Seligor's Castle, fun for all the children of the world. SheenaStorybook
WELCOME TO SELIGOR'S CASTLE
WHICH STARTS WITH A LITTLE TALE.
The elusive Margery Hart. For over two years I have struggled to find any information on this lady and all I have, apart from refernces to her book "Furry Folk and Faries." are these two very old references, both of them regarding Wedding Presents that were given to our present Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Phillip
First this from the Independant Newspaper." 1997
"The elaborately named Mrs C St Aubyn Ratcliffe thoughtfully sent two
copies of her Furry Folk and Fairies, so the future Duke didn't have to
read it over his wife's shoulder in the royal bedchamber." If this is the seudonym for Margery Hart, then we come to a dead end, for she was born to Constance Charlotte Rose Ricketts and Reverend Charles Edward Stuart Ratcliffe ·
Adeline Constance St. Aubyn Ratcliffe b. 25 Jan 1889; alias Margery Hart ?
And this next one from;
Mrs. C. St. Aubyn, Ratcliffe (Margery Hart) Book, “Furry Folk and Fairies,” Two Editions, by the donor.
" http://rhmay.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/watajoy/ " Well worth a read, a very interesting article indeed.
And if that hasn't got you all wondering what I'm going to write, the just read on ....
THE BOOK IS CALLED "FURRY FOLK AND FAIRIES" BY MARGERY HART. PRINTED IN 1931.
IT IS DEDICATED " TO PETER (PIP) AND PAMELA WHO INSPIRED THESE VERSES. "
Please enjoy some of her wonderful verses, which in many cases cover a whole story-line. I am sure you must have been a most wonderful relation to have, be her family or just close friend.
WELCOME TO SELIGOR'S CASTLE
WITH A FUNNY LITTLE STORY FROM
SHEENA'S STORY BOOK.
HOW JIMMY TENDED THE BABY.
I never could see the use of babies. We have one at our house that belongs to mother, and she thinks everything of it. I can't see anything wonderful about it. All it can do is to cry, and pull hair, and kick. It hasn't half the sense of my dog, and can't even chase a cat. Mother and Sue wouldn't have a dog in the house, but they are always going on about the baby, and saying: "Ain't it perfectly sweet?"
The worst thing about a baby is, that you're expected to take care of him, and then you get scolded afterwards. Folks say: "Here, Jimmy, just hold the baby for a minute, there's a good boy"; and then as soon as you have got it, they say: "Don't do that! Just look at him! That boy will kill the child! Hold it up straight, you good for nothing little wretch!"
It's pretty hard to do your best, and then be scolded for it; but that is the way boys are treated. Perhaps after I'm dead, folks will wish they had done differently.
Last Saturday mother and Sue went out to make calls, and told me to stay at home and take care of the baby. There was a football match, but what did they care for that? They didn't want to go to it, and so it made no diference whether I went to it or not. They said they would be gone only a little while, and if the baby waked up I was to play with it, and keep it from crying, and "be sure and not let it swallow any pins." Of course I had to do it.
The baby was sound asleep when they went out; so I left it for just a few minutes, while I went to see if there was any pie left in the pantry. ( Hm, if I was a woman, I wouldn't be so dreadfully suspicious as to keep everything locked up in the pantry! )
When I got back upstairs again, the baby was awake and howling like she was full of pins. So I gave her the first thing that came to hand, to keep her quiet. It just happened to be a bottle of French polish, one of them with a sponge on the end of a wire, the sort Sue uses to black her boots, because girls are too lazy to use a regular brush and polish.
But it didn the job for the baby stopped crying as soon as I gave her the bottle, and I sat down to read my comic. The next time I looked at her, she'd got out the sponge and about half of her face was jet black. This was a nice fix, for I knew nothing could get the black off her face, and guarenteed when mother came back she would say the baby was spoiled, and that I was responsible. Now as I think an all black baby would be much more stylish than an all white baby, and when I saw that she was half black already, I made up my mind that if I blacked it all over it would be worth more than it had ever been, and perhaps mother would be ever so much pleased. So I hurried up and gave it a good coat of black.
You should have seen how that baby shined! The polish dried as soon as it was put on, and I had just time to get baby dressed again, when mother and Sue came in.
I would lower myself to repeat their unkind remarks. When you've been called a murdering little villain, and an unnatural son, it will rankle in your heart for ages. After what they had said to me I didn't seem to mind father, and went upstairs with him almost as if I was going to bed, or maybe something that didn't hurt so much.
"The baby is beautiful, and shiny, though the doctors say it will wear off in a few years. Nobody shows any gratitude for all the trouble I took, I can tell you it isn't easy to black a baby without geting it into her eyes and hair. In fact I sometimes think it is hardly worth while to live in this cold and unfeeling world."
Unfortunately we do not have the poets name.
HEIDI,
apart from this little message about Heidi and the author.
There is also a wonderful picture and song video list to start off the new Gold and Silver, Web Page
There is another beautiful story that of Heidi. It was the most successful and best-known "literary" child of that most famous Swiss author, Johanna Spyri. In
the eleven years since Heidi first appeared, her presence has continued
to shine as a significant life force. Heidi has been translated into
about 50 languages and printed in an equivalent number of millions of
copies. Heidi has appeared in print, in film, and on television all
over the world. She has maintained her character despite the changing
styles of children's books today. The pointed pens and pencils of her
critics, and even the generosity
of her closest admirers. How can such a phenomenon occur?
First
of all there is the force of the fable itself, coherent and at the same
time so simple, that every child can "see the light". Moreover there is a certain dependable differentiation among the personalities
that appear in the story: genuine, loveable, humorous, and completely
natural Heidi; clumsy Peter ("close to being a fool, but not quite",
as C. F. Meyer observed); grumpy, patriarchal, strict but ever so kind
Alm-Uncle (Alpöhi); blind, pitiable Grandmother; rich but at the
same time poor, crippled Klara; stupid, hard-hearted Fräulein Rottenmeier;
smart, loving Grandma; the friendly, understanding doctor. In all these
cases it's clear
what kind of people these characters are.
Doesthis paint too much of a "black and white" picture? In a certain
sense, yes, but the story is depicted in such beautiful fashion that
it helps the reader imagine events all the more colourfully. Is there
a simplistic separation of Good and Evil? That may be true too, but
this should not be considered alone - and in general this is the appeal
of most fairy stories that comprise the most beautiful treasure of all
folk literatures. Does it have an unrealistic "happy ending"
in a world that is anything but happy? Partly, yes, but we don't want
to begrudge our children this small joy - they will learn about the
other side of life soon enough.
And
how was this all interpreted when it first appeared? At the time, the
story of Heidi must have seem quite revolutionary. Someone actually
dared to understand the world from a child's perspective, rather than,
as usual, that of an adult! With the story of Heidi, Johanna Spyri gave
children the opportunity to return to their natural world rather than
forcing them to act like dolls that are forced to dress and act like
adults. To put it another way, Johanna Spyri was a pioneer in the field
of youth literature, celebrating the value of children as children in
a way that is still relevant today.
But
isn't Heidi just a little too good, too pious, too religious? Well,
whoever denies any possibility of the existence of wonders and the power
of faith can't be helped much anyway. Looking at things from another
perspective, isn't the challenge in today's world not to lose faith
entirely in things that represent goodness, truth, and beauty?
However
you look at it, Heidi speaks to us with the voice of love - and we shouldn't
tire of listening to her. A child moves the world and is able to bring
about positive changes among mankind - isn't that a complete education
programme in itself?
Jürg
Winkler
WELCOME TO SELIGOR'S CASTLE PIN BOARD. INSIDE SHEENA'S STORY BOOK
I WATCHED THIS FILM THIS MORNING 27/12/09 AND THOUGHT IT WAS BRILLIANT. I REALLY GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE LIFE OF SPIRIT AND LITTLE CREEK. I WAS HOPING TO GET IT IN CHAPTERS TO PUT HERE FOR ALL THE CHILDREN BUT IT'S NOT AVAILABLE.
