About the book: 1980 / Roald Dahl began writing in the 40s and is now recognized as one of the masters of scary stories. He was born in 1916 in south Wales, his parents are Norwegian. He himself lives in England. Until the outbreak of the Second World War, before he joined the British Air Force, he worked in London for an oil company. For some time he worked in the United States, and it was there that his interest in writing first arose. His first twelve stories - all related to the theme of flight - were published in leading American magazines, and then included in the book "I'm moving to reception." Since then, he had no doubt about his calling, and his stories became bestsellers and were translated into many languages. Some of them were dramatized and shown on British television in 1979. Oddly enough, Ruald Dahl also devoted his talent to children's books, wonderful fantasies such as James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, " The Wonderful Story of Henry the Sugar,” which are loved by children all over the world. It’s hard to believe that the author of these completely harmless works is the same person who, in his “adult” stories, often presents scary, cruel and creepy twists of fate. These stories are a kind of edifying short stories, in which the hand of fate mercilessly intervenes, striking the unfortunate victim in the most vulnerable place, sometimes sentencing her to sophisticated eternal torment. An example is the story "William and Mary", in which the heroine (her late husband's brain, through medical experimentation, retains clinical life and sensitivity, one of his eyes retains the ability to see) discovers that she can infuriate him with impunity by blowing smoke at him while smoking , including their favorite TV programs (previously banned in the house) and generally taking revenge on him for the tyranny that lasted their entire life together. Ruald Dahl’s stories show a high sense of justice. No matter how terrible the ending is, we feel that such an ending is appropriate and even inevitable. In some stories he turns to the supernatural. Others are based on well-founded scientific theories taken to the point of absurdity. Thus, in the story “Royal Jelly,” an enthusiastic beekeeper and his wife begin to feed their slender little girl with this substance, famous for its nutritional value. After some time, the wife notices with horror that the baby is developing the properties of a queen bee larva. Her husband, however, does not see anything undesirable in this - as it turns out, he himself has been quietly enjoying royal jelly for several years, and even something bee-like has appeared in his appearance. His body began to be covered with a thick growth of black and yellow hair, and suddenly his wife sees him in a new, terrible form - he moves around the room with a buzz, carrying a plump body on short legs. “Lamb to the Slaughter” was first published in 1954. There is no doubt that Mary Maloney's husband deserved his fate. Does Mary, in turn, deserve to get away with the crime? And will she really get away with it? Think for yourself. Lack of certainty is also one of the features of Dahl's stories.