Scotland's Storybook: stories in English (1.1 - Education Scotland

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disappeared, and he was once more the handsome stranger that had first appeared at the hunter’s door. They both mounted the horse and rode back to the hunter’s house at great speed. As the selkie hunter clambered off the horse by his own door the selkie man said to him, ‘Now remember your vow. You must never injure or kill another selkie for as long as you will live.’ The selkie hunter remembered the vow alright, and his heart grew heavy at the thought of it. It wasn’t that he enjoyed killing selkies, but how else was he going to make any money to feed his family? ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I remember my vow, and I’m a man of honour, so I will be faithful to it.’ ‘Good man,’ said the selkie with a smile. ‘Here; take this. Never let it be said that the selkie folk ever deprived an honest man of his livelihood without paying him any compensation.’ He handed the selkie hunter a large bag of gold coins; more than enough to keep him and his family in comfort for the rest of their days. Then the selkie man turned his horse and galloped off into the gathering darkness, and was never seen again. The selkie hunter was as good as his word and he never injured or killed another selkie for as long as he lived. He would sometimes sit down by the shore and watch the selkies swimming or basking in the sunshine, and he never again laughed at the ‘old wives tales’ about the selkie folk who could take off their skins and dance in the moonlight. Tom Muir, Orkney 64
ASSIPATTLE AND THE STOOR WORM There was once, a long, long time ago, a farmer who lived in a fine farm called Leegarth. It lay in a lovely green valley surrounded by hills, and a crystal clear stream danced for joy as it ran past the house. The farmer was not a wealthy man, and he and his wife and seven sons worked hard to put bread on the table. Well, that’s not strictly true, you see the man and his wife and the six oldest sons worked hard, but the youngest son did nothing but lie by the side of the fire raking through the ashes. His clothes were covered with ashes, and when he did venture outside the ash blew from him like smoke from a bonfire. His family called him Assipattle, the ash raker, and his mother and father would look on him with sad eyes and shake their heads, but his older brothers hated him for his laziness, and they would kick him as they went out the door to their work. But Assipattle didn’t mind, because he was a dreamer and he had the heart of a poet. He told great stories in which he was the hero who killed dragons and carried off fair maidens, but this only made his brothers hate him even more. One day a terrible thing happened – the Stoor Worm arrived at the coast of the land where Assipattle lived. This was the most evil of all the monsters that plagued mankind; a huge sea serpent that was so big that he had curled himself right around the world. Whenever he moved he caused tidal waves and earthquakes, and his foul breath was poisonous, killing every living thing that it touched. He could sweep whole towns into his great mouth with his huge forked tongue, and eat all the people that were in them just as easily as it is for us to blink an eye. What was worse, the Stoor Worm had started to yawn, which did not mean that he was tired; it meant that he was hungry and needed to be fed. The king who lived in the great castle on top of the hill gathered together all his wisest advisers to try to find out what could be done to save the kingdom from destruction. Not one of them had any idea as to what could be done, but one of them suggested that they seek the advice of the old wizard who lived on the slopes of the mountain. The king sent his heralds to fetch the old wizard, 65
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Scotland’s Storybook A magical co
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FIONN MAC CUMHAIL AND THE SALMON OF
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said to contain all the knowledge o
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‘Then what is it; the answer to t
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The mist parted and there before hi
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with a huge emerald in the centre o
Page 14 and 15: what had happened to Fionn and the
Page 16 and 17: As the party rode through the fores
Page 18 and 19: eautiful woman walking over the sur
Page 20 and 21: ANGUS AND BRIDE Beira was old, as o
Page 22 and 23: The old man handed the fleece to Br
Page 24 and 25: ode west, back to the Green Isle wh
Page 26 and 27: people to the new religion as had d
Page 28 and 29: Scotland and imprisoned in a castle
Page 30 and 31: that this must be the Blessed Virgi
Page 32 and 33: Thomas used his gift of prophesy to
Page 34 and 35: sadness that would engulf their lan
Page 36 and 37: prophesy that foretold death and ru
Page 38 and 39: e careful of how he acted until his
Page 40 and 41: Without looking up she replied: ‘
Page 42 and 43: ‘Why Willie, my dear,’ said his
Page 44 and 45: ‘What was that?’ he asked his w
Page 46 and 47: So, Rashie Coat went back to the ki
Page 48 and 49: again. When she got home the fairy
Page 50 and 51: problems about saying yes. They wer
Page 52 and 53: her knee and she wept bitter tears
Page 54 and 55: mouth up under her right ear and sh
Page 56 and 57: the branches of the trees as they t
Page 58 and 59: him; it was the greedy laird. He ga
Page 60 and 61: THE SELKIE HUNTER The Pentland Firt
Page 62 and 63: speed. The hunter held on tight to
Page 66 and 67: who eventually arrived to offer the
Page 68 and 69: that the king was to fight the Stoo
Page 70 and 71: As soon as the guard heard this he
Page 72 and 73: MALLIE AND THE TROW Mallie and her
Page 74 and 75: The next morning the trow said his
Page 76 and 77: The Little Brown Calf There was onc
Page 78 and 79: sound outside. She went to the wind
Page 80 and 81: upset at having lost sight of her,
Page 82 and 83: in the black kitchen.” The prince
Page 84 and 85: The Salmon of Knowledge Fionn MacCu
Page 86 and 87: MacCodram and his Seal-Wife Many ye
Page 88 and 89: Although the fisherman was sorry fo
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Scotland's Storybook: stories in English (1.1 - Education Scotland

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