SELIGOR'S CASTLE

Fun for all the children of the world

Seligor is one of four sisters, there is my sister Sylvia, she is the eldest. Then there is my sister Toni, two years younger, she is the second born. Next comes Seligor (Dorothy), that's me, three years younger than Toni. Then  the last little girl, Kathleen, who is four years younger then myself.  We couldn't really pass our frocks down to each other, we were all very different sizes, and anyone coming after me would have been able to wear anything I had, I was such a Tom-Boy and thing were worn out continually.

This is a very old picture taken in Rhyl in North Wales, way back in 1949.

Gosh I am an Ancient Dragon, aren't I? xxx.

                                                 

THE LAST LITTLE GIRL

Once upon a time there was a very poor lady who lived on her own apart from her four little girls, girls I may add that needed bread to eat, as well as frocks, hats, shoes and socks to wear.

Times were hard and every spring their mother bought some wool and wove it into cloth to make the eldest child a new frock. The oldest girls frock was than passed down to the second child, the second to the third and the third girls frock to the youngest girl.

Which of course meant that the littlest girl not only had her sisters frock which was at least three years old and so full of darns and patches, that you couldn't tell what the frock originally looked like.

One day the four little girls went to the woods to play, they had a lovely time but as it was getting dark they decided it was time to start for home. The last little girl however stayed alone among the trees to pick flowers for her mother.

When she realised that her sisters had already gone she started along the path home.  As it started to get darker so she began to run quicker but as she ran her little frock was caught on a briar thorn and was torn from neck to hem.

The last little girl began to cry, what was she to do, she knew she wouldn't get another frock till next spring.

While she sobbed she didn't notice that a little white lamb can walked up to her.

"What ever is the matter little girl, why do you cry so?"

The little girl lifted her head, "Look, I have torn my frock and I won't be able to have another one till next spring!"

"Don't you cry now little girl, here you are, I will give you some wool to make a new dress." And the white lamb gave her some of his soft white wool.

Thanking the white lamb, the last little girl went on her way home, and by and by she came upon a wild rose bush.

"What have you there?" asked the wild rose bush;"The white lamb has given me some of her wool so I may make a new frock," The little girl replied, showing the wool to the bush.

"Let me have it," said the wild rose bush; "I will comb it for you?"

The last little girl gave the bush the wool and in next to no time she had combed it through, till it was all ready for spinning.

Once again the last little girl thanked the rose bush very much and continued along the path until she came to the old oak tree. There she spied a spider sitting by a silver web.

"What have you got there?" the spider called to the last little girl.

The little girl held out the combed wool towards the spider, explaining how she arrived at the tree. Without another word the spider took the wool from the last little girl and began to spin the wool into yarn. It took him rather a long time to finish it all but he didn't stop until he had done so. Handing it back to the last little girl, he smiled a silky smile and let the little girl carry on with her journey.

She was interrupted by the sound of a little bird singing and there on the branch was  little Jenny Wren. "Hello," she said, "And what have you got there?" The last little girl told her all about the lamb and the rose, then the spider, and her need for a new frock.

"Goodness me," answered the Jenny wren, "I guess I can make it into cloth for you. After all I can weave moss into a nest so it can't be any more difficult to weave your thread." and with that she took the thread and began to weave it into a nice piece of material, just the size I think for a nice new dress.

The last little girl was so happy, she thanked Jenny Wrens and skipped down the path till she came to the stream, she was just about to hop across when she saw a crab sitting on the bank. Being so excited she couldn't wait to tell the crab all about her adventure. "Well let's not end it there," he laughed taking the material out of her hand and without more ado he cut out a wonderful frock pattern for the last little girl, all it needed now was sewing together and she would have a new frock.

Without forgetting to thank the crab, the last little girl went a little further along the path. A small Tom-Tit was swinging on the branch of a tree, "Hello Little Girl" he said with a tweet, tweet. "It's a bit late in the day for you to be out, but what is that you have in your hand?"

Smiling nicely at Tom-Tit the last little girl told him about her great adventure since leaving the glade.

"Oh gosh, well we can't let you go home without a dress on so give the pieces to me and I will have them sewn up in a jiffy." And he took the pieces and with a long thread he held in his beak, he drew the thread in and out of the cloth till all the pieces were sewn together, and the little frock was finished.

The Last Little Girl was so happy, she put on her new frock and sang all the way home...

And this is the song that she sang, do you think you can sing it with her?

"The Lamb and the Bush, they both did their best.

The Spider, and the Crab, and the Birds did the rest."

"They made me a frock, because mine was torn,

A sweet little frock that no one has worn!"

"Oh, each was so clever, and all worked so fast,

I'll thank them for ever my frock's not the last!"

"They made me a gown, because mine was torn -

A sweet little gown that no one has worn!"

This is myself and my sisters in 1979 just 30 years later, we are with our mother who like myself was called Dorothy. We four little girls are  Sylvia, Toni, My Mum, Dorothy (me) Kathleen.

This little story was told to me many many times, many years ago by my mother, she liked it because We, my three sisters and I, are her four little girls, or we were then. I tried to remember as much of it as I can, but I have found out since that it was written , I think, by Stella Mead. I haven't been able to find anything at all about Ms Mead but I do know her books are all in reprint on Amazon. She is not mentioned anywhere in the Wiki pages or Project Gutenburg which is very strange. Still I hope you like my interpretation of this story from 80 years ago. Seligor.    

Posted 14:43