“But you do not stop to smell flowers when you are running for your life.”
— Freddy and the Bean Home News
Freddy and the Bean Home News (1943) takes place under the shadows of war. Iron scrap drives and rationing of gasoline and other products are regular features of life now, although since this is the relatively liberal rationing of the United States, and its main protagonist, Freddy the Pig, retains a distinct interest in food, everyone is still eating quite well, enjoying abundant servings of various ice cream flavors and little cakes. (I have to assume, based solely on the books so far, that author Walter Brooks was quite fond of eating, and particularly fond of homemade desserts.) Still, conspicuous consumption of other substances—notably gasoline—is looked down upon. A bitter comment from the town sheriff references the commonly held belief of the period that the wealthy were not exactly doing their fair share of rationing and walking instead of driving.
[Wartime propaganda and other ethical issues, and an owl flying to the legal defense]