I AM GOING NOW TO AMAZON TO SEE IF I CAN BUY IT, I REALLY MUST HAVE IT IN MY FILM COLLECTION.EVEN AT SIXTY FIVE SELI IS STILL THE BIGGEST KID ON THE BLOCK....... HE HE.
SELIGOR. XXX
Sleeping Beauty, surely that is a story, a fairy tale ? or Pantomime! But did you know that it was a wonderful poem as well. This was no ordinary poet, this was written by the Poet Laureate "Alfred, Lord Tennyson" It is really lovely don't you think?
Year after year unto her feet, She lying n her couch alone, Across the purple coverlet The maiden's jet-black hair has grown, On either side her trancèd form Forth streaming from a braid of pearl : The slumberous light is rich and warm, And moves not on the rounded curl.
The silk star-broider'd coverlid Unto her limbs itself doth mould Languidly ever; and, amid Her full black ringlets downward roll'd, Glows forth each softly-shadow'd arm With bracelets of the diamond bright : Her constant beauty doth inform Stillness with love, and day with light.
She sleeps : her breathings are not heard In palace chambers far apart The fragrant tresses are not stirr'd That lie upon her charmèd heart. She sleeps : on either hand upswells The gold- fringed pillow lightly prest : She sleeps, nor dreams, but ever dwells A perfect form in perfect rest.
All precious things, discover'd late, To those that seek them issue forth; For love in sequel works with fate, And draws the veil from hidden worth. He travels far from other skies - His mantle glitters on the rocks - A fairy Prince, with joyful eyes, And lighter-footed than the fox.
He comes, scarce knowing what he seeks : He breaks the hedge : he enters there : The colour flies into his cheeks : He trusts to light on something fair; For all his life the charm did talk About his path, and hover near With words of promise in his walk, And whisper'd voices at his ear.
More close and close his footsteps wind : The Magic Music in his heart Beats quick and quicker, till he find The quiet chamber far apart. His spirit flutters like a lark, He stoop - to kiss her - on his knee. "Love, if hey tresses be so dark, How dark those hidden eyes must be !" A touch, a kiss! the charm was snapt. There rose a noise of striking clocks, And feet that ran, and doors that clapt, And barking dogs, and crowing cocks; A fuller light illumined all, A breeze thro' all the garden swept, A sudden hubbub shook the hall, And sixty feet the fountain leapt.
The hedge broke in, the banner blew, The butler drank, the steward scrawl'd The fire shot up, the martin flew, The parrot scream'd, the peacock squalled, The page and maid renewed their strife, The palace bang'd, and buzz'd and clackt, And all the long-spent stream of life Dash'd downward in a cataract.
At last with these the king awoke, And in his chair himself uprear'd And yawn'd, rubb'd his face and spoke, "By holy rood, a royal beard! How say you? We have slept, my lords. My beard has grown into my lap." The barons swore, with many words, "Twas but an after-dinner nap. And on her lover's arm she leant, And round her waist she felt it fold, And far across the fields they went In that new world which is the old : Across the hills and far away. Beyond their utmost purple rim,
And deep into the dying day The happy Princess followe'd him.
"A hundred summers ! can it be? And whither goest thou, tell me where?" "O seek my father's court with me, For there are greatest wonders there." And o'er the hills, and far away Beyond their utmost purple rim, Beyond the net, across the day, Thro all the world she follow'd him.
I think my favourite verse is the one were the king awakes and finds his beard has grown almost to his lap, I have left the spelling and grammer as it was in the book." Thankyou My Lord Tennyson, you were rather good."
This story is copied from Volume 8 of Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopaedia, may I take this opportunity to mention to all you parents out there. If you ever find a copy of any of Arthur Mee's wonderful books, do buy it. Charity shops and car boot sales are an excellent source for finding fantastic books like this. They may be old and a lot of things have been replaced by more modern ones. But if you want Nursery Rhymes and Poems, History, so many, many things.
BRAVE GRIZEL HUME
Twelve o'clock strikes. Clouds are flying across the Moon, but sometimes she shines clear on the castle, Presently a short figure leaves the shadow of the walls and hurries into the cover of some bushes. Who was it skulking along in the gloom ? A dwarf ? A spy ? What is happening ? That pile of stone is Redbraes Castle, and this is Scotland in 1678. The land is full of fugitives, of plots and traitors. Have you forgotten how, the reformation, Scotsmen bound themselves by a Covenant to resist Popery and foster the Protestant faith? When Charles the Second was allowed to return from exile he signed the Covernant, and signed it again on his coronation. But now that he is in is secure in power he has denounced the Covenanter's, and sends soldiers to hunt them to their death like wild beasts. And that little slinking figure? It is a girl age thirteen called Grizel Hume. That great castle is her father's, but she goes in mortal terror. Suppose she met a soldier, a tinker, a poacher, who would spy on her, and take blood money for betraying her secret ? The little girl's knees tremble, and her heart beats so loudly that she thinks it can be heard a mile off. She carries a little bungle of cold, greasy food, smuggled from her plate during meal time. It was terrible when one of the little ones cried: "Oh greedy Grizel! She has eaten all her meat already." She and her mother exchanged horror-stricken glances; some words of reproof was said. Did the servants notice? What was that ? She stands stock still, unable to breathe. Again the noise behind the hedge. Then a cat slips through and runs across the road, a wing dangling from her mouth. Grizel wants to laugh out loud in her relief, but she steals on in silence. How long and open the way seems each night ! But she must not think of that. Why, she did something far more difficult a year ago. Robert Baillie lay in Edinburgh prison, innocent but doomed. Sir Patrick Hume had an important message for him, yet to go to Edinburgh was to fall into the soldiers' hands. So 12 year old Grizel was sent, for who would suspect her ? Who would guess that she had taken part in the struggle for free conscience since she was 10 years old, or think her capable of taking part in a perilous plot ? She was frightened then, as she was now, but did she not slip into the cell behind the warder and crouch in the dark corner safely after all ? Once more she saw the astonished faces of Baillie and the little boy who shared her father's imprisonment. Ah! where were they now ? The soldiers had dragged Baillie, dying and in his night clothes, to the scaffold, where he was hanged and quartered. If they caught her father - but no, they should not. She had got safely out of Edinburgh prison, and she would somehow carry this through, also. Oh, they are sad times ! She wonders if one day a time will come when every man may hold his true opinion unpunished, and no children watch for the soldiers who will drag their father out to death. How happy such children will be - if they remember ! Now a spire rises out of the trees, and gravestones shine in the moonlight. Everything is very still apart from a whimpering wind. Grizel stops, checks her panting and waits for a cloud. As soon as the moon is veiled she darts across the churchyard, picking her way neatly among the graves and then cowering against the church door, slowly, cautiously, opens it. She is safely inside. A glance about the empty place and tiptoes across the aisle. She is hidden in the shadow; now she is vanished. Where has she gone? Grizel has crept into the family vault. Something stirs in the darkness, and a voice whispers her name. Fumbling hands find her, and her eyes and her arms are clasped round someone's neck. "Father," she breathes. "How are you ? Not chilled to much I hope, you must be famished? Look, here is your poor food." As he eats Grizel sits in the cold darkness and whispers cheerfully. The soldiers are still here. Again today they searched every nook and cranny of Redbraes. But they will go, and the evil times will pass, and right will triump ! She tells him of the children's quaint sayings, gives him news of the estate, and discusses various plans for his escape. As last she kisses him goodbye till tomorrow night; then leaving him with the ancestors whose honour he keeps untarnished at so dreadful a price, she begins her return journey.
