The Riddle in the Tale: Riddles and Riddle Folk Tales

by Taffy Thomas, Steven Gregg (Illustrator), Michael Rosen (Foreword by)

Overview

We have been fascinated by riddles for as long as we have had language – think of the legend of the sphinx in Greek mythology. This wonderful book includes both magical riddle tales and simple challenges, with clues and answers hidden in intricate illustrations. Discover how the farmer saved his daughter by solving the fairies' riddles or how the old hen-wife helped the two brothers solve the mystery of their father's will. Have a read – you'll be hooked.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750986373
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	11/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

TAFFY THOMAS is a professional storyteller who gives around 300 storytelling performances across the country each year. He was the founder of legendary ’70s folk theatre company Magic Lantern, who used shadow puppets and storytelling to illustrate folk tales. After surviving a major stroke in 1985 he used oral storytelling as speech therapy, which led him to find a new career working as a storyteller.
One of the UK’s most loved storytellers, he was made an MBE in the 2000 New Year’s Honours List for services to storytelling and charity. In 2000-2011 he became the first laureate for storytelling, a role created to promote the power of stories. Taffy is the artistic director of the Northern Centre for Storytelling in Grasmere and the author of many collections of folk tales for The History Press. He lives in Grasmere, Ambleside.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

The Riddle Song

Whenever I can, I start my performance set of riddle stories with a version of this song, often sung by my daughter. Wherever we include it, it never fails to please. So it seems right to begin the stories in this book with my version of the song:

I gave my love a cherry without a stone,
How can there be a cherry without a stone?
A cherry when it blossoms it has no stone,
CHAPTER 2

The Stanhope Fairies

In 1991 I was the North Pennines Storyteller in Residence. While in this role, I met a dear friend in Weardale, a farmer's wife called Maude Coulthard. Maude, who is known for telling jokes at Methodist teas, passed on this jewel of a tale, which was of special interest to me as a collector of riddles.

In Weardale, County Durham, there are several places where there are strange holes in the ground. The Weardale folk never look into these holes for they know they are fairy holes and, if they peer into the holes and the king of the fairies should see them, he will come at midnight and spirit them away.

There was one young girl, about eight years old, from Eastgate, who was a farmer's daughter. She was desperate to see the fairies at the Eastgate fairy holes. So, one day, when her father and mother were busy on the land, she slipped away and ran towards the fairy holes. As she got closer she could hear the jingling of bells and the clip-clopping of hooves. She sat on the edge of a hole, peered in and saw lots of tiny horses with hooves and bells around the saddle. But the king of the fairies looked up and saw her.

The girl jumped up in terror and ran back to the farm to tell her father what she had done. He called her a silly little goose and told her that the king of the fairies would come at midnight and spirit her away unless she went to bed really early and kept completely silent so that the fairies did not find her.

That night, at six o' clock, the father shut all the chickens and ducks in a shed so there was no clucking and quacking. He stopped all the clocks in the house so there was no tick-ticking and the whole family retired to bed early.

At midnight, the farmer heard the jingling of bells and the clip-clopping of hooves. Knowing it would be the approaching fairies, he kept completely silent. However, he had forgotten that his daughter had a pet dog that slept beside her bed. The dog pricked up its ears and, hearing the jingling of bells and the clip-clopping of hooves, let out a sharp bark.

Now the fairies knew which room to go to. They bundled the little girl into a blanket and took her away with them back to the fairy holes.

When the farmer awoke in the morning he was distressed to find his daughter gone. What could he do?

He knew that, in Stanhope, there was a gypsy woman who lived in a beautiful painted caravan. Perhaps, if he visited her, she could help.

So, that very morning, he walked from Eastgate to Stanhope, a distance of some three and a half miles. He approached the caravan and knocked on the wooden half-door. A thin reedy voice bade him enter. He climbed the three steps into the caravan and found the gypsy woman sitting by the stove making clothes pegs. She asked what he wanted and the farmer explained what had happened to his daughter.

The old woman proffered her right hand and told him that, if he crossed her palm with silver, she could help. The farmer put a hand into his pocket, pulled out a £20 note and pressed it into the gypsy's outstretched hand.

The old woman told him that he must go to the fairy holes himself, wearing a sprig of rowan in his hat for good luck. Furthermore, he would have to take with him three presents – but he would have to answer three riddles to find out the nature of these presents. He had to take: a chicken without a bone; a light that couldn't be lit; and a part of an animal's flesh that could be taken without a drop of blood being drawn.

The farmer couldn't immediately answer any of these riddles, but he did know where to find a rowan tree on the fellside. He thanked the old lady and set out to collect his sprig of rowan, for he needed all the luck he could find.

Halfway up the hill he met a tramp who was starving. The tramp begged an apple, a lump of cheese and half a stottie cake from the farmer, and thanking him, offered his help.

The farmer told him that he needed a chicken without a bone. The tramp explained that this was, of course, an egg.

Delighted, the farmer headed towards the chicken shed to collect his egg.

