousel à trouver un baromètre. Le collectionneur n'étant pas sûr d'avoir accroché la bateau à un arbre, Moomin et Pipo décident d'aller vérifier. Ils arrivent juste à temps pour éviter qu'il ne soit emporté par le courant. Le pire semblait être passé mais les Roudoudouks, mécontents de s'être fait volé leur baromètre, encerclèrent la tente où Moomin et les autres s'étaient réfugiés... .

Dans la vallée des Moomins, les lettres sont assez rares. Mais aujourd'hui, le facteur en apporte une pour la famille Moomin. La lettre annonce que la soeur de Jolimie, Elfina, sera bientôt de retour dans la vallée. Elle pourra donc à nouveau s'occuper de sa petite soeur. Quelques jours plus tard, sur le chemin du retour, Elfina rencontre deux petits êtres, Bob et Boule de Gomme, observant la maison des Moomins du haut d'une colline. Elle leur conseilla alors d'aller voir Maman Moomin s'ils cherchaient un endroit pour passer la nuit. Monsieur l'agent de police, qui allait chez les Moomins pour prendre des nouvelles d'Elfina, surpris Bob et Boule de Gomme devant la maison. Terrifié à l'idée qu'on les arrête, ils en viennent à dire qu'ils n'avaient rien volé et que la valise qu'ils transportaient était bien à eux. L'inspecteur les rassura et Maman Moomin les acueilla chaleureusement.

Au petit matin, après la venue du Groke, tous se demandent encore pourquoi ce dernier en veut tellement à Bob et Boule de Gomme. Maman Moomin, en leur apportant leur petit déjeuner, apprend de leurs bouches que c'est la valise qu'ils transportent qui est responsable de leurs malheurs. Shuka, qui est très douce, est chargée de les interroger sur la raison exacte de la poursuite du Groke. Quel est ce mystère entourant nos deux petits amis et le Groke reviendra-t-il la nuit prochaine comme le pressent Pipo ?

Par un temps de pluie, alors que personne n'ose mettre le bout du nez dehors à cause de l'averse, Trois Pommes, rend visite à son ami Moomin. Trois Pommes amène avec lui une petite fille, Nini. Quelle n'est pas la surprise de toute la famille de découvrir qu'elle est invisible. Nini à une grande tante dont elle doit s'occuper. Mais la vieille dame ne l'apprécie guère et fait preuve envers elle d'une amabilité glaciale et se montre véritablement sarcastique. Nini, morte de peur, est devenue invisible et muette du fait de cette méchanceté de la part de sa tante. Invisible, cette dernière n'a plus voulu d'elle et c'est Trois Pommes qui l'a recueillit. En l'amenant chez la famille Moomin, il a bon espoir, grâce à la guetté qui règne dans cette maison, que Nini redevienne visible et regagne sa joie de vivre... .

Very slowly Ninny comes back into view, but her face is still missing. Stinky does his best to stop her from becoming visible, resorting to very nasty tricks when the children play hide and seek. It appears that anger and shouting loud is even better than medicine and kindness for getting your shape back.

Snorkmaiden's brother has finished planning his flying ship, and has constructed a pair of wings so he himself can try out his theories, jumping of from the highest cliff in Moominvalley. But he is not the only one to think that flying is great - Stinky would like the wings for very Stinky-like purposes...

Moominvalley is hit by a terrible storm, and an old sailing ship is wrecked offshore, finally sinking. But, it is no usual ship - she is seen flying a black flag with a skull and crossbones. The pirates have made it to the shore unhurt and trouble starts when the captain, a terrible villain, grabs Snorkmaiden and holds her hostage, demanding a new getaway ship from the people in Moominvalley. The Inspector is frantic and helpless and it is left to Moomin to bring about her rescue.

After a tremendous downpour Moomin finds a very small dragon in a puddle. Smothering this most exotic of pets with love he expects great devotion in return, but finds that love is a fickle thing indeed, and particularly difficult to contain in a glass jar.