* * * *
Some years have passed; and we are in the parlour of a small Dutch house. A very beautiful girl is patching a coat while she hears her brothers lessons. Her own faded dress is darned at the elbows, but she rises with the air of a great lady when a visitor comes in. The stranger is a tall, handsome youth who wears a cavalier- like finery of the Prince of Orange's Guards. As she salutes her the girl says: "My father and mother are out walking, sir. I am sorry. Can I in some way serve you?" To her surprise the youth answers with a Scottish accent: "I am heartily sorry too, mistress. I came to pay my humble duty to Sir Patrick, who was my father's friend. Will you tell him ? My name is George Baillie." The girl starts, glows and exclaims: "Sir this is not our first meeting ! Then the youth cries: "I remember! The dungeon in Edinburgh ! " They sit and talk of their fathers. Sometimes they are sad and wrathful, but they never regret all they have lost in a great cause. She tells him how, after his father's death his executioners hunted down Sir Patrick; how he hid in the in the family vault; how afterwards she and one other scrapped a hole in the earthen cellar floor at Redbraes, as he lay there; how at last he escaped to Holland; how his possessions were all seized, how she and her mother went to London; begging for enough to live on, and got a hundred and fifty pounds; how the family suceeded in getting to Holland, all but one girl, and how Grizel returned to Scotland to rescue her. Now they were bitterly poor, but they were all united and all free. In the midst of such talk Sir Patrick returns, and when he knows the guardsman's name cries out: " No one could be more welcome to me !"
The years of poverty and exile go peacefully by. Grizel and George love one another, and even if they have little hope of marriage, they are content not to ask too much good fortune of life. Then her father is safe, they are betrothed and that is enough. Her heroism and beauty make Grizel's story read like a romantic fairy tale, nevertheless it is the truth, even to the happy ever after because.... Let us return to Scotland. It is fourteen years since we saw Grizel steal out in the moonlight. Now the sun shines on banners and flowers, scarves and feathers, sleek horses and painted harness, as a procession sets out for the church where the bells are pealing loud enough to crack themselves. Charles and James have gone: the Prince of Orange is King of England, and Sir Patrick Hume is nnow Earl of Marchmont, Lord Chancellor of Scotland. At his side rides Lady Grizel, the most courted beauty in two countries. But her bridal white today is for no brilliant wedding; in the Church it is only George Baillie who waits for her. And so we can all say "And they both lived happily ever after."
Lady Grizel Baillie Biography
Lady Grizel Baillie
(1665—1746) was a Scottish song-writer, the eldest daughter of Sir
Patrick Hume or Home of Polwarth, afterwards earl of Marchmont. She was
born at Redbraes Castle, Berwickshire, on December 25 1665.
When she was twelve years old she carried letters from her father to
the Scottish patriot, Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, who was then in
prison. Home's friendship for Baillie made him a suspected man, and the
king's troops occupied Redbraes Castle. He remained in hiding for some
time in a churchyard, where his daughter kept him supplied with food,
but on hearing of the execution of Baillie (1684) he fled to the United
Provinces, where his family soon after joined him. They returned to
Scotland at the Revolution.
Lady Grizel married in 1692 George Baillie, son of the patriot. She
died on December 6 1746. She had two daughters, Grizel, who married Sir
Alexander Murray of Stanhope, and Rachel, Lady, Binning. Lady Murray
had in her possession a manuscript of her mother's in prose and verse.
Some of the songs had been printed in Allan Ramsay's Tea-Table
Miscellany. "And werena my heart light I wad dee," the most famous of
Lady Grizel's songs, originally appeared in Orpheus Caledonius (1725).
THE STORY -TELLER
I have just changed the Video clips.
I thought being as we're in story-land we better have some Brothers Grimm
The House in the Wood from Grimms' Fairy Tales
There
was a poor wood-cutter who lived with his wife and three young
daughters in a little hut on the edge of a large forest. Sometimes,
when he was cutting down the trees near his cottage the girls would
take him his dinner, and gather up small branches, make them into
faggots before dragging them home. The children thought it was great
fun; but very often he had to work further inside the forest, sometimes
even at the other side, then his wife would wrap up his dinner in a
cloth and he carried it with him to eat at noon-day. The
Wood-cutter did not earn high wages, so his family were very poor. But
the simple food and the fresh air made the girls strong and healthy,
and they grew up to be young women and able to help there parents more
and more. One morning when he was going to his usual work, he said to his wife, 'Let our eldest
daughter bring me my lunch into the wood; and so that she shall not lose her
way, I will take a bag of millet with me, and sprinkle the seed on the path.' So when the sun had risen high over the forest, the girl set out with a jug
of soup. But the field and wood sparrows, the larks and finches, blackbirds
and green finches had picked up the millet many hours earlier and the girl could not
find her way anywhere.
She went on and on, till the sun set and night clouds crossed the sky came on. The trees rustled in
the darkness, the owls hooted, and she began to be very, very frightened. Then
she saw in the distance a light that twinkled between the trees. There must
be people living yonder,' she thought, 'who will take me in for the night,'
and she began walking towards it.
She knocked at the door, and a gruff voice called, 'Come in!'
She opened
the door and there, sitting at the table was an old man. His face was
buried in his hands and his white beard was flowing down over the table
and onto the ground.
On the hearth lay three animals, a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow. The girl
told the old man her story, and asked would it be possible for her to stay the night
The man turned to the creatures and said:-
Pretty Hen. Pretty Cock. And you, pretty brindled Cow. What do you say now?
'Cluck! answered the animals; and that must have meant, "We are happy with that" for the old man said, "alright there is food in abundance, go into the back kitchen and cook
us a supper."
The girl found plenty of food in the kitchen, and cooked them a good meal,
but thought nothing about the animals.
She placed the full dishes on the table, sat down opposite the gray-haired
man, and ate till her hunger was appeased. The when she had ate her full she said. Tell me where I can sleep for I am tired?"
This time the animals answered:
"You have eaten with him. You have drunk with him. And of us you have not thought of us; Still you may sleep the night here."
Then the old man said, 'Go upstairs, and there you will find a bedroom containing two beds; shake
the feather beds and put clean sheets on, and I will come shortly to see if you are sleeping.'
The maiden went upstairs, and when she had made the bed, she lay down and went fast asleep.
After some time the gray-haired man came, looked at her by the light of his
candle, and shook his head. He saw that she was sound asleep, then he opened
a trap-door and let her fall into the cellar.
The woodcutter meanwhile came home late in the evening, and shouted at his wife for leaving
him all day without food.
'No, I did not,' she answered; 'the girl went off with your dinner. She must
have lost her way, but no doubt she will come back to-morrow.'
At daybreak
the following day, the woodcutter started off into the wood, and this
time asked his second daughter to bring his food. 'I will take a bag of
peas with me , they are larger than the seed so she will see them
better then she will surely find her way.'
So at midday
the wood-cutters second daughter set out through the forest with her
father's dinner. But the peas were all gone; for as on the previous
day, the wood birds had eaten them all.
The maiden
wandered about the wood till nightfall, searching everywhere for her
father, and by chance she happened on the same house as her sister.
Once again the Old Man asked for the sister to come in.
"Could you give me food and lodgings" said the maiden. Again the man with the white hair again asked the animals:-
"Pretty Cock. Pretty Hen, and you, pretty brindled Cow, What do you say now?"
The animals answered, 'Cluck,' and everything went on to happen as it did the day before.
The girl cooked a good meal, ate and drank with the old man, and did not trouble
herself about the animals at all.
And when she asked for a bed, they replied:
You have eaten with him You have drunk with him, and of us you have not thought,
so now sleep as you ought!
And when she was asleep, the old man shook his head over her, and let her fall
into the cellar as well.
On the third morning the woodcutter said to his wife, 'Send our youngest child
to-day with my dinner. She is always good and obedient, and will keep to the
right path, and not wander away like her sisters, the idle hussies!'
But the mother said, 'Oh husband must I lose my dearest child too?'
'Do not fear,' he answered; 'she is too clever and intelligent to lose her
way. I will take plenty of beans with me and strew them along; they are even
larger than peas, and will easily show her the way.'
But when the maiden started off with the basket on her arm, the wood pigeons
had eaten up the beans, and she did not know which way to go. She was much distressed,
and thought constantly of her poor hungry father and her anxious mother.
