History Creator / RuthPark

Ruth Park (1917 – 2010) was an Australian author. Her best-known works are the novels ''The Harp in the South'' and ''Playing Beatie Bow'', and the children's series ''The Muddle-Headed Wombat''.

!!Other works by Ruth Park include examples of:

* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: All of the main characters have their moments, including Mouse, since she often gets disrespected due to her size and plain appearance.
* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: Tabby is the only one who doesn't regularly wear clothes, but when he does, it varies, depending on the chapter or just the situation. In the case of Mouse, she wears tiny glasses which is sometimes hardly noticable.
* ADogNamedDog: The main characters of ''The Muddle-Headed Wombat'' are a wombat named Wombat, a mouse named Mouse, and a tabby cat named Tabby.
* AndTheAdventureContinues: At the end of each chapter, including the last one.
* BuffoonishTomcat: In ''The Muddle-Headed Wombat'' series, Tabby is vain and neurotic and frequently the butt of slapstick disasters inadvertantly brought about by Wombat.
* ButtMonkey: Tabby, but, in fairness, all three friends have their own moments. Mouse ended up being stuck under the pillow the other two were sleeping on, just because [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished she tried to check up on Tabby during the night.]]
* CatsAreMean: Tabby can act like a real jerk, but then again, he was on his own for a very long time and had to possibly develop a self-centered view of himself to survive. [[YouAreNotAlone Now he has two friends to keep him in check.]]
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Wombat, of course.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tabby, and sometimes Wombat as well.
* OminousOwl: There is one in the 4th chapter, antagonizing the trio for setting a tree house in it's home tree. [[spoiler:[[It decides not to bother the trio anymore when the treehouse ends up underneath the tree instead.]]
* {{Malaproper}}: One of the signs of the muddle-headed wombat's muddle-headedness.
* OnlySaneWoman: Mouse, but she also has her own moments, like when [[spoiler:[[she chose to take a [[ItMakesSenseInTheContext break from taming the Circus Beetles]], by hiding them in a package and going to take a rest in a hidding spot. The already displeased ringmaster didn't approve of this. However, she just wanted to make sure the beetles get their rest too.]]
* PredatorPreyFriendship: Tabby and Mouse have a genuine friendship, [[AnimalJingoism though sometimes Tabby acts arrogant to her and she mocks him in return.]] Tabby is actually scared of wild rats, due to their apparently savage behavior.
* SquashedFlat: This is the go-to threat of Wombat to those who offend them and in that case you better wish you are at least middle-sized and elastic (like Tabby). Sometimes Wombat also does this to other characters, if they seem overly stressed out.
** And in one case, a huge dog, expectedly, does this to Wombat himself (though chooses not to maul him). Wombat considers himself to be greatly humiliated (since he thinks only wombats do that).
* SpeciesSurname: Both Mouse and Wombat have this, although Mouse's name is actually the Long-Tailed Bush-Mouse.
* TeamMom: Most certainly, Mouse is this. Often, but not always, Tabby plays the {{Team Dad}}. Wombat tends to sometimes be the {{The Baby Of The Bunch}} but his appearance and behavior more resembles the overweight, rather dumb and sometimes rebellious yet well-meaning teenage son of the other two.
* TrueCompanions: Ultimately, the trio, since, with all their faults and shortcomings, they couldn't ask for better friends then each other.
* VitriolicBestBuds: While Wombat and the Mouse have a friendship based on them being a duo of nice fun-loving people. Tabby and Mouse form the intelligent, responsible duo who takes care of Wombat. But Wombat and Tabby has the most vitriolic friendship since they are both [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold jerks with hearts of gold]] who tend to cause {{Amusing Injuries}} or {{Kick The Dog}} moments to each other. But, eventually, they form a bumbling, comedic duo on their own. Which, in turn, ends up accidentaly [[HereWeGoAgain causing problems for Mouse.]]
* YourSizeMayVary: Mouse, most often when she decided to travel on top of Wombat's old scarecrow hat. When she's on the ground, she grows to about 1/3 the size of Tabby.

* CatsAreMean: Tabby can act like a real jerk, but then again, he was on his own for a very long time and had to possibly develop a self-centered view of himself to survive.[[YouAreNotAlone Now he has two friends to keep him in check.

* CatsAreMean: Tabby can act like a real jerk, but then again, he was on his own for a very long time and had to possibly develop a self-centered view of himself to survive.]] [[YouAreNotAlone Now he has two friends to keep him in check.

* TeamMom: Most certainly, Mouse is this. Often, but not always, Tabby plays the {{TeamDad}}. Wombat tends to sometimes be the {{The Baby Of The Bunch}} but his appearance and behavior more resembles the overweight, rather dumb and sometimes rebellious yet well-meaning teenage son of the other two.

* VitriolicBestBuds: While Wombat and the Mouse have a friendship based on them being a duo of nice fun-loving people. Tabby and Mouse form the intelligent, responsible duo who takes care of Wombat. But Wombat and Tabby has the most vitriolic friendship since they are both [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold jerks with hearts of gold]] who tend to cause {{AmusingInjuries}} or {{KickTheDog}} moments to each other. But, eventually, they form a bumbling, comedic duo on their own. Which, in turn, ends up accidentaly [[HereWeGoAgain causing problems for Mouse.]]

* ADogNamedDog: The main characters of ''The Muddle-Headed Wombat'' are a wombat named Wombat, a mouse named Mouse, and a tabby cat named Tabby.

* TeamMom: Most certainly, Mouse is this. Often, but not always, Tabby plays the {{TeamDad}}. Wombat tends to sometimes be the {{TheBabyOfTheBunch}} but his appearance and behavior more resembles the overweight, rather dumb and sometimes rebellious yet well-meaning teenage son of the other two.

* TeamMom: Most certainly, Mouse is this. Often, but not always, Tabby plays the {{TeamDad}}. Wombat tends to sometimes be the {{BabyOfTheBunch}} but his appearance and behavior more resembles the overweight, rather dumb and sometimes rebellious yet well-meaning teenage son of the other two.

** And in one case, a huge dog, expectedly, does this to Wombat himself (though chooses not to maul him). Wombat considers himself to be greatly humiliated (since he thinks only Wombats do that).

* OnlySaneWoman: Mouse, but she also has her own moments, like when [[spoiler:[[she chose to take a [[ItMakesSenseInTheContext break from taming the Circus Beetles]], by hiding them in a package and going to take a rest in a hidding spot. The already displeased ringmaster didn't approve of this. However, she just wanted to make sure the beetles get their rest too.]]]]

* OnlySaneWoman: Mouse, but she also has her own moments, like when [[spoiler:[[she chose to take a [[ItMakesSenseInTheContext break from taming the Circus Beetles]], by hiding them in a package and going to take a rest in a hidding spot. The already displeased ringmaster didn't approve of this. However, she just wanted to make sure the beetles get their rest too. ]]]]