One day, Fillyjonk moves into the Moomin Valley with her three children. Although the Moomins hold a welcome party with a lot of unique idea's meant to please them, Fillyjonk just dismisses them as harmful to the upbringing of her children, strictly prohibiting them from playing with Moomintroll and his company. Her children try to follow their mother's BEHAVE-YOURSELVES type of orders at first, but their natural instinct as children gradually draws them into Moomintroll's circle of playmates.

During a spell of rainy weather Snorkmainden has crammed herself with stories about princesses and chivalrous knights. On the first sunny day she and Moomin climb a mountain, where Snorkmaiden sees what she believes is, an Edelweiss. Needless to say it isn't (no such things in Moominvalley), but they have to climb down to get it. Snorkmaiden slips, rolls down the mountainside and winds up in a faint. When she comes to she has forgotten all, and thinks she is of royal blood...

One day a flying saucer lands in Moominmamma's vegetable garden. It is apparently unmanned and she and Moomin salvage a strange box-like apparatus which looks rather home-made, but which has many remarkable properties. The Inspector is on the war-path trying to nab extra-terrestrials and when the Moomins find one, a runaway child, they have to hide him, quickly deciding that he has probably not come to invade Moominvalley. Their task isn't made any easier by the fact that the box-like apparatus has now made the Inspector iridescent, this fascinating the child so that he follows the Inspector everywhere.

Bored stiff with calm, sunny weather and stuck in his memoirs, Moominpappa craves adventure. Stinky decides to comply and provides a set of gigantic footsteps, leading up from the sea to Moominhouse. This creates a diversion, but is not enough and Moominpappa decides he and Moominmamma should elope (they never did it before because they had no one to elope from). Stealing off in the middle of the night they leave Moomin to fend for himself, something he doesn't manage all that well. Sniff and Little My help him cook and it is probably a very good thing that his parents haven't managed to get very far...

It is hotter than ever before in Moominvalley. The river has run dry and everything is wilting. Going down to swim one day with the other children Little My finds a large wooden crate floating in the water and when they open it they find it full of strange-looking, tropical seeds. They plant them as they have nothing better to do and next night the rains finally comes, a veritable deluge. The seeds sprout and next day the house is surrounded by a jungle. Bamboo, orchids, fruit-trees, but also some much more dangerous plants...

Moominfamily and their friends have a great time in the jungle. The Hemulen is botanizing as fast as he can, everyone is eating tropical fruit and Moomin and Snorkmaiden play Tarzan and Jane, building a leaf hut. Suspiciously helpful, Stinky offers to get them some animals, too, so it will be more like a real jungle. He is as good as his word, but the animals that he provides are not exactly of the kind they had in mind.

Moominfamily have befriended all the wild animals that Stinky let out of the zoo (except the crocodiles and who wants to be friends with a crocodile, anyway?) and when the zoo-keepers come to take the animals back, the Moomins, aided by the Inspector, fend them off. But, also, the hot spell doesn't last. Autumn comes, the jungle withers in the cold and the animals huddles, shivering, in front of open fires, wondering if chilly freedom is really better than a warm zoo.

Moomin and Little My have finally settled into their wintry existence, living on Too-ticki's fish soup and Moominmamma's jam, of which there fortunately is an awful lot. One day, Mr. Brisk arrives, a very hearty and jovial person, who likes cold baths and roughing it in igloo's. He is much taken with Sorry-oo, a very timid dog who only dreams of running with the wolves that are nightly heard howling in Lonely Mountains. He considers them his brothers, but unfortunately they don't... Mr. Brisk finally leaves, having consumed the last jar of his (and Moomin's) favorite jam.

The Moomin's first night in the abandoned lighthouse is haunted by ghosts from the mysterious ghost ship, who finally take off. One of their group is left behind, and the Moomins have to build a raft for it to sail away on. Moominpappa is in vain trying to light the beacon in the lighthouse and they all try to unravel the mystery with the absent keeper. It is finally solved with the help of the small boy, Toft, from the fishing boat, and when the Moomins sail back to Moominvalley they see the lighthouse lit for the first time.