Soon
it began to grow dark and then as her sisters before her she came upon
the Old Man in the House in the Wood. She asked very politely if she
might stay there for the night, and the man with the white beard asked
his animals again:
"Pretty Cock. Pretty Hen, and you, pretty brindled cow, What do you say now?"
'Clucks,' they said.
Then the young maiden stepped up to the hearth where the animals
were lying, and stroked the cock and the hen, and scratched the brindled cow
between its horns.
And when at the bidding of the old man she had prepared a good supper, and
the dishes were standing on the table, she said, 'Shall I have plenty while
the good beasts have nothing? There is food to spare outside; I will attend
to them first.'
Then she went out and fetched barley and strewed it before the cock and hen,
and brought the cow an armful of sweet-smelling hay.
'Eat that, dear animals,' she said,' and after when you are thirsty you shall have
a good drink of sparkling water from the well.'
Then she fetched a bowl of water, and the cock and hen flew on to the edge,
put their beaks in, and then held up their heads as birds do when they drink,
and the brindled cow also drank her fill. When the animals were satisfied, the
maiden sat down beside the old man at the table and ate what was left for her.
Soon the cock and hen began to tuck their heads under their wings, and the brindled
cow blinked its eyes, so the maiden said, 'Shall we not also take our rest now?'
And the old man asked as before:-
"Pretty cock, Pretty hen, And you, pretty brindled cow, What do you say now?"
The animals said, 'Cluck, cluck." :- You have eaten with us, You have drunk with us, You have tended us right, So
we wish you a good nights rest.'
The maiden
therefore went upstairs, shook up the feather beds and put on clean
sheets. The old man came up and lay down on his bed. The girl lay down
on the other bed after saying her prayers and fell fast asleep till
midnight when there was such a noise in the house that she awoke.
The
house was cracking and rumbling, every room seemed to be shaking. The
doors banged and slammed against the walls and the beams groaned as if
they were being torn away from their fastenings, even the stairs fell
down, it even felt as though the roof had collapsed upon them. Then as
it began so the noise stopped and the maiden settled down to sleep
again.
It
was the sunlight shining through the window that woke her up, and what
a sight met her eyes! She was lying in a chamber, that looked like the
inside of a palace. Gold flowers on green silk decorated the walls. Her
bed was of Ivory and the curtains of red velvet, and placed on a stool
next to her bed were a pair of slippers covered with pearls.
At
first she thought it must all be a dream, but then through the door
came three servants dressed in rich clothes who wanted to know what she
would like them them to do. "Oh dear me, no " she said. "I shall get up
and cook some breakfast for the old man and also some food for the
Pretty Hen, Pretty Cock and the brindled Cow. Then she turned towards
the bed where the old man was sleeping and in the bed was a stranger.
She walked over to the bed and stared down at the handsome young man,
who opened his eyes, and without more ado he began to relate to her his
story.
He
story was that he was really the son of a king who had been bewitched
as a young man by an evil witch, who for some reason changed him into
the form of an old man, and condemning him to live
in the house in the wood, with only three of his servants who were
changed into a hen, a cock and a brindled cow. And there they were to
remain until the day a young maiden who would be as kind to his animals
as they were to him, Then the spell would be broken and he would be
turned back into the prince and the house back into a royal palace.
Full
of happiness and love for the maiden he asked the servants to go and
fetch her mother and father to witness their marriage.
"But what has become of my two sisters? she asked. "Where are they?"
I'm
afraid they are locked in the cellar and there they shall remain until
they can be placed as servants to a collier who will teach them that
looking after animals is just as important as looking after themselves
and never to let poor animals suffer hunger again.
An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a crooked sixpence. "What," she said, "shall I do with this little sixpence? I know I shall go to the market and buy a little pig." As she was coming home she came to a stile. The piggy would not go over the stile. She went a little farther, and she met a dog, so she said to the dog:
"Dog, dog, bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!" But the dog would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a stick. So she said.
"Stick, stick, beat dog; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over stile, And I shan't get home tonight!" But the stick would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a fire. So she said.
"Fire, fire, burn stick; Stick won't beat dog; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!"
But the fire would not.
She went a little farther, and she met some water. So she said:
"Water, water, quench fire; Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dog; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over stile, And I shan't get home tonight!" But water would not.
She went a little farther, and she met an ox. So she said:
"Ox, ox, drink water; Water won't quench fire; Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dot; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!"
But the ox would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a butcher. So she said:
"Butcher, butcher, kill ox; Ox won't drink water; Water won't quench fire; Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dot; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!"
But the butcher would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a rope. So she said:
Rope, rope" hang butcher; Butcher won't kill ox. Ox won't drink water; Water won't quench fire; Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dot; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!"
But the rope would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a rat. So she said:
Rat, rat gnaw rope;
Rope,won't hang butcher; Butcher won't kill ox.
Ox won't drink water; Water won't quench fire; Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dot; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!"
But the rat would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a cat. So she said:
Cat, cat, kill rat Rat, won't gnaw rope;
Rope,won't hang butcher; Butcher won't kill ox.
Ox won't drink water; Water won't quench fire; Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dot; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!"
But the cat said to her, "If you will go to yonder cow, and fetch me a saucer of milk, I will kill the rat."
So away went the old woman to the cow and she said:
Cow, cow, give me a saucer of milk; Cat won't kill rat;
Rat, won't gnaw rope;
Rope,won't hang butcher; Butcher won't kill ox.
Ox won't drink water; Water won't quench fire; Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dot; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight!"
But the cow said to her,
"If you will go to yonder haymakers, and fetch me a wisp of hay, I'll give you the milk."
So away went the old woman to the haymakers, and said:
"Haymaker, give me a wisp of hay; Cow won't give milk;
Cat won't kill rat; Rat won't gnaw rope; Rope won't hang butcher; Butcher won't kill ox; Ox won't drink water; Water won't drench fire; Fire won't burn stick; stick won't beat dog; Dog won't bite pig; Piggy won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home tonight! But the haymaker said to her, "If you will go to yonder stream, and fetch us a bucket of water, we'll give you the hay."
So away the old woman went but when she got to the stream she found the bucket was full of holes. So she covered the bottom of the bucket with pebbles and then filled the bucket with water, and she went back with it to the haymakers, and they gave her a wisp of hay. As soon as the cow had eaten the hay, she gave the old woman the milk; and away she went with it in a saucer to the cat.
As soon as the cat had lapped up the milk:
The cat began to kill the rat; The rat began to gnaw the rope; The rope began to hang the butcher; The butcher began to kill the ox; The ox began to drink the water; The water began to quench the fire; The fire began to burn the stick; The stick began to beat the dog; The dog began to bite the pig; The little pig in a fright jumped over the stile; "So the old lady did get home that night!"
"Phew and if that wasn't one of the longest rymes I have ever wrote out, or read... I will eat my hat. I am going to have to make a cup of tea now to recouperate."
