“Stig Of The Dump” - by Clive King

Chapter 1
The Ground Gives Way, pages 1 – 11

What had Barney been warned of? The ground giving way near edge of chalk pit
What did Barney think about when he was looking at the chalk pit?
He thought of all the sticks of chalk that must have been made & all the blackboards in all
the schools that must have been written on; he thought about how long the people must
have dug to get the chalk & leave such a big hole
What was it used for now? rubbish dump
What sort of things did people throw in the pit? What items were found at bottom of pit?
things people didn’t want – bottles, tins, string, car tyres, hats, nuts & bolts, basin, vacuum
cleaners; moss, elder bushes & nettles also at bottom of pit
Why do you think Barney went to the chalk pit?
Because he had nothing else better to do & he wanted to see for himself about the “ground
giving way” at the edge of the chalk pit, that his Grandma & Lou warned him about
Why might the creepers be called “Old Man’s Beard”? because
the creepers were very long and
bushy and all tangled up, resembling the beard of an old man
Describe where Barney landed. on a bank of moss in some sort of cave or den
Why couldn’t he move his legs?
His legs were tangled up w/ yards of creeper from the face of the cliff
What did Barney see in the cave?
Looking up he saw roof, or part of roof, made of elder branches, a rotten old carpet &
rusty old sheets of iron; he then saw Stig – something with a lot of shaggy black hair & two
bright black eyes
What did dump look like when he fell in?
seemed partly a cave dug into chalk; partly a shelter built out over mouth of the cave

What did Stig make to help Barney? Used

Barney’s knife to make a blade from a piece of
flint to cut the creepers that Barney’s legs were tied to

Why do you think Stig took Barney’s knife? Stig found the knife useful & thought it was a good
item to add to his collection
Why did Barney say “I wish I lived here” ?
Because he had never seen anything like the collection of stuff that Stig had in the den &
thought it was all very interesting
Weed killer
What did the writing on the “water” say?
What was the ‘plumbing’ in the cave? It was made using a bicycle mudguard to catch the
water which went down a old vacuum cleaner tube
What was the lamp made from? An old teapot filled with oil & used a shoelace for a wick
What does it mean – “his hands looked cleverer than his face”? It
means that Stig was clever at
making things even if he looked like he was not very smart or bright
Why wasn’t Barney bothered by the rustlings of the dry leaves when he leaves?
Because he thought of Stig in his den & thought of his encounter with Stig & what a
special friend he now had
How does Barney describe Stig to Lou & Grandma?
As a “sort of boy” who wore rabbit skins & lives in cave; uses vacuum cleaner to get water
& puts chalk in his bath; describes Stig as his friend
Do Barney’s sister and grandmother believe him about Stig? They think he is imaginary friend
Why would Barney put Stig’s flint under his pillow? because Barney treasured the gift from Stig
and wanted to keep it close to him
Do you think we are supposed to feel sorry for Stig? Why?
No. Stig seemed to have all the things he needed & the book talks about Barney being
envious of where Stig lived & how he lived; doesn’t suggest that Stig is not happy.

Chapter 2
Digging With Stig

What time of year is it? Autumn

Why do you think Barney and Lou are at their grandmother’s house? Because it is school holidays
and their parents need to work
Lou seems older because she looks
Do you think Lou is older or younger than Barney? Why?
bigger & she always seems to boss Barney around & hints that he is childish
Why didn’t Barney want to go into town? Because he wanted to go visit Stig again
Why did Barney start to doubt that Stig was real?
The sun was bright, the trees & the robin squeaking all made a beautiful scene so Barney
suddenly doubted whether Stig was real or whether it was because he bumped his head,
that he thought it happened.
What made him decide that Stig was real? The flint inside his pocket & the lump on the back
of his head
How do you think Barney felt when he didn’t see the hole he had made the day before?
Barney must have felt uncertain whether he did really fall down in the pit & meet Stig the
day before. He would have felt disappointed too, that maybe Stig was not real.
What do you think had happened to the hole? That
Stig had probably mended the hole because
he wasn’t the type of person who would leave a hole in the roof
What did Barney want to take to Stig? Presents for Stig; bringing something from the garden;
wanted to bring bottles & food
What did he take? apples, carrots, ball of garden string; later he took jam jars & tin cans

What had been used to cover the hole in the cliff? piece of linoleum & piles of branches on the side
What did Barney do with the carrots? Why? dangled bunch of carrots down w/ string to knock-on
Barney’s door
Stig gave a big smile w/ his mouthful after he took
How did Barney know that Stig liked the carrots?
a bite of the carrots & signalled Barney to come down to the pit
What does Stig’s reaction to the nettle stings tell you about him as a person? Reflects that Stig is and
easy-going person & would not a fuss over small matters
Similie for Barney’s fist?

Similie for tree that leant over the pit? ”like the neck of a camel”
Why did the dump look different on the next day after he fell in? The
den looked more cheerful, with
sunlight shining down through the autumn leaves & ash & sycamore seeds twiddling down
from trees on top & Stig had cleaned it up a little bit
Why do you think Barney almost expected Stig to take the apple with his teeth? Because
Stig seemed to be
less civilised than other people Barney knew & Barney had seen how eager Stig was to eat
the carrots; Stig’s hands were probably also very dirty
Why didn’t Stig’s den look cheerful? Because
the den was gloomy & dark, especially with the roof
mended & the den was only lit by flickering of the lamp
What did Stig use to dig with? bedstead leg, broken cast iron shoe-scraper, iron bar (like
car-jack)
So people were not suspicious that
Why were the new piles of chalk placed away from Stig’s door?
something was happening inside the den or that someone was living there
Why would Stig not want people know that he was at the den? Because
he didn’t want people to
disrupt his way of living & also there was the danger of hunters hunting him down,
maybe wanting to bring him in for research because he was different
Why didn’t Barney invite Stig to lunch? Because nobody believed he was real anyway
 Shocked that Stig
How do you think Barney’s Grandmother would have reacted to Stig coming to lunch?
was real but still welcoming; cautious as to whether Stig would cause any harm &
maybe a little upset that he was brining dirt into the house
How did Barney get the jam jars to Stig? Using cart that grandfather had made (big wooden
box w/ wheels on it)
Why did Barney think that Stig had “got brains”? because
Stig thought to tie the string that
Barney had used to lower the box of jam jars to the ribbon on a straw hat, making a
cargo-sling, to more easily transport the jam jars down to the pit
Why didn’t Barney let himself down on the rope? He
had just tried lowering the cart down with
the string & the string broke & cart nearly fell straight down to the bottom
What do you think Stig might use the jars and tins for?