By the chicken house, a kestrel was diving on a blackbird. The farmer shooed the kestrel away, saving the blackbird's life. Gratefully, the blackbird offered his help. So the farmer told the bird that he needed to find a light that didn't have to be lit. The blackbird informed him that this was, of course, a glow-worm.

So off the farmer headed, towards the wood, to trap this insect.

On the edge of the wood, a naughty boy was throwing stones at a rabbit. The farmer sent the boy home to his mother, so saving the rabbit's life. In return for his kind deed, the rabbit offered the farmer help.

The farmer told him that he needed a part of an animal's flesh without a drop of blood being drawn. Immediately, the rabbit explained that, if he climbed Softly Bank, which is the hill from Weardale into Teesdale, the farmer might find a lizard on the rocks. If he pulled the lizard's tail it would come off without a drop of blood being drawn and the lizard would grow a new one.

So the farmer climbed Softly Bank and, indeed, discovered a lizard scampering on the rocks. He tweaked the lizard's tail and it came off in his hand.

Armed with the tail, the insect and the egg, and wearing the sprig of rowan, the farmer set off back to Eastgate to the fairy holes. He presented these gifts to the king of the fairies, who was so delighted that he told the farmer his daughter could return safely with him to the farm.

And the daughter was so pleased to be going home that she promised her parents that she would never slip off again without them knowing her whereabouts.

CHAPTER 3

Filling The House

I was told this story over a cup of cocoa on one of my journeys as a travelling storyteller. My storyteller and artist friends love this tale, as we all believe that music, joy and life are at the heart of all the arts.

Somewhere in the heart of the countryside lived a farmer and his three children. His wife had died some time before and he had worked hard to bring up his children well and happy. The house was always full of fun even though they all worked very hard. However, his two sons, who were intelligent, hard-working chaps, had only one grumble: that their sister was always dancing and singing when she should have been working. This didn't seem to bother the farmer as it reminded him of how much his wife had loved to fill the house with singing, and it made him happy.

Now the farmer was in the autumn of his years – the time was approaching when he would die. He knew he would soon have to make a will to say which of his three children would inherit the farm.

He went into town and called on the family lawyer. There he made a will stating that the day he was buried, each of his children was to be given a gold coin. They would have to use this coin to fill every room in the farmhouse from the ceiling to the floor. He had always made sure that the house was full of love and joy and he didn't want that to end with his death. But the old farmhouse was enormous and had many rooms. This would be a test to see which of them would run the farm as it had always been. He was safe in the knowledge that he had made his will, and a couple of years later took to his bed and died.

The day after his death, his three children took his coffin to the churchyard and buried him, full of years. After the ceremony, as the family gathered in the farmhouse, the lawyer arrived to read them the will. All three were keen to know who would get to run the farm. The lawyer explained that their father had left this riddle for them to solve:

Each will have a piece of gold,
Indeed, they were each to get a gold coin and they had to buy something to fill every room in the farmhouse from the ceiling to the floor. Whoever could achieve this would inherit the farm.

The first of the intelligent, hard-working sons went out with his gold coin and his horse and cart; he bought every second-hand feather mattress in area. He returned to the farm and dragged the mattresses into the house. Taking his pocket knife, he slit the mattresses open and filled each of the rooms from the ceiling to the floor with feathers. The lawyer checked from room to room. It took so long to walk around the rooms that by the time he came to the last one, the feathers had settled and there was a gap between the top of the feathers and the ceiling. The lawyer told the lad he liked the idea but there was one room that wasn't quite filled, so he had failed in the task.

The second intelligent, hard-working son took a dustpan and brush and swept up all the feathers. He then went out with his gold coin, and returned with a large box: it was a box of candles. He stood a candle in each of the rooms and lit them all. He had filled every room in the house with light. The lawyer checked from room to room. It took so long to walk around the rooms that by the time he came to the last one, the candle had gone out and the room was in darkness. The lawyer told the lad he liked the idea but there was one room that wasn't quite filled, so he had failed in the task.

That left the music-loving daughter. She went out with her gold coin and returned with a small case containing a flute. For days she sat learning to play a tune, much to the annoyance of her brothers who thought she should be helping them. Eventually she called for the lawyer and all the friends and family to come to the house. She opened the door of every room in the house and sat cross-legged in the hall, playing a lively tune. All in the house started to smile and tap their feet; some even started to dance. At the end of her tune she told the lawyer she had filled every room, not once, not twice, but three times. The lawyer was mystified and asked her to explain. She told him firstly she had filled every room in the house with music; secondly, everyone hearing it had started to smile and dance, so she had filled every room with joy; and if you put music and joy together, she told him, you have life – so even at the time of her own father's death, she had filled every room in his house with life.

The lawyer, and even the brothers, were so impressed by her wisdom and spirit that they agreed she should inherit the farm. She was so happy to keep the house full of life that she agreed that they should all inherit the farm and work together as they always had, as long as she could keep on singing, dancing and filling the house with her music. After all the farm was so big there was room for everyone.

CHAPTER 4

Riddles Good Enough To Eat

These riddles will feed your brain, and the answers your belly.

1 I am a fruit, but as veg. I am sold,
2 A neat little man in a bright red coat,
3 My skin is red, but pale within,
4 You throw the outside away to cook the
5 Toss me up as white as snow,
6 What bird is with you at every meal?

