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    Cambs Folk Tales for Children
    Cambs Folk Tales for Children
    Cambs Folk Tales for Children
    Ebook141 pages1 hour

    Cambs Folk Tales for Children

    By Chip Colquhoun

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    About this ebook

    Why is Cambridgeshire so flat? Probably because of all the giants who used to stomp around it! If you travel to or live in the land of Cambridgeshire, you could be walking in the footsteps of monsters, kings… or even the Devil!Journey through time to meet the giant-slayers of Saxon times, the shapeshifters of Tudor times, women who were incredible survivors… and even Victorian men who travelled on two legs faster than a steam train! What is truth, and what is myth? Decide for yourself after reading these tales of Cambridgeshire – the home of heroes from history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe History Press
    Release dateJul 4, 2016
    ISBN9780750969055
    Cambs Folk Tales for Children

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      Book preview

      Cambs Folk Tales for Children - Chip Colquhoun

      This book is dedicated to Jean

      ‘Betty’ Stubbens (1926-2006),

      my legendary hero of Cambridgeshire.

      CONTENTS

      Title

      Dedication

      List of Illustrations and Thank Yous

      Introduction

      1    Why is Cambridgeshire so Flat?

      2    The Land of Gogmagog

      3    Jack’s Catch

      4    Why the Fens are Marshes

      5    The Wisbech Giant

      6    The Eel Catcher’s Daughter

      7    King John’s Jewels

      8    Whirlin’ Sunday

      9    Donkey Boy

      10    The Shapeshifter

      11    The Ghost of the White Horse Inn

      12    The Ballad of Eliza Woodcock

      13    The Histon Giant

      14    The Fastest Men in the World

      15    Fearless Mary

      16    The Soham Rail Disaster

      Conclusion

      Tips For Sharing

      More About the Stories

      About the Author and Illustrators

      Copyright

      LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

      BY ELLIE BENTLEY

      Why the Fens are Marshes * Whirlin’ Sunday * The Histon Giant

      BY DAVE HINGLEY

      Front Cover (Gogmagog and Corineus) * Why is Cambridgeshire so Flat? * The Land of Gogmagog * The Wisbech Giant * The Ballad of Eliza Woodcock * Fearless Mary * The Soham Rail Disaster

      BY EMMA MARSH

      Introduction * The Ghost of the White Horse Inn * Conclusion * The Battle of the Holme

      BY ERICA TERRY-ROSE

      Jack’s Catch * The Eel Catcher’s Daughter * King John’s Jewels * Donkey Boy * The Shapeshifter * The Fastest Men in the World * King John and His Men

      THANK YOUS

      As you’ll find out from several of the characters in this book, such as Robin Goodfellow and Jim Nightall, two of the most important words you can say are ‘thank you’! This whole book would not have happened without all the help I had from a lot of people. I’m pretty sure I can’t remember them all, so I’ll start by saying a massive thanks and sorry to anyone I’ve missed!

      First of all, a huge thanks to my editor, Nicola Guy, and her friends at The History Press. This book was their idea, and I was honoured to write it for them. Their help in bringing it all together has been fantastic.

      I’m also grateful to my friends at The Society for Storytelling – especially Liz Berg, Christine Willison, Paul Jackson, Tony Cooper, Pippa and Del Reid, Vanessa Woolf, Wendy Stewart, Kevin Blackburn and Mike Forbes – who all strive to keep storytelling strong across the UK.

      Thanks also to the Cambridge Storytellers for their support of this book, especially Malcolm Busby and Rachel O’Leary who helped us make sure that the book had a lovely first birthday!

      Loads of thanks also to my illustrators Dave Hingley, Ellie Bentley, Emma Marsh and Erica Terry-Rose. They made this book extra fun!

      As you’ll see in the introduction, all these stories had to be passed to me somehow, so a big thanks to everyone who did! That includes: Ami, Ben and Amelie from Petersfield Primary School; Maureen James, author of the original Cambridgeshire Folk Tales; Tamsin Wimhurst from the Cambridge Folk Museum; and loads of bloggers, authors and storytellers whose names would fill up this book if I could remember them all!

