Summary of The Wish by Roald Dahl

Summary of The Wish by Roald Dahl 

Short Summary

English author Roald Dahl is the author of "The Wish," a short tale. The primary character of this tale, a young child, created it entirely in his or her own mind. The main character of this tale is shown engaging in creative play with a crimson carpet. The characters in this narrative are fictional and remain unidentified. The mother of the main character is also referenced in this story's conclusion.

The readers are confused as a result of the term "The Wish." After successfully navigating the red carpet and entering the building, the main character in this story is supposed to get a dog for his birthday. However, the youngster in Birthday loses his creative game when he slips on the carpet's dark patch, putting an end to his desire for the dog.

The setting for this narrative was the staircase leading up to the front entrance of the home and the hallway inside, which included a sizable red carpet. In this creative game, winning depends on successfully navigating the red-carpeted hallway by stepping on the appropriate coloured tiles. This creative game involves reaching inside from outside the entrance door's steps by crossing the red carpet of the hall while stepping on the appropriate colored tiles.

Main Summary

An anonymous youngster is shown inspecting the scab on his kneecap in the first shot. On the steps leading up to his front door, he was alone. On his kneecap, he had an old wound, and the scab was brown. He knelt down to have a good look at it. He deliberated for a while before deciding to remove the scab from his wound. He placed the scab that he had carefully removed with his nail on his thigh. He used his finger to flip the scab while he massaged the area around his incision. The edge of the red carpet was where the scab landed.

The carpet's many hues caught his eye as he approached the entrance. In those carpet colours, his imagination ran to several scenarios. He imaginatively came up with a strategy employing the many hues of the carpet. In his mind, the reddish patches represented a lump of coal that could burn him.

The snakes that could bite him and kill him were the ones with the black patches. Only the areas painted yellow served as safe passageways for him to cross the wide carpet and enter. He would receive a pet for his birthday if he could just get inside. To achieve his aim, the youngster devised an extremely difficult and dreadful strategy (The Wish of completing his game and getting a puppy). The youngster began to advance in his creative game. He only walked on the places that were yellow as he went. He continued to advance gently, stepping within the secure area (Yellow colour).

He began to sway as he approached the midway mark. He waved his arms, keeping his body in balance. He failed to advance properly. Because to his body's posture, he was unable to turn around, which caused him to fear. He was alarmed by the black patches (poisonous snakes) in the distance. He spent a considerable amount of time there in the yellow safe zone. He hesitated while considering his options for moving forward. He had to press on since he was afraid he wouldn't get the dog.

He carefully utilized his judgment, took a moment to reflect, and then took another step. The youngster had to choose between two options just before reaching the halfway mark. He was given the choice of moving to the left or the right. He found it harder to tread on the left side, although there weren't as many dark areas there. He so made the decision to advance via the left side. He moved forward on the yellow marking. He unintentionally touched the dark area that was just a centimetre away. He was in danger of getting bitten by a snake, which is why he felt such terror. But he was spared by fortunate. He once more had the decision to make. He could have gone right but he went left instead because he feared black poisonous snakes. 

In his mind, the snake glanced up to check whether he had touched it. The youngster, in a terrified tone, exclaimed, "I'm not going to touch you! You cannot bite me! You know I'm not going to touch you!" He continued on his way. His following move was a long one. He decided to take it carefully. But as he sprang ahead, his feet landed on the broad places. He attempted but failed to return. He attempted to move all of his weight on his front foot but was unable to do so. He was completely trapped.

The snakes began to move beneath his feet. He began to wobble with fear. He attempted to balance himself by waving his arms, but it did not work. He began to sink into the darkness gradually. As he touched the black, he let out a loud shout. His mother was hunting for him outside in the sunshine, well behind the house.