Because Barney always liked to

Why do you think Barney normally carried a tin opener with him?
explore things & the tin opener may come in handy
What did Barney make out of the flattened can? Barney
hammered at the flattened tin can with
an unbroken flint-stone & made it into a scoop to shovel the chalk onto the truck
Why did Barney think Stig was clever?
What did Stig make out of the tin cans? Stig
made a stove-pipe out of the tin cans, after taking
out all the bottoms of the tins & then fitting them together & pinching together the
end of the tin.
The fireplace was built with chalk-blocks & big
Describe the fireplace that the two built.
flints, with the bath turned upside down on top & there was mantelpiece & chimney,
w/ flue leading from the hole in the upturned bath, through the roof & into the open
What did Barney decide to do with the jars? Barney
stacked the jars on its side, into the frame
of the wooden box that he knocked out the bottom of, to make a window for the den.
Stig led Barney to get the red clay that was between the topsoil & the chalk from
the chuck of cliff-top that came down from recent landslide. The red clay was damp
& squidgy & they used it to fill the gaps between the jam-jars
Why did Barney say, “That’s that!” after they had finished the window? It was something that his
Grandfather often said when he had finished a job.
To put on the end of the jars to shut out the dark or
What did they use the ends of the tins for?
if Stig didn’t want people to look in; to use it like curtains
Do you think Stig understood when Barney said he had to go home? Why? I think that Stig just
thought Barney was “going home” as before & would return very quickly. I think
he doesn’t understand that Barney doesn’t normally stay with Grandma
Do you think Stig will still be there at Christmas? Stig
will probably be there at Christmas
because that is he lives. It is his home & he’s stayed there for some time
Chapter 3

It Warms you Twice, pages 36 - 43

What time of year is it? It’s

Christmas & winter time; there was icy frost on the grass &
the leaves were frozen, the tree roots were icy.
In your own words, describe the dump and Stig’s cave when Barney got there. The
dump & Stig’s cave
were frozen & icy; nettles were dead at bottom of pit; old cans had lumps of ice; no
sign of life … only some ashes of a dead fire & a faint smell of wood smoke
What did Barney think was wrong with Stig? Wondered whether Stig was cross with him; but
Stig had a cold
That he moved very
“He moved as if his joints were rusty”, what does this tell you about how Stig moved?
slowly & was shaky & weak; that his movements were not smooth
How does Barney describe the sound of frozen leaves? crunched like cornflakes
because the axe was not sharp & he knew it
Why do you think Stig did not take the axe?
wouldn’t cut the wood; as well he was feeling very sick & cold
Why did Barney’s grandfather say that wood would warm you twice? once when you cut it; once when
you burn it
Why did Barney climb the tree? So
he could tie the rope around the half cut tree, stopping it
from falling & smashing the fence
Why was Stig cutting so quickly with the saw? At
first Stig doubted usefulness of saw, but once
it cut into the groove, Stig was woken-up by how well the saw was able to cut &
started to cut very quickly (skinned Barney’s knuckle)
How had seeing the axe and the saw changed Stig’s mood? Why? The
sharpness & effectiveness of
the two tools energised Stig & he became excited & eager to get to work
A big can with Slapiton Paint written on it was thing
What frightened Barney in the dark?
that was in Barney’s path & scared him; then a white thing flew past him => it was
an owl
Do you think Barney thinks about his Grandfather often? Yes,
because he refers to his Grandfather
often, recalling what he says, what he did or how some of the items he has now,
were given to him by his Grandfather or belonged to him
Why do you think “snore snore” was used to describe the cutting of the wood? At
Snoring sound is a
hoarse droning sound, like that made with the saw cutting the wood. Also the
idiom: saw wood = to snore loudly while sleeping
What words are used to describe the tree falling down? From
the trunk came a splitting, rending,
screeching sound; there was a rush & crash & splintering of branches as the crest hit
the ground
What did the two boys do with the tree once it had been brought down? cut the trunk into three
By rubbing the chair leg, sharpened at one end, & wood
How did Stig try start the fire?
together to cause a spark & when it started to smoke, Stig added a handful of grass
& blew on it (items used: chair let, cracked eggcup, block of wood, bowstring)
What do you think Stig thought when he saw Barney lighting the matches? He
was fascinated &
amazed at how easily the matches were able to light a flame
Why wouldn’t Stig waste another match? He wanted to save them up
Lively; detailed; realistic; told a story. Drawing was
Describe what Stig drew on the wall.
hunting scene of hunters chasing after animals, killing deer with spears & bows &
arrows
No. The way they spoke
Do you think Barney’s sister and grandmother believed that Stig was real?
and reacted to what Barney has told them, it seems they think Stig is not real

Barney – lonely; thinks a lot; practical; kind; smart; a good friend; imaginative; honest; adventurous; generous

Stig – lonely; ingenious; loner; practical, unwitting; shy; easy-going; kind-hearted