A prophet of freedom and happiness arrives in Moominvalley and encourages everyone to live freely and boldly. Thus the squirrels eat their winter hoard and the milk bars are turned into beer halls, because the prophet has said that ‘we must be happier’. Snorkmaiden sets off to find a new male partner, Moominpappa moves into a tree canopy, and Moominmamma begins to live freely without obligations as well. Everything is free and easy until the rasqual Stinky summons a prophet who preaches guilt and sin. A battle for souls breaks out, which of course ends in reconciliation.

This story probably contains the most iconic comic strip from Tove Jansson’s Moomin series, in which Moominpappa decides to go “back to nature”. He has built himself a cosy nest in an apple tree, complete with a pillow, a kerosene lamp and a mirror. Sausages and a pineapple hang from a branch, and Moominpappa reads an Agatha Christie book under a blanket while drinking red wine. The illustrations in the comic strip were included in the first series of Moomin mugs designed by Tove Slotte for Arabia in 1990, with only the speech bubbles removed. It is officially called Mug Green, but is also known as The Green Comic Strip. 

The panel where Moominmamma floats happily in the sea with a flower wreath on her head brings to mind Tove Jansson’s brother Per Olov Jansson’s photograph of Tove swimming in the natural pool on the island of Klovharun with a flower wreath on her head. Tove Jansson began wearing a plastic flower wreath she had made herself on her birthday after Swedish photographer Hans Gedda took a picture of her wearing the wreath in 1967, 11 years after the comic strip’s first publication.

Moomin Begins a New Life was published in 1956. The Finnish name is Aloitamme uuden elämän, and the Swedish name is Vi börjar ett nytt liv.