The romantic story of Robin Hood is told in many different story books, in many different ways, written, sung, in film and DVD, and his character has been played in films by so many different people. Remember Kevin Costner in Prince of Thieves. And what about Errol Flynn (Errol who?) exactly, the amazing Richard Greene made a wonderful series which seemed to last forever on the Television, many, many years ago. Ask mummy or Daddy all about it. Brilliant. And now we have a different version for you written about a hundred years ago, ~ by a story teller. Share
ROBIN HOOD AND HIS MERRY MEN
One day , when Richard Coeur de Lion was King of England, there walked in this beautiful green forest of Sherwood a handsome youth and a beautiful maid who were lover's plighted to be wed. The youth was Robert, son of the Earl of Huntingdon; the maid was Marian, daughter of the Earl of Fitzwalter. They both loved the Greenwood; they both shot exceedingly well with a bow ; and the maid was as swift to mount and ride a horse as was the youth at her side. As they walked hand in hand down the green glades of the forest Robert spoke of the merry days that lay ahead of them, and Marian laughed to think of the great joy that was coming to her. They were happy lovers, a boy and girl who thought of life as a delightful ballad. But then a little thing happened. The king was in Palastine, and his wretched brother, John Lackland, ruled the kingdom. To get money and curry favour with the Normans this miserable man made war upon the rich English Nobles, and among those whom he destroyed and ruined was the Earl of Huntingdon. Poor, braven happy Robert saw in a single day his father killed, his home destroyed, his estates seized, and himself made an outlaw. He escaped from the soldiers of John, and, plunging into the thick forest of Sherwood, threw himself down on the green eart and wept for the ruin that had so overtaken him. When morning came he took councel of himself, and planned how he should live his life. The night in the open air had been sweet to him; he drew the scented cool air into his lungs, felt the glory of the daybreak caress him, and saw that the greenwood was a fair world. "Since John has made an outlaw of me," he said, "I will take this forest for my estate, and feed upon the kings venison, and call myself Robin of the Sherwood." He wrote a sad letter to Maid Marian telling her of his misfortunes, and setting her free of her vow, as he could not ask a great lady to share his outlaw's life in the forest. It cost him many a sigh to send this letter, but his loneliness in the greenwood, which made it so hard for him to give up his lady ove, was soon broken by a delightful interruption. Brave men who had served with his father the Earl came into the forest with their bows and arrows, and swore that they would spend their days with Robin. They refused to live under the Normans; they would become outlaws, they said ~ free, merry men of the greenwood, and Robin should be their king. And they lived in the forest near Nottingham, which town Robin sometimes visited in disguise. Thus it happened that Robin became chief of a band of stout Englishmen who feared no danger, courted adventure, and loved to have fun. It wasn't long till they had everything planned out. In those days, when roads were hard to find, many people travelled on horseback, and many a plump abbot and covetous merchants went past the forest with their saddle bags stuffed with gold. Robin declared that he saw no harm in relieving these people of their baggage, as they only lived to rob the poor; he would treat them with kindness, he said, but he would help himself to their money. As for the poor and needy, no man of his must lay a finger upon them; nay, out of the spoil taken from the rich, they must help these poor people, and do their best to make them glad and happy.
Once Robin played an amusing trick on a tinker who said he had the king's warrant to arrest the famous outlaw. Robin told him he would find him in Nottingham, and offered to help him. When they came to the town he gave him so much ale that he fell asleep, and Robin walked off and left the tinker to pay the bill at the inn. In this way, Robin lived cheerfully. His spread through all the country. People who he stopped and robbed told strange stories about how they had been carried far into the forest, treated to a feast worthy of a K, and after "paying for their entertainment" had been led pleasantly forth and set upon the road again. They told of the way Robin had dressed his men in suits of Lincoln Green; and how these cheerful fellows sang the old English ballads and made great sport with the bow; and how there was one of their members seven feet high called Little John, and another, a very small and squat man named Much, and a jovial fat priest named Friar Tuck; and how Robert was now called not, Robin of Sherwood but Robin Hood, and like a king amongst his merry men. No wonder then, that as these stories spread about the world the Sheriff of Nottingham felt that he nust catch Master Robin, and hang him for a rascally outlaw was not fit to live.
The outlaws however ran great risks, and Little John even became a servant in the house of the sheriff himself, where he played several tricks on a greedy old butler, finally knocking him over and running into the forest with the silver plate belonging to the Sheriff. Sometime after the outlaws ventured into the town again to compete in an archery contest held by the sheriff for a silver arrow. Robin won the prize but the sheriff tried to arrest him and in the fight that followed, Little John was wounded and it was with a lot of dificulty that they got away, with Little Much bearing Little John on his back. They made it safely but arrived at the camp much later. Another time when Robin Hood was riding through the forest. A young Knight challenged him to a fight, They fought together and Robin wounded the knight. Kneeling at his side he took off his helmet and was very surprised to see it was Maid Marian. Robin would have cried with grief for wounding his beloved but when he saw the wound was not so deep, and that Marian had come in a disguise in search of her lover, he was glad and he embraced her most tenderly. and led her back to the Trysting Tree. Here here blew on his horn to summons the men. They came from every part of the forest, and when they heard the story they offered their obedience to Maid Marian as their Queen, and Friar Tuck came rolling up with his book under his arm and married Robin to Maid Marian, there in the Glades in the forest. One day Robin stopped an unhappy youth named Allan-a-Dale, and learned that, after waiting long for the beautiful woman who loved him, her miserly old father had promised her in marriage to an ancient, hidious, but rich man, old enough to be her grandfather. The marriage was to take place on the morrow and poor Allan-a-Dale was heart-broken. Robin bade him cheer up, and on the morrow he set off for the church, and his merry men following behind. In the midst of the ceremony he stopped the Bishop of Hereford, who was reading the service, and , blowing his horn, summond all his merry men, with Allan-a-Dale and Friar Tuck in their midst. "This bridegroom is to old," said Robin Hood; then addressing the bride he said, "Lady, look around and see if you can find a better choice for groom." Well of cause she chose Allan~a~Dale, and Friar Tuck married them there and then. On another occasion he exchanged clothes with a potter, and took his cart-load of pots and sold them in the market-place at Nottingham; and yet on another occasion he stopped a butcher who was riding with panniers of meat into the market, and changing clothes with him. and set out for the town where lived the sheriff who had sworn to lay him by the heels. The streets were crowded, and everyone was amazed when Robin started selling his best beef at only two pence a pound. The sheriff heard of this strange younge butcher and his doings, and at the market feast bade him sit at his side. "I shall get money out of such a simpleton" thought the sheriff who was a miser, and asked Robin if he had a big farm. "Hundreds of Acres," answered Robin smiling to himself. "And much cattle?" "Hundreds and hundreds of the finest horned cattle." "Shush do not speak so loud," mumbled the old sheriff; "But tell me how much would you take for your acres and cattle." "Three hundred pounds," said Robin. The sheriff arranged to ride out very early the next morning with this very silly young butcher, and the rode until they reached Sherwood Forest. "A bad man lives here," said the sheriff. "Do you think we shall meet him? Robin Hood is his name." "Oh I'm sure we shall not!" answered Robin laughing. Just then a hundred head of good fat deer passed in front of them. "There go my horned cattle," laughed Robin. "What do you think of them? Are they not good." The poor sheriff rode back to Nottingham late that night with no farm, no horned cattle, and without the three hundred Pounds which he had brought with him for their purchase from the simple butcher.
Another of Robins enemies war the Bishop of Hereford, who had never forgiven Robin for the interference in Allan-a-Dale's marriage. He came riding into Sherwood Forest one bright summer day with a company of soldiers, carrying money to a distant monestry. He hoped to capture Robin on his way, and take him to the sheriff in Nottingham. As luck would have it Robin was strolling alone about the forest that day, listening to the blackbirds and thrushes and enjoying the smells of the briar rose and bracken. Before he knew it the Bishops men were charging down on him. Robin took to his heels. He dodged behind trees, crept along ditches, and ran down the narrowest glades. The horses and the soldiers tripped and stumbled, throwing their riders to the ground. Robin ran hard till he reached the cottage of a poor woman. He changed clothes with her, and promised that if she stayed quiet and let the Bishop capture her, no harm would come to her. Of course as soon as she knew she could help Robin Hood, and do a bad turn against the Bishop, the woman was glad. So Robin hobbled away, and the soldiers took no notice of him; but they went to the cottage, captured the old dame and took them with her. They hadn't gone very far however, when before them stood Robin Hood with bowmen on either side of them. The soldiers laid down their arms, and the Bishop had to deliver up all his treasure. "That treasure belongs to the Monestry of St. Mary," said the Bishop. "Nay," answered Robin, "It belongs to all the poor, from whom you have taken it, and to whom I shall now return it." Then he asked the Bishop to celebrate High Mass with all his men, something he could not refuse to do. and all his men praised God, there amongst the trees in the forest. On many, many occasions did Robin save and help the poor against the evil Bishops and sheriff's and upon King Richards return from the Holy Land he vowed that he would meet with this Robin Hood. And though he rode many times into Sherwood Forest, he saw nothing of Robin or his merry men. He was then advised to put on the habit of a monk, and so disguised he travelled through the forest and was seized by Robin, though the king gave him the first blow that sent him sprawling on the ground first. The King was treated fairly and given a feast, and in the midst of it he showed Robin his ring and sid that although a monk he was a messenger of the king. At the name of the king the men all stood up, uncovered and cried. "God save King Richard!" The king then disclosed who he was and Robin knelt and kissed his hand. So pleased was the king with his loyalty, and so struck was he with Robin's goodness that he gave him a free pardon. Then Robin and his band of merry men followed the king to London, and they feasted and had great cheer. Alas there is not a nice, happy ending to our story for not long after, the king returned to the Holy Land and later he died. John succeeded him to the throne, and Robin and his men had to flee once more. This was not to much of a burden to them for they loved the green wood and once more settled there. Many years passed and Robin grew very ill, and when he went to watch the young men shoot he grew sad in his heart. He then thought he would go and visit his relative the Princess of Kirkley Abbey in Yorkshire. Little John was very sad at Robin's sickness and he accompanied him there. He wanted to stay with his master and friend but the princess wouldn't hear of it and told him to wait in the gardens. Then she did a terrible thing, she made a wound in Robin's arm making as if to bleed him, but instead of wrapping a bandage tighty round the wound, the princess who had secretly hated Robin for all the trouble he had caused the monks and priors, knotted the bandage loosely and left Robin in the room, bleeding to death, locking the door behind her. Little John begged her to go to him, but she refused and so he stayed in the garden till twilight fell, staring up at Robin's window.