If you need help solving these riddles, take another look at the title page of this section.

CHAPTER 5

Happy Jack & Lazy John

This story came my way some years ago via American storyteller Alice Murphy, who came to visit the Storyteller's Garden to share stories. It is thought to be a story from France.

The village baker, being now quite old, had handed the bakery on to his twin sons, Jack and John. Now Jack and John, although identical in appearance, were very different in character. Jack was never without a smile on his face and was known to all as Happy Jack. He would awake at first light and bake the breakfast bread, whistling as he worked. John, on the other hand, was a lay-a-bed, and when he did get up from his bed, seldom had flour under his fingernails. Despite this John was as clever as he was lazy, and he enjoyed going out and about selling their wares and keeping the accounts in order. However, everyone still called him Lazy John.

Like with all good bakery establishments, once the ovens were lit the most glorious aromas of baking bread spilled out into the streets and the village square.

So it was when one day the king of that land and his entourage, who were in that area on a hunting expedition, were overtaken by the glorious smell of baking bread. The king at that time was in a state of deep depression, doom-laden with affairs of state, and he hoped that the hunt might cheer him. As the aroma from the bakery reached him he halted the entourage and ordered one of his men to fetch him a loaf of the bread to taste. The king's companion returned, followed by Happy Jack clutching one of his best loaves of the batch. Smiling with delight at the prospect of pleasing the king, Happy Jack bowed and presented the loaf to him. Then he stepped back, his face full of joy, and smiled at the king.

The king, who had not smiled in quite some time, was irritated by Jack seeming not to have a care in the world, and asked him if he was always so happy. Jack replied that he couldn't remember ever knowing a sad day, and was happy all the time.

The king retorted that everyone should encounter some sadness in their life, as it was the way of things. To show Jack that he was no exception to this rule, the king declared that he would set him three riddles, which Jack was to attend the court to answer by noon the very next day. If he failed to do this the bakery would be burned to the ground. For the first time in his life since being an infant Jack was worried and a tear came to his eye.

The first riddle the king asked was:

How much is a king worth?

The second:

What is it that a king needs,
Lastly, the king told him that the third riddle would be for Jack to tell him what he, the king, was thinking at the very moment that Jack stood before him the next day.

With this, the king turned his horse and, followed by the entourage, rode off.

Happy Jack stood for a moment watching them ride away and then despondently turned to go back into the bakery. As he went through the door Lazy John had just got up from his bed and, seeing his brother walk in without any smile on his face and with a tear in his eye, asked him what on earth was the matter.

Jack told his brother all that had taken place while he had still been sleeping. He told him all about the riddles and the terrible consequence if he failed to solve them.

Lazy John, who was the cleverest of men, told his brother not to worry and that if Jack let him go in his place then he could answer the riddles and all would be well.

Jack began to feel better, for didn't his brother always know the answer to any question, and didn't his brother always look after him so well that he himself had no worries in the world?

The following day Lazy John arose much earlier than usual and began his journey to the court of the king. When the sun was high in the sky he entered the court room and was taken before the king, who immediately demanded of the young man standing before him if he had the answers to his riddles.

The king confidently set about asking him the riddles, first asking what a king was worth.

Lazy John replied that the greatest man who ever set foot on this earth was sold for thirty pieces of silver and even a king must be worth at least one piece less. So the answer was twenty-nine pieces of silver.

The king seemed surprised at the wisdom of the answer and quickly asked him the second riddle: what a king needs, a poor man already has, and if a man were to eat it he would die. After a short pause Lazy John told the king that the answer was nothing: for a king needs nothing, a poor man has nothing and if a man eats nothing he will die.

The king conceded that this was indeed the answer, but added that unless Lazy John could guess what he was thinking at that very moment then the bakery would burn to the ground. Undaunted, Lazy John told the king that he was thinking that it was Happy Jack in front of him answering his riddles, but that it was not as he thought, for he was in fact Lazy John, Jack's identical twin brother.

Everyone gasped and waited for the king's reaction.

Then, realising he had been outwitted, for the first time in many months the king smiled and then began to laugh. He felt so much better that he told Lazy John that the bakery was spared, and he gave him a handsome reward and sent him home to his brother.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Riddle In The Tale"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Taffy Thomas MBE.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

About the Author,
About the Illustrator,
Acknowledgements,
Foreword by Michael Rosen,
Introduction,
The Riddle Song,
The Stanhope Fairies,
Filling the House,
Riddles Good Enough to Eat,
Happy Jack & Lazy John,
The Ogre's Riddle,
Outwitting The Devil,
In The Storyteller's Garden Riddles Grow,
The Riddle Fish,
Racing for the Crown,
Sam & The Piskie,
Four Pairs Of Shorts,
King James & The Bishop Of Worcester,
The Greatest Gift,
A Riddle Gallimaufry,
The Fearsome Giant,
Clever Manka & Princess Rose,
Riddles Grow Out Of The Land,
The Pot Of Gold,
Counting Sheep,
The King & the Storyteller,
Answers,