      Then there’s how I tell the stories, which is influenced by those who have told stories to me or with me. My big thanks here go to Ashley Ramsden, Tilda Stickley, Gloria Lagou, Jane Bower, Bob Hartman, Amber Lickerish, Kat Smith, John Row, L-J Ross, Nicholas Lee, David Ault and Graham Langley. Bigger thanks go to Tracy and Paul (also known as Mum and Dad!) who started me storytelling in the first place. But biggest of all goes to Amy Robinson – if she hadn’t come up with the idea for Snail Tales, I wouldn’t be saying that storytelling is my job!

      And finally, mahoosive thanks to my lambent Emma Sutcliffe and my kitten Tito, who both give my own story a happy ending every day.

      Now… on with the stories!

      INTRODUCTION

      Welcome to Cambridgeshire! Do you live here, or are you just passing through? Either way, did you know you could be walking in the footsteps of kings, fairies… or even giants?

      This book is a little bit history, and a little bit magic. How can it be both? Well… Right at the beginning of Britain, Cambridgeshire was one of the most important places in the country. If it wasn’t for some of the people who lived here, the whole country (maybe even the whole world!) might have looked very different.

      But because they didn’t have cameras or phones back then, all news was passed on through stories.

      Now when tellers have important news, they like to know that whoever listens is really listening. And listeners really listen when they enjoy what they hear. So tellers often made the characters bigger… the dangers greater… and each list at least three things long…

      This was the magic that turned history into stories. You know the phrase ‘magic spell’? That may be where it came from: tellers ‘spelling’ more exciting words into their news. These ‘magic spells’ turned big men into giants… creepy feelings into ghosts… and very tasty muffins into cakes made by angels…

      That’s not all. For stories to spread, tellers needed their listeners to share the stories with others. If a listener really enjoyed a story, they were bound to tell it to someone else. This is probably where we got the idea of being ‘spellbound’.

      So the more important the news, the more amazing the story became. As you discover the stories in this book, see if you can spot the important messages in each one. And if you really like the messages or the stories, why not share them with people you know? That way, even more people will discover what the legendary heroes of Cambridgeshire can teach us.

      Our first story starts with a question you’ll definitely ask if you ever try tobogganing around here…

      1

      WHY IS CAMBRIDGESHIRE

      SO FLAT?

      Before people like you and me were born, the land was home to giants with amazing powers. They were known as gods.

      Some gods were fierce and mean, and the fiercest and meanest of all was Warrior God. He wanted to rule the world, and was always fighting the other gods.

      But there were friendly gods too. Sun God had powers of heat, light, growth… and destruction. He used his powers wisely, however. He only used destruction to remove old trees and make space for new forests.

      There was also Mother Goddess, whose power was creation. She could ask the land or the animals to give her anything nature could make – and they would!

      Sun God and Mother Goddess often walked together through the hilly forests of Cambridgeshire. Those hills were huge! The gods loved running up one side, then rolling down the other! Have you ever tried that on a hill?

      At the start of this story, though, Sun God and Mother Goddess were picnicking at a beach in Suffolk when, suddenly, Mother Goddess saw flames flickering on the horizon… ‘Oh! The forests of Cambridgeshire! They’re on fire!’

      Sun God and Mother Goddess both ran to their favourite land. But as they arrived… CLANG! A huge cage fell from above, trapping them both!

      From behind a nearby hill appeared Warrior God. ‘Got ya! You can’t get out of that cage – it’s made from a metal harder than anything in nature! So your favourite forests of Cambridgeshire will burn to ashes, unless you give me what I want!’

      Sun God raised an eyebrow. ‘And what do you want?’

      Warrior God grinned. ‘I want your powers of heat, light, growth… and destruction!’

      But Mother Goddess just chuckled. ‘We’ll get out of this cage in no time. All I need to do is ask the land for an axe – made from the hardest material in nature!’

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