This probably genuine memorial of Robin Hood, is
situated on the extreme edge of Kirklees Park, not far
from Huddersfield. The site which it occupies is bold
and picturesque, commanding an extensive view of what
was formerly forest land, and which still displays
clumps of gnarled oaks, scattered up and down, mingled
with furze and scrub. www.thebookofdays.com/months/nov/images/robin He was alerted by the sound of Robins horn. The three notes were so soft, Little
John knew Robin was in danger. He dashed into the hall, up the stairs
and smashed open the door. Taking Robin in his arms he embraced him. "I am dying," said Robin, and fainted in his arms. He came too and raised himself onto one elbow. "Give me my bow and arrow." he said softly. He took them from Little John's hand and with his help went to the window. "I shall shoot once more, and where this arrow falls, in that place let me be buried." He was so weak that the arrow went but a little way before striking the ground. "A good shot! A good shot!" cried Little John, with his eyes full of tears. "Was it a good shot?" asked Robin eagerly. "Really a good shot?" "Twas a good shot Robin." said Little John. Then Robin said, "Lay me a green sod under my head, and another at my feet, Lay my bent bow by my side, which was my music sweet. Make my grave of gravel and green, which is most right and meet. Leave me have length and breadth enough, with a green sod at my head. That they may say when I am dead, Here lies bold Robin Hood."
As he lay there, in Little John's arms, he suddenly roused himself, looked earnestly towards the priory window towards the gathering darkness of night. He frowned, "Was it," he whispered hoarsely, straining his failing eyes, "Was it a good shot?"
THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly; "Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into the parlour is up a winding stair, And I have many curious things to show when you are there." "Oh no, no," said the little Fly; "to ask me is in vain; For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."
"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high; Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly. "There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin; And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!" "Oh no,no," said the little Fly; "for I've often heard it said, They never, never wake again who sleep upon your bed!"
Said the cunning Spider to the Fly: "Dear friend, what can I do To prove the warm affection I have always felt for you? I have within my pantry good store of all that's nice; I'm sure you're very welcome - will you please to take a slice?" "Oh no, no," said the little Fly; "kind sir, that cannot be; I've heard what's in your pantry and I do not wish to see!"
"Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you are witty and you're wise; How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes! I have a little looking - glass upon my parlour shelf, If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself." "I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say, And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day.....
There is quite a lot more of this poem but it does go on for rather a long time... However the little Fly did call again another day and alas, she never came out again. This poem was written a long time ago by a wonderful lady poet called Mary Howitt . She was born Mary Botham, on 12th March 1799 at Coleford, Gloucestershire, The daughter of Samuel
Botham, a Quaker, and in 1821 she married William Howitt. They turned to
joint-authoring for a living and made a success of their many
interests. She wrote novels such as Wood Leighton,
a history of the United States, and many poems and stories for
children; Belonging to the Victorian era of Poets, she also lived in
the time when bronchitis was a very dangerous disease. She died from this illness on 30th
January 1888.
"Did you know that Diddily and Seli have a spider each living in Dodies bedroom, here they both are, up above her computer. With a dragon of course!"
For your Entertainment It is very difficult not to know what is right and what could offend but all I can do is hope that I have chosen wisely . Diddily dee Dot
If you have any ideas do leave a message for me at
dottido@hotmail.co.uk
THE STORY -TELLER, Share The Brothers Grimm
wrote the most famous version of this mystery tale about how 12
beautiful princesses manage to wear out their dancing shoes every
night, even though they never seem to leave their room. The Twelve Princesses
Twelve princesses slept in twelve beds in the same room; every night
their doors were securely locked, but in the morning their shoes were
found to be worn through as if they had been dancing all night!
The king, perplexed, promised his kingdom and a daughter to any man
who could discover the princesses' secret within three days and three
nights, but those who failed within the set time limit would be put to
death.
An old soldier returned from war came to the king's call after
several princes had failed in the endeavour to discover the princesses'
secret. Whilst traveling through a wood he came upon an old woman, who
gave him an invisibility cloak
and told him not to eat or drink anything given to him by one of the
princesses who would come to him in the evening, and to pretend to be
fast asleep after the princess left.
The soldier was well received at the palace just as the others had
been and indeed, in the evening, the eldest princess came to his
chamber and offered him a cup of wine. The soldier, remembering the old
woman's advice, threw it away secretly and began to snore very loudly
as if asleep.
The princesses, sure that the soldier was asleep, dressed themselves
in fine clothes and escaped from their room by a trap door in the
floor. The soldier, seeing this, donned his invisibility cloak and
followed them down. He trod on the gown of the youngest princess, whose
cry to her sisters that all was not right was rebuffed by the eldest.
The passageway led them to three groves of trees; the first having
leaves of silver, the second of gold, and the third of diamonds. The
soldier, wishing for a token, broke off a branch from each grove; only
the youngest princess heard the noises made, and voiced concerns that
the eldest princess again ignored.
They walked on until they came upon a great lake. Twelve boats with
twelve princes in them were waiting. Each princess went into one, and
the soldier stepped into the same boat as the youngest. The young
prince in the boat rowed slowly, unaware that the soldier was causing
the boat to be heavy. The youngest princess complained that the prince
was not rowing fast enough, not knowing the soldier was in the boat. On
the other side of the lake was a castle, into which all the princesses
went into and danced the night away.
The princesses danced until their shoes were worn through and they
were obliged to leave. This strange adventure went on the second and
third nights, and everything happened just as before, except that on
the third
night the soldier carried away a golden cup as a token of where he had
been. When it came time for him to declare the princesses' secret, he
went before the king with the three branches and the golden cup, and
told the king all he had seen. The princesses saw there was no use to
deny the truth, and confessed. The soldier chose the eldest princess as
his bride for he was not a very young man, and was made the king's heir.
If you like magic, invisible cloaks, secret gardens, enchanted castles, and glittering dances, then this is the story for you.
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
in which Barbie plays the role of the 7th sister, Genevieve. The plot
was changed extensively. The twelve princesses visit a magic garden to
dance by themselves, and they are only able to go there three times.
Meanwhile, a cousin, brought in by the king to supervise their
upbringing, is plotting to kill the king, and attempts to trap the
princesses in their dancing garden. The hero is not an old soldier, but
a cobbler who has been making their dancing shoes, and who follows them
to their garden to warn them of their cousin's plot. He marries the 7th
sister, Genevieve.
