An old cautionary tale

I recently received an email from a lady who lives in Scotland, about an old family saying :

“When I was a girl my mother would say that if I told tales too often then ‘Nonny’ would come and take them away. I’d completely forgotten about it until I saw your call for odd stories and I remembered an old sampler my great-aunt embroidered as a girl – this would have been in about 1910. The one thing you could say about her is that she had no imagination, but apparently told wild tales when she was little. Then one day she just stopped.

I’m going to try to find the sampler out – I think it got passed down to my mum, so it’ll be in a box somewhere. It was always on the wall when I’d visit my aunt, and scared me a bit! it read:

Little boys race and little girls run
For if you tell tales then Nonny may come

She hunts down the stories and tables the words
And carefully notes down each name that occurs

She finds the tale-teller and opens their head
Leafs through the mind like a book being read

Pulls out the fables and winds in the yarns
Then shuts the mind tight using one of her charms

And once all the fancies are stripped from the brain
They’ll never tell tall tales or stories again

There was also some figures, one of which looked a bit like one of those fairy photos those girls took, dressed in green with curly hair (but no wings)”

Hopefully I’ll get a copy of the original sampler (if it still exists), but has anybody else heard of this particular folk tale?

About the Compendium

fan·tas·tic

[fan-tas-tik]  

adjective

1. conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination; odd and remarkable; bizarre; grotesque:fantastic rock formations; fantastic designs.
2. fanciful or capricious, as persons or their ideas or actions:We never know what that fantastic creature will say next.
3. imaginary or groundless in not being based on reality;foolish or irrational: fantastic fears.
4. extravagantly fanciful; marvelous.
5. incredibly great or extreme; exorbitant: to spend fantasticsums of money.

my·thol·o·gy

[mi-thol-uh-jee]

noun, plural my·thol·o·gies.

1. a body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person: Greek mythology.
2. myths collectively.
3. the science or study of myths.
4. a set of stories, traditions, or beliefs associated with a particular group or the history of an event, arising naturallyor deliberately fostered: the Fascist mythology of the interwaryears.

Definitions provided by dictionary.com

This Compendium seeks to gather information about the lesser known Monsters, Myths and Fantastical occurrences that exist on this particular rock. From ancient tales of the Hittites, accounts of splendid artifacts and bizarre creatures to discussion of more modern social cults and contemporary fables, the origin is secondary to the shadow cast by the associated tale.

Select an entry from a category on the drop down menu, or visit the blog to see entries by date and links to research materials.

You are also invited to submit your favourite myths, legends and creatures for inclusion, no matter whether it’s an old tale you once heard, something real and weird or your own invention. Simply add a comment or email vix@vickyroden.com for a prompt reply.

The eventual aim of this project is to create a published-on-demand book, also available as an e-book.