owner of the sweet shop. "She was a small skinny old hag with a moustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a green gooseberry. She never smiled. She never welcomed us when we went in, and the only times she spoke were when she said things like, 'I'm watchin' you so keep yer thievin' fingers off them chocolates!' or 'I don't want you in 'ere just to look around! Either you forks out or you gets out!'" (Boy, 1984) Dahl, being sneaky like the four boys he was close to, decided to get revenge on Mrs. Pratchett, so they slipped a dead mouse into the Gobstoppers jar when she was turned around. Needless to say, Dahl and his four friends got quite a beating for this from the headmaster, who was the next cruel figure in his life. From having headmasters who beat him, to Matrons who terrorized him, he used these experiences to an advantage, and wrote scrumptious stories which included characters like himself and the dreaded authority figures. Despite all of this nonsense, in each story, there was the contrasting role of a "rescuer", an adult who helps the child to triumph, for example, in Matilda , Miss Honey rescues Matilda from Miss Trunchbull and her own family. Dahl repeatedly used this theme because when he was away at boarding school, where he couldn't have his rescuer (his mother), he would fantasize about it and often wished he were with her. The key to