The tale of the danced-out shoes is predominately found in central
Europe, and virtually all of the variants are found in Europe. In another Hessian
variant noted by the Grimms, there is only a single princess who dances
out twelve shoes every night. The hero was not a soldier but the
youngest apprentice of the shoemaker who had to replace the shoes; he
learns she is enchanted by twelve princes.
In the variant Deulin collected the hero is not an old soldier, but
a young cowherd turned gardener's boy, named Michael, and he marries
not the oldest but the youngest princess. Andrew Lang included that variant in The Red Fairy Book.
Alexander Afanasyev's variant features an impoverished nobleman as the hero, and again marries him to the youngest princess.
Kate Crackernuts, {you can go further down the page to read this story.} collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales, reverses the role, in that the heroine goes after the dancing prince, and also the tone: the princesses in The Twelve Dancing Princesses are depicted as enjoying the dances, while in the much darker Kate Crackernuts, the prince is forced by the fairies to dance to exhaustion, and is an invalid by day.
In 1978, a made for TV telling of the story was made directed by Ben Rea. Significant changes were made to the story.
The soldier was given the Invisibility Cloak by a woman who is revealed to be the consort of Death.
The Princes in the story were removed. Instead, the Princesses went to the castle to dance at an all night disco party.
Instead of securing tokens from the underground as evidence to
prove what he has seen, the soldier reveals the Invisibility Cloak to
the King and on the third night the King himself secretly follows his
daughters to the underground castle to witness what they were doing
with his own eyes.
When the princesses are confronted with the truth in the morning
and the soldier is offered his choice of one of them to be his wife --
the soldier chooses "none of them", telling the King that they
had all lived lives of deceit and treachery and he feared what such a
woman would be like as a wife.
The soldier leaves the kingdom to continue his military life -- he
again encounters Death's consort, implying that this next battle would
lead to his death.
This version has not been shown in years and has not been released on video.
Jack and the Beanstalk
One of the many Pantomime's that we get to see every Christmas Time.
There was once a boy
called Jack who was brave and quick-witted. He lived with his mother in
a small cottage and their most valuable possession was their cow, Buttercup But the day came when Buttercup gave them no milk and
Jack's mother said she must be sold. "Take her to market," she told Jack, "and mind you get a good price for her." So
Jack set out to market leading Buttercup by her halter. After a while
he sat down to rest by the side of the road. An old man came by and
Jack told him where he was going.
"Don't bother to go to the market," the
old man said. "Sell your cow to me. I will pay you well. Look at these
beans. Only plant them, and overnight you will find you have the finest
bean plants in all the world. You'll be better offwith these beans than
with an old cow or money. Now, how many is five, Jack?"
"Two in each hand and one in your mouth," replied Jack, as sharp as a needle. "Right you are, here are five beans," said the old man and he handed the beans to Jack and took Buttercups halter. When he reached home, his mother said, "Back so soon, Jack? Did you get a good price for the cow?"
Jack
told her how he had exchanged the cow for five beans and before he
could finish his account, his mother started to shout and box his ears.
"You lazy good-for-nothing boy!" she screamed, "How could you hand over
our cow for five old beans? What will we live on now? We shall starve
to death, you stupid boy." She flung the beans through the open window and sent Jack to bed without his supper. When
Jack woke the next morning there was a strange green light in his room.
All he could see from, the window was green leaves. A huge beanstalk
had shot up overnight. It grew higher than he could see. Quickly Jack
got dressed and stepped out of the window right onto the beanstalk and
started to climb.
"The old man said the beans would grow overnight," he thought. "They must indeed be very special beans." Higher
and higher Jack climbed until at last he reached the top and found
himself on a strange road. Jack followed it until he came to a great
castle where he could smell the most delicious breakfast. Jack was
hungry. It had been a long climb and he had had nothing to eat since
midday the day before. Just as he reached the door of the castle he
nearly tripped over the feet of an enormous woman.
"Here,
boy," she called. "What are you doing? Don't you know my husband likes
to eat boys for breakfast? It's lucky I have already fried up some
bacon and mushrooms for him today, or I'd pop you in the frying pan. He
can eat you tomorrow, though."
"Oh, please don't let him eat me," pleaded Jack. "I only came to ask you for a bite to eat. It smells so delicious."
Now
the giant's wife had a kind heart and did not really enjoy cooking boys
for breakfast, so she gave Jack a bacon sandwich. He was still eating
it when the ground began to shake with heavy footsteps, and a loud
voice boomed: "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum."
"Quick,
hide!" cried the giant's wife and she pushed Jack into the oven. "After breakfast, he'll fall asleep," she whispered. "That is when you must
creep away." She left the oven door open a crack so that Jack could see
into the room. Again the terrible rumbling voice came:
"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread."
A huge giant came into the room. "Boys, boys, I smell boys," he shouted. "Wife, have I got a boy for breakfast today?"
"No,
dear," she said soothingly. "You have got bacon and mushrooms. You must
still be smelling the boy you ate last week." The giant sniffed the air
suspiciously but at last sat down. He wolfed his breakfast of bacon and
mushrooms, drank a great bucketful of steaming tea and crunched up a
massive slice of toast.
Then he fetched a couple of bags of gold from a
cupboard and started counting gold coins. Before long he dropped off to
sleep. Quietly Jack crept out of the oven.
Carefully
he picked up two gold coins and ran as fast as he could to the top of
the beanstalk. He threw the gold clown to his mother's garden and
climbed after it. At the bottom he found his mother looking in
amazement at the gold coins and the beanstalk. Jack told her of his
adventures in the giant's castle and when she examined the gold she
realized he must be speaking the truth.
Jack
and his mother used the gold to buy food. But the day came when the
money ran out, and Jack decided to climb the beanstalk again.
It
was all the same as before, the long climb, the road to the castle, the
smell of breakfast and the giant's wife. But she was not so friendly
this time. "Aren't you the boy who was here before," she asked, "on the day that some gold was stolen from under my husband's nose?" But
Jack convinced her she was wrong and in time her heart softened again
and she gave him some breakfast. Once more as:ack was eating the ground
shuddered and the great voice boomed: "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum." Quickly,
Jack jumped into the oven again. As he entered, the giant bellowed:
"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of cm Englishman, Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread."
The
giant's wife put a plate of sizzling sausages before him, telling him
he must be mistaken. After breakfast the giant fetched a hen from a
back room. Every time he said "Lay!" the hen laid an egg of solid gold.
"I must steal that hen, if I can," thought Jack, and he waited until the giant fellasleep. Then he slipped out of the oven, snotched up
the and rim for the top of the beanstalk. Keeping the hen under one
arm, he scrambled Jack and the Beanstalk clown as fast as he could
until he reached the bottom. Jack's mother was waiting but she was not
pleased when she saw the hen.
"Another
of your silly ideas, is it, bringing an old hen when you might have
brought us some gold? I don't know, what is to be done with you?"
Then
Jack set the hen down carefully, and cornmanded "Lay!" just as the
giant had done. To his mother's surprise the hen laid an egg of solid
gold.
Jack and his mother now lived in great luxury. But in time Jack became a little bored and decided to climb the beanstalk again.
This
time he did not risk talking to the giant's wife in case she recognized
him. He slipped into the kitchen when she was not looking, and hid
himself in the log basket. He watched the giant's wife prepare
breakfast and then he heard the giant's roar:
"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread."
"If
it's that cheeky boy who stole your gold and our magic hen, then help
you catch him," said the giant's wife. "Why don't we look in the oven?
It's my guess he'll be hiding there."
You
may be sure that Jack was glad he was not in the oven. The giant and
his wife hunted high and low but never thought to look in the log
basket. At last they gave up and the giant sat down to breakfast.
