第 三十三 章 · The Laidly Worm Of Spindleston Heugh

In Bamborough Castle once lived a king who had a fair wife and two

children, a son named Childe Wynd and a daughter named Margaret. Childe

Wynd went forth to seek his fortune, and soon after he had gone the

queen his mother died. The king mourned her long and faithfully, but

one day while he was hunting he came across a lady of great beauty, and

became so much in love with her that he determined to marry her. So

he sent word home that he was going to bring a new queen to Bamborough

Castle.

Princess Margaret was not very glad to hear of her mother's place being

taken, but she did not repine but did her father's bidding. And at the

appointed day came down to the castle gate with the keys all ready to

hand over to her stepmother. Soon the procession drew near, and the new

queen came towards Princess Margaret who bowed low and handed her the

keys of the castle. She stood there with blushing cheeks and eye on

ground, and said: “O welcome, father dear, to your halls and bowers, and

welcome to you my new mother, for all that's here is yours,” and again

she offered the keys. One of the king's knights who had escorted the new

queen, cried out in admiration: “Surely this northern Princess is the

loveliest of her kind.” At that the new queen flushed up and cried out:

“At least your courtesy might have excepted me,” and then she muttered

below her breath: “I'll soon put an end to her beauty.”

That same night the queen, who was a noted witch, stole down to a lonely

dungeon wherein she did her magic and with spells three times three, and

with passes nine times nine she cast Princess Margaret under her spell.

And this was her spell:

I weird ye to be a Laidly Worm,

And borrowed shall ye never be,

Until Childe Wynd, the King's own son

Come to the Heugh and thrice kiss thee;

Until the world comes to an end,

Borrowed shall ye never be.

So Lady Margaret went to bed a beauteous maiden, and rose up a Laidly

Worm. And when her maidens came in to dress her in the morning they

found coiled up on the bed a dreadful dragon, which uncoiled itself

and came towards them. But they ran away shrieking, and the Laidly Worm

crawled and crept, and crept and crawled till it reached the Heugh or

rock of the Spindlestone, round which it coiled itself, and lay there

basking with its terrible snout in the air.

Soon the country round about had reason to know of the Laidly Worm of

Spindleston Heugh. For hunger drove the monster out from its cave and it

used to devour everything it could come across. So at last they went to

a mighty warlock and asked him what they should do. Then he consulted

his works and his familiar, and told them: “The Laidly Worm is really

the Princess Margaret and it is hunger that drives her forth to do such

deeds. Put aside for her seven kine, and each day as the sun goes down,

carry every drop of milk they yield to the stone trough at the foot of

the Heugh, and the Laidly Worm will trouble the country no longer. But

if ye would that she be borrowed to her natural shape, and that she who

bespelled her be rightly punished, send over the seas for her brother,

Childe Wynd.”

All was done as the warlock advised, the Laidly Worm lived on the milk

of the seven kine, and the country was troubled no longer. But when

Childe Wynd heard the news, he swore a mighty oath to rescue his sister

and revenge her on her cruel stepmother. And three-and-thirty of his men

took the oath with him. Then they set to work and built a long ship, and

its keel they made of the rowan tree. And when all was ready, they out

with their oars and pulled sheer for Bamborough Keep.

But as they got near the keep, the stepmother felt by her magic power

that something was being wrought against her, so she summoned her

familiar imps and said: “Childe Wynd is coming over the seas; he must

never land. Raise storms, or bore the hull, but nohow must he touch

shore.” Then the imps went forth to meet Childe Wynd's ship, but when

they got near, they found they had no power over the ship, for its keel

was made of the rowan tree. So back they came to the queen witch, who

knew not what to do. She ordered her men-at-arms to resist Childe Wynd

if he should land near them, and by her spells she caused the Laidly

Worm to wait by the entrance of the harbour.

As the ship came near, the Worm unfolded its coils, and dipping into

the sea, caught hold of the ship of Childe Wynd, and banged it off

the shore. Three times Childe Wynd urged his men on to row bravely and

strong, but each time the Laidly Worm kept it off the shore. Then Childe

Wynd ordered the ship to be put about, and the witch-queen thought he

had given up the attempt. But instead of that, he only rounded the next

point and landed safe and sound in Budle Creek, and then, with sword

drawn and bow bent, rushed up followed by his men, to fight the terrible

Worm that had kept him from landing.

But the moment Childe Wynd had landed, the witch-queen's power over the

Laidly Worm had gone, and she went back to her bower all alone, not an

imp, nor a man-at-arms to help her, for she knew her hour was come. So

when Childe Wynd came rushing up to the Laidly Worm it made no attempt

to stop him or hurt him, but just as he was going to raise his sword to

slay it, the voice of his own sister Margaret came from its jaws saying:

“O, quit your sword, unbend your bow,

And give me kisses three;

For though I am a poisonous worm,

No harm I'll do to thee.”

Childe Wynd stayed his hand, but he did not know what to think if some

witchery were not in it. Then said the Laidly Worm again:

“O, quit your sword, unbend your bow,

And give me kisses three,

If I'm not won ere set of sun,

Won never shall I be.”

Then Childe Wynd went up to the Laidly Worm and kissed it once; but no

change came over it. Then Childe Wynd kissed it once more; but yet no

change came over it. For a third time he kissed the loathsome thing,

and with a hiss and a roar the Laidly Worm reared back and before Childe

Wynd stood his sister Margaret. He wrapped his cloak about her, and then

went up to the castle with her. When he reached the keep, he went off to

the witch queen's bower, and when he saw her, he touched her with a twig

of a rowan tree. No sooner had he touched her than she shrivelled up and

shrivelled up, till she became a huge ugly toad, with bold staring eyes

and a horrible hiss. She croaked and she hissed, and then hopped away

down the castle steps, and Childe Wynd took his father's place as king,

and they all lived happy afterwards.

But to this day, the loathsome toad is seen at times, haunting the

neighbourhood of Bamborough Keep, and the wicked witch-queen is a Laidly

Toad.