The Box of Delights is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield. It is a sequel to The Midnight Folk, and was first published in 1935. Also known as "When The Wolves Were Running" Plot Kay Harker is returning from boarding school when he finds himself mixed up in a battle to possess a magical box. It allows the owner to shrink in size, to fly swiftly, to go into the past and to experience the magical wonders contained within the box. The current owner of the box is an old Punch and Judy man called Cole Hawlings whom Kay meets at the railway station. They develop an instant rapport, which leads Cole to confide that he is being chased by a magician called Abner Brown and his gang, which includes Kay's former governess. For safety, Cole (who turns out to be the medieval philosopher and alleged magician Ramon Llull) entrusts the box to Kay. The schoolboy then goes on to have many adventures as he protects the box from those who wish to use it for bad deeds. Adaptations BBC radio There have been several radio adaptations of The Box of Delights. Children's Hour This six-part adaptation, with a script by Robert Holland and John Keir Cross, was produced three times by the BBC as part of its Children's Hour, in 1943, 1948 and 1955. It used as incidental music the "Carol Symphony" by Victor Hely-Hutchinson 1943 Kay Harker: John Gilpin Abner Brown: Robert Farquharson Cole Hawlings: Hay Petrie Rat: Philip Wade Mouse: Charles Hawtrey Narrator: Norman Shelley Peter Jones: Peter Mullins Jemima Jones: Sheila Potts Maria Jones: Dorothy Gordon Caroline Louisa: Joan Carol Foxy man: Malcolm Graeme and Gibb McLaughlin Chubby man: Wilfred Babbage Sylvia Pouncer: Joan Young Inspector: Dick Francis Rogers: Malcolm Graeme The Head: Arthur Bush 1948 Kay Harker: David Page Cole Hawlings: Harcourt Williams Caroline Louisa: Rosemary Davis Foxy Man: Carleton Hobbs Chubby Man: Wilfred Babbage Peter Jones: David Spenser Maria Jones: Dorothy Gordon Jemima Jones: Audrey Blair Porter: Preston Lockwood Sylvia Pouncer: Gladys Young Rat: David Kossoff The Inspector: Dick Francis Pirate: Arthur Bush Mouse: Charles Hawtrey Thomson: Arthur Bush Narrator: Norman Shelley 1955 Kay Harker: Patricia Hayes Cole Hawlings: Deering Wells Caroline Louisa: Rosemary Davis The Foxy Man: Carleton Hobbs The Chubby Man: Wilfred Babbage Porter: Eric Lugg Peter Jones: William Simons Maria Jones: Dorothy Gordon Jemima Jones: Marise Hepworth Rat: Ernest Jay