The Witch of Fife
In 1819 James Hogg published The Queen’s Wake: A Legendary Poem, a collection of ballads that includes The Witch of Fife. James Hogg, known as the Etterick Shepherd, wrote in both English and Scots.
Old Croovie
For all of the wonderful stories told by Stanley Robertson he is remembered most for this story. Jack is the hero of the Travellers and if you retell this story it is important not to change it, and don’t forget the ball of wool was blue!
The Midwife’s Tale
Stories like this can be found across Europe. In Scotland there is a similar story called Nurse Kind and Ne’er Want from Nithsdale but for years I have shaped and told my version set in the Old Town of Edinburgh.
Thomas the Rhymer
Thomas lived approximately between 1210 and 1290 and Ercildoune is today known as Earlston, near Melrose. One of his predictions foretold the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 when Robert the Bruce defeated the English:
| The Burn of Breid | The Burn of Bread … (Bannockburn) |
| Shall rin fou reid | Shall run full red … (with blood) |
Why the Sea is Salty
Usually regarded as a Scottish story this is actually a story from Iceland and found in Snorri Sturluson’s book The Prose Edda.
The Green Man of Knowledge
In 1954 Geordie Stewart recorded this story for Hamish Henderson who was collecting stories from the Travellers. Geordie Stewart was a young man at the time and he had learned it from his grandfather. It can be regarded as a Stewart family story.