The First Gremlin
The very first gremlin to which the human characters—and the reader—is introduced is instantly memorable because of the author’s vivid use of metaphor in his physical description:
“He had a strawberry nose which looked like the moon through a telescope, and his head, with its stubby horns, was as bald as could be.”
The History of the Gremlins
Metaphorical language is also used effectively to situate the setting when the humans learn the history of the race of strange little beings:
“It was many many years ago, more almost then you could count, when the earth was just beginning to stir in its sleep. England then was a country of dark forests and greasy swamps, and all the land was shrouded in a thin white mist.”
Why Planes?
Gremlins finally make themselves known to humans as a result of damage to airplanes. A metaphor used to describe planes conveys the simplicity of the gremlin race, but does little to undermine the purpose and intent of their plans:
"We will follow those big tin birds wherever they go to get revenge for the loss of our homes. We will make mischief for them, and we will harry and tease the men who fly them, until we obtain some satisfaction for all the harm that has been done to us.”
Never Fly with the Flu
One of the pilots is sick with the flu and his gremlin companion warns that he can’t fly with the flu and shouldn’t even try. Metaphor efficiently conveys just how bad a case of the flu he’s got as well as why it was certainly not wise to try:
“He had a temperature of about 102°, and a head that felt like a kitchen range. He was frozen stiff...his head was spinning…he felt like death.”
A Lesson: Never Offend Gremlin Kids
Gremlin children are called “widgets” and asexual until maturity when one out of eleven will become female. One of the humans dismisses this information as utter nonsense. The response by a couple of widgets present is to quickly plot and carry out a punishment they apparently deem appropriate:
“Two of them got hold of the cigarette, hoisted it onto their shoulders and, taking a little run along the top of his shoe, drove the hot end like a battering ram into his ankle.”