After
he had eaten, the giant fetched a harp. When he commanded "Play!" the
harp played the most beautiful music. Soon the giant fell asleep, and Jack crept out of the log basket. Quickly he snatched up the harp and
ran. But the harp called out loudly, "Master, save me! Save me!" and
the giant woke. With a roar of rage he chased after Jack. Jack raced down the road towards the beanstalk with the giant's
footsteps thundering behind him. When he reached the top of the
beanstalk he threw down the harp and started to slither down after it. The giant followed, and now the whole beanstalk shook
and shuddered with his weight, and Jack feared for his life. At last he
reached the ground, and seizing an axe he chopped at the beanstalk with
all his might. Snap!
"Look out,
mother!" he called as the giant came tumbling clown, head first. He lay
dead at their feet with the beanstalk on the ground beside them. The
harp survived the fall and never again shouted for the giant, for the spell was broken when the Giant died. The hen continued to lay golden eggs for Jack and
his mother and after a while he met a beautiful princess and they all lived happily ever after and in great comfort for a long, long
time.
Jack and the Beanstalk is an English fairy tale, closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant Killer. It is known under a number of versions. Benjamin Tabart recorded the oldest known one in 1807, but Joseph Jacobs popularized it in English Fairy Tales (1890).
Jacobs's version is most commonly reprinted today and is believed to
more closely adhere to the oral versions than Tabart's, because it
lacks the moralizing of that version. The story was made into a play by Charles Ludlam
The origin of Jack and the Beanstalk is unknown, although the author was almost certainly British or German.The earliest printed edition which has survived is the 1807 book The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk, printed by Benjamin Tabart, although the story was already in existence sometime before this, as a burlesque of the story entitled The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean was included in the 1734 second edition of Round About Our Coal-Fire.
In the usual version of the tale, the giant is unnamed, but many plays based on the story name him as Blunderbore; a giant of that name also appears in Jack the Giant-Killer.
The beanstalk is reminiscent of the ancient Saxon belief in a World tree connecting earth to heaven.
The giant's "Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!" was included in William Shakespeare's King Lear this was a made up story in medival folklore.
Once upon a time there was a king and a queen, as in many lands have
been. The king had a daughter, Anne, and the queen had one named Kate,
but Anne was far bonnier than the queen’s daughter, though they loved
one another like real sisters. The queen was jealous of the king’s
daughter being bonnier than her own, and cast about to spoil her
beauty. So she took counsel of the henwife, who told her to send the
lassie to her next morning fasting.
So next morning early, the queen said to Anne, “Go, my dear, to the
henwife in the glen, and ask her for some eggs.” So Anne set out, but
as she passed through the kitchen she saw a crust, and she took and
munched it as she went along.
When she came to the henwife’s she asked for eggs, as she had been
told to do; the henwife said to her, lift the lid off that pot there
and see. ” The lassie did so, but nothing happened. “Go home to your
minnie and tell her to keep her larder door better locked,” said the
henwife. So she went home to the queen and told her what the henwife
had said. The queen knew from this that the lassie had had something
to eat, so watched the next morning and sent her away fasting; but the
princess saw some country-folk picking peas by the roadside, and being
very kind she spoke to them and took a handful of the peas, which she
ate by the way.
When she came to the henwife’s, she said, “Lift the lid off the pot
and you’ll see.” So Anne lifted the lid but nothing happened. Then the
henwife was rare angry and said to Anne, “Tell your minnie the pot
won’t boil if the fire’s away.” So Anne went home and told the queen.
The third day the queen goes along with the girl herself to the
henwife. Now, this time, when Anne lifted the lid off the pot, off
falls her own pretty head, and on jumps a sheep’s head.
So the queen was now quite satisfied, and went back home.
Her own daughter, Kate, however, took a fine linen cloth and wrapped
it round her sister’s head and took her by the hand and they both went
out to seek their fortune. They went on, and they went on, and they
went on, till they came to a castle. Kate knocked at the door and
asked for a night’s lodging for herself and a sick sister. They went
in and found it was a king’s castle, who had two sons, and one of them
was sickening away to death and no one could find out what ailed him.
And the curious thing was that whoever watched him at night was never
seen any more. So the king had offered a peck of silver to anyone who
would stop up with him. Now Katie was a very brave girl, so she
offered to sit up with him.
Till midnight all goes well. As twelve o clock rings, however, the
sick prince rises, dresses himself, and slips downstairs. Kate
followed, but he didn’t seem to notice her. The prince went to the
stable, saddled his horse, called his hound, jumped into the saddle,
and Kate leapt lightly up behind him. Away rode the prince and Kate
through the greenwood, Kate, as they pass, plucking nuts from the
trees and filling her apron with them. They rode on and on till they
came to a green hill. The prince here drew bridle and spoke, “Open,
open, green hill, and let the young prince in with his horse and his
hound,” and Kate added, “and his lady him behind.”
Immediately the green hill opened and they passed in. The prince
entered a magnificent hall, brightly lighted up, and many beautiful
fairies surrounded the prince and led him off to the dance. Meanwhile,Kate, without being noticed, hid herself behind the door. There she
sees the prince dancing, and dancing, and dancing, till he could dance
no longer and fell upon a couch. Then the fairies would fan him till
he could rise again and go on dancing.
At last the cock crew, and the prince made all haste to get on
horseback; Kate jumped up behind, and home they rode. When the morning
sun rose they came in and found Kate sitting down by the fire and
cracking her nuts. Kate said the prince had a good night; but she
would not sit up another night unless she was to get a peck of gold.
The second night passed as the first had done. The prince got up at
midnight and rode away to the green hill and the fairy ball, and Kate
went with him, gathering nuts as they rode through the forest. This
time she did not watch the prince, for she knew he would dance and
dance, and dance. But she sees a fairy baby playing with a wand, and
overhears one of the fairies say: “Three strokes of that wand would
make Kate’s sick sister as bonnie as ever she was. ” So Kate rolled
nuts to the fairy baby, and rolled nuts till the baby toddled after
the nuts and let fall the wand, and Kate took it up and put it in her
apron. And at cockcrow they rode home as before, and the moment Kate
got home to her room she rushed and touched Anne three times with the
wand, and the nasty sheep’s head fell off and she was her own pretty
self again. The third night Kate consented to watch, only if she
should marry the sick prince. All went on as on the first two nights.
This time the fairy baby was playing with a birdie; Kate heard one of
the fairies say: “Three bites of that birdie would make the sick
prince as well as ever he was.” Kate rolled all the nuts she had to
the fairy baby till the birdie was dropped, and Kate put it in her
apron.
At cockcrow they set off again, but instead of cracking her nuts as
she used to do, this time Kate plucked the feathers off and cooked the
birdie. Soon there arose a very savoury smell. “Oh!” said the sick
prince, “I wish I had a bite of that birdie,” so Kate gave him a bite
of the birdie, and he rose up on his elbow. By-and-by he cried out
again: “Oh, if I had another bite of that birdie!” so Kate gave him
another bite, and he sat up on his bed. Then he said again: “Oh! if I
only had a third bite of that birdie!” So Kate gave him a third bite,
and he rose quite well, dressed himself, and sat down by the fire, and
when the folk came in next morning they found Kate and the young
prince cracking nuts together. Meanwhile his brother had seenAnnie
and had fallen in love with her, as everybody did who saw her sweet
pretty face. So the sick son married the well sister, and the well son
married the sick sister, and they all lived happily ever after. And
they never drank out of a dry cappy again.
from Wikipeadea Commentary
The fairies' forcing young men and women to come to a revel every
day and dance to exhaustion, and so waste away, was a common European
belief. The actual disease involved appears to have been consumption
This tale is the closest analogue to The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but reverses the role, in that the heroine goes after the dancing prince, and also the tone: the princesses in The Twelve Dancing Princesses are always
depicted as enjoying the dances, while in the much darker Kate Crackernuts, the prince is forced by the fairies to dance to exhaustion, and is an invalid by day
Though the stepmother acts the usual part in a fairy tale, her part
is unusually truncated, without the usual comeuppance served to
evil-doers and the stepsisters show a solidarity that is uncommon even among full siblings in fairy tales.
Adaptations
Katherine Mary Briggs adapted the story for her children's novel Kate Crackernuts.
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