Mymble, an easy-going teller of tall tales

From a young age, she was often left in charge of her very many siblings, but that responsibility was too much for her carefree spirit! She much prefers her independent life in Moominvalley, where she is free to do as she pleases, finding delight in small pleasures and living in the moment.

A natural storyteller, Mymble frequently tells tall tales – for example, that she was born in a clam or that she has an uncle who keeps two white mice in his beard – but only to entertain herself. She also has a dramatic streak. When Moominpappa and his friends first meet her, she tells them that she is terribly ill… when actually she had been left behind as a punishment for bad behaviour.

“Snufkin is her half-brother.”

Mymble’s mother is also known as the Mymble, which can be a little confusing at times! The mother and daughter share an easygoing nature and a wish to enjoy life to the fullest. Like all her female relatives, Mymble usually wears her long red hair in a ‘haughty mymble hairdo, glossy and tight and a soft-reddish yellow like a little onion’. This hair is her pride and joy – not to mention the envy of Mrs Fillyjonk. Mymble brushes it often and washes it in rainwater every fifth day. Unlike her round mother or her tiny sister in stature, Mymble is light and thin with long legs. Snufkin is her half-brother.

What is Mymble’s party trick?

Mymble is a lovely dancer, and she takes to acting very quickly too – when the Moomin family find themselves living in a theatre and Moominpappa writes a play for them to stage, Mymble is very insistent that her character must be eaten by a lion at the end. 

What does Mymble desire most in life?

Mymble longs for romance but is unlucky in love, usually because the object of her affection is an unsuitable sort, for example, a pirate or a fan of winter sports. Happily, she can cheer herself up and move on quite quickly.

A little-known fact about Mymble:

For a short while, Mymble lived on a haunted island together with Moominpappa and his friends, Hodgkins, The Joxter and The Muddler.

Mymble quotes:

• ‘Morning. Have you swallowed a lemon?’ (The Exploits of Moominpappa, 1950)
• ‘I was born in a clam and wasn’t bigger than a waterflea when mother found me in her aquarium!’ (The Exploits of Moominpappa, 1950)
• ‘Dear reader, for your own well-being I beg of you to be most careful with Mymbles. They are interested in anything and can’t ever understand that you’re not interested in them.’ (Moominpappa in The Exploits of Moominpappa, 1950)
• ‘You can lie on a bridge and watch the water flowing past. Or run, or wade through a swamp in your red boots. Or roll yourself up and listen to the rain falling on the roof. It’s very easy to enjoy yourself.’ (Moominvalley in November, 1970)
• ‘Now I’m full of ferocity, she thought. I could do anything, but instead I’ll do nothing. Isn’t it marvellous to do just what one feels like?’ (Moominvalley in November, 1970)