One day, Moominpappa gets a very rare thing, a letter! It is from Aunt Jane, a stinkingly rich relative of whom Moominpappa is rather scared. She is great on duty, and particularly on one's duty to money, so Moominpappa packs a knapsack and flees before she arrives. And very wisely, too, for she wants Moominpappa to look after her gold doubloons when she gets too old! There are, however, those in Moominvalley who need gold for their pet projects - and those who need gold just because they like it.

An underwater volcano off the coast threatens Moominvalley. A huge cloud of smoke signals that the volcano is active again, and shortly afterwards a tidal wave sweeps over the land. Only the top floor of the Moomin house is visible above the water, and the Moomin family, Sniff, Snorkmaiden, and Little My save themselves by climbing onto a house that is floating by. As the Moomins explore their floating home, they discover that it is a theater.

Moominpappa finds writing plays very difficult. He spends hours writing page after page, only for them to end up in the trash. The lost children have been put behind bars for tearing down the prohibition signs in a park. When their prison guard wants to attend the premiere of Moominpappa's new play in the evening, the children want to use the opportunity to escape.

One day, Muffel shows up in Moominvalley. He claims to be a famous inventor and is looking for his "fellow inventor" Snork to show him his latest invention, a super fuel. However, Snork suspects a trick.

In the middle of the forest, the children meet a girl named Alicea, who is sitting on a rock waiting for her grandmother. Alicea tells them that she will be living at her grandmother's house for the next few years. There, she will be trained to become a real witch. Witches in the Moomin forest? But when Snork sees an old woman riding a broomstick in the evening sky, the children decide to get to the bottom of the matter. The next day, they set out to find the witch's house.

The Moomin family is hibernating when one day they are awakened by Mr. Hemul. He is very busy and tells them that they cannot possibly continue sleeping, because after all, "Christmas" is coming soon. Christmas!? The Moomin family has never heard of it because they always sleep during the cold season. Who or what could it be? And when will it arrive? Could it be dangerous? To be on the safe side, Moominpappa decides to prepare himself and his family for all eventualities.

This year, Moomin's hibernation is not as deep as usual. One day, he wakes up. With wide eyes, he discovers the white winter world. Because it looks so enchanting outside, he decides to wake up Snorkmaiden. During a walk around the Moomin house, they both discover that most of the firewood has disappeared. They find it again at the edge of a large cliff. Someone has piled the logs into a huge mountain. Tudicki, who fishes under the ice every winter, knows what it's all about. The invisible winter creatures have prepared their solstice fire to celebrate the day when the sun finally shines above the horizon again. But there is someone else who is interested in the piled logs: the Mora.

In the middle of the night, the inhabitants of Moominvalley are awakened by distant explosions. At the same time, a pretty young girl appears in the valley, completely exhausted. Snufkin carries her to Moominmamma's house. One of the following nights, when the explosions can be heard from the sea, the Moomins try to get to the bottom of the matter. From the beach, they see a rowboat on the horizon with someone sitting in it who looks very much like Mr. Hemul. But what is Hemul doing in a rowboat at night?

The pretty young girl wakes up from her deep sleep and says she is looking for Mr. Hemul. He, however, does not know the girl at all. At the moment, Mr. Hemul has other things on his mind. He is anxious because he is eagerly awaiting a letter from the Botanical Society. He hopes to receive confirmation that he has discovered an unknown plant. The arrival of the letter naturally gives rise to a huge surprise fireworks display, and the matter of the unknown girl and the nightly explosions is finally cleared up...

The Moomins' house has collapsed because the ten children that Mula's mother brought with her have been running riot. There is no peace and quiet to be found anywhere, and Snufkin convinces Moomin to build his own house. But Moomin soon realizes that building a house is easier said than done. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and in the end, the ten whirlwinds find the spot where Moomin is building his new house.

Moominpappa has inherited a real castle from a distant relative. He doesn't really want to accept the inheritance, but when he learns that ghosts are haunting the castle, he changes his mind. No monster awaits him as the castle ghost, but rather Lady Ellen, who has been inhabiting the old walls for seven centuries now. So it's no surprise that the gracefully floating night ghost is a real chatterbox, looking for someone to talk to.

Snorkfräulein has a secret: her brother, the inventor and airship designer Snork, has developed a liquid that could be groundbreaking in the field of airship construction. When a piece of fabric is soaked in Snork's new tincture, it becomes completely airtight and tear-resistant. When Snorkmaiden, Little My, and Moomin blow soap bubbles, they turn out to be quite large, but they burst far too quickly. Snorkmaiden then has the idea of adding Snork's fabric tincture to the soap bubble water. Moments later, huge unbreakable soap bubbles float through the air. By chance, the three discover that you can even crawl inside the very large soap bubbles to float through the air with them. But the joy of the discovery is short-lived, because once you are traveling through the air in such a soap bubble, only the wind determines where the journey will take you.

Hidden deep in the forests of Moominvalley, an old tree stump has stood for more than 500 years. Leaves have not grown on it for as long as anyone can remember, and yet the old tree refuses to rot away. The elders in the valley remember that there is something special about the tree. One day, Moomin and his friends are playing hide-and-seek near the old tree stump—there is hardly any other place in the forest that is so mysterious—and they discover that there is indeed still life slumbering in the tree's ruins.

Snorkmaiden is caught in a thunderstorm and seeks shelter under a lone tree. This turns out to be a serious mistake, as the tree is promptly struck by lightning. Snorkmaiden faints. When she wakes up, she suddenly has the ability to see into the future. Being able to see the future has certain advantages: after all, this gift saves Snufkin from a serious accident. But it can also be quite unsettling to see what lies ahead for the Moomins. Finally, Sniff has a brilliant idea for how he can use Snorkmaiden's gift to realize his old dream of becoming rich.

Is Moominmamma's family really getting tired of her cooking? It seems impossible, but Little My unabashedly claims that she is getting very bored with always having pancakes, and Moominpappa at least implies that the best dish he ever had was one not cooked by his beloved wife. As always, when in a quandary, Moominmamma consults Grandma's book of recipes and cures and, sure enough, finds "What To Do When Your Family Grows Tired of Your Cooking". Taking Snufkin along, she embarks on the journey that the recipe calls for, to find the secret ingredient necessary for the Irresistible Dish.

As it seems Moominpappa has left his turbulent youth out of his memoirs (with the usual self aggrandizement of autobiographers he thought them too turbulent for print), he one day decides to at least tell about it so it won't be completely lost to posterity. We learn about his escape from the terrible orphanage and how he meets Fredriksson and sails off with him in his ship "The Oshun Oxtra" (his friend the Fuddler isn't a very good speller), how they managed to launch the ship and, finally, whom Moominpappa inadvertently managed to rescue.

As we all know, Little My is happily aggressive, with no inhibitions and no hang-ups. She gets very angry at times but never sulks, and always enjoys herself immensely. All in all a very likeable person. She always does exactly as she pleases, but with the sensible proviso that it shouldn't too much displease anyone else - and therefore it's that much more of a shock to everyone when one day she starts behaving simply abominably. The general consensus is that she's got out of bed on the wrong side - difficult as that may be when your bed is set flush against the wall...

One awful day, Moominpappa's chair breaks. This might not sound irreparable, but creative people are funny - they rely on certain material comforts for their inspiration to run freely. Without the chair to sit in Moominpappa can no longer write, and although he is brought new old chairs by the dozen somehow the sit differently, they weren't his chair, and they don't inspire him one bit. Moomin plays an important part in the destruction of the chair, but fortunately also the main part in its resurrection.

Again, Moominpappa is talked into telling the others about his stormy youth - never a difficult task with autobiographers. He tells us about how the Fuddler met the Muddle and how they came to share the buttons and the coffee tin; about the re-appearance of the ghost and how he came to share quarters with Moominpappa, about how Fredriksson finally finished his new Oshun Oxtra which brought them up first into the air and then down into the sea, from which they were saved by Edward the Booble, and last, how he came to meet the charming young Moomin maiden who later was to become Moominmamma.