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Wall Comment: #765
Here in the US I knew this as the The Gingerbread Man...
Story of the Wee Bannock
There was once an old man and an old woman who lived in a nice wee house by the side of a burn. They didn’t have very mu...Here in the US I knew this as the The Gingerbread Man...
Story of the Wee Bannock
There was once an old man and an old woman who lived in a nice wee house by the side of a burn. They didn’t have very much, but they had two cows that gave them milk, five hens who gave them lovely brown eggs to eat, a cock who crowed in the morning and told them when it was time to get up, a cat who kept the house free from mice and two kittens who played rough-and-tumble by the side of the fire. The old man looked after the cows and the hens and grew vegetables in the garden while his wife cooked, cleaned and spun wool on a spindle and distaff. One day, after their morning porridge, the old woman thought that she’d like a nice wee oatmeal bannock for their supper, so she took down her mixing bowl and she made two fine wee bannocks and she set them over the fire to cook. When they were ready, and lying toasting by the fireside, the old man came in and sniffed the air.
'Mmmm, bannocks,' he said, 'they smell grand!'
He picked up one of the bannocks and snapped it in two and started to eat it. The other wee bannock sat up, rubbed its eyes in horror as it saw its friend being eaten, and then it jumped down onto the floor and ran out of the house as fast as its wee bannock legs would carry it. The old woman ran after it, still carrying the spindle and distaff in her hand, but she was an old woman and it was a very young bannock and it soon disappeared out of sight.
It ran and it ran until it saw a fine house with a thatched roof and it ran through the door and headed for the fireplace. In the room were three tailors, who were sitting crossed legged on a big table, but as soon as they saw the wee bannock they gave a scream of terror and ran and hid behind the tailor’s wife, like chicks behind a mother hen.
'Och, you bunch of scardy-cats,' said the tailor’s wife, 'it’s only a wee bannock come to warm its wee nose by our fireside. Quick, catch it and we can have it along with a glass of milk.'
The tailor and his two apprentices tried to catch the wee bannock, but it was too fast for them. The tailor threw an iron at it, while his wife, who had been carding flax, threw her cards at it, but they both missed. The one apprentice tried to hit it with his lap-board while the other one ran after it with his shears, going Snip! Snip! Snip! trying to cut the wee bannock into two. But the wee bannock ran outside and was away.
By the side of the road stood a wee house, and the bannock ran in there to hide. There sat a weaver at his loom, weaving cloth, while his wife was winding a hank of yarn.
'Tibby, my love,' said the weaver, 'what was that?'
'Why Willie, my dear,' said his wife, 'it’s a fine wee bannock.'
'Then be quick, and grab it,' said the weaver, 'for that porridge we had for breakfast was very thin and watery.'
The woman threw her hank of wool at the bannock, while the weaver lunged at it, but it was too fast for them. It was out the door and over the hill like a freshly tarred sheep!
It ran into another house where a woman was standing churning cream into butter. She smiled when she saw it enter and said:
'Come away in, wee bannock! I have some cream left over and you’ll be very tasty mixed with that.'
She chased the wee bannock around and around the churn, until she nearly knocked the churn over and only just managed to steady it to stop it from falling. By the time she had saved the churn she was just able to see its wee bannock backside disappearing through the door.
Down the hillside the wee bannock ran until it saw a mill and ran inside. The miller saw the wee bannock come puffing through the door, and he smiled a big smile.
'My, what a great country this is,' said the miller, 'that there is so much food that wee bannocks are running around wild. Why don’t you come here while I introduce you to my friend, Mr Cheese! I am very fond of cheese and bannocks, and will be happy to give you a nice, warm place to spend the night.'
As he said that he rubbed his big belly, and licked his lips. The wee bannock knew that cheese was a dangerous thing to be around, and he didn’t trust the miller, so he turned tail and ran out of the mill and away.
The next place that the wee bannock came to was a smiddy, and there inside was a huge blacksmith standing by his anvil hammering away at some iron to make it into horseshoe nails. The forge was burning brightly alongside of him, so the wee bannock toddled towards it for a warm. They seem to like the fireside, wee bannocks, maybe it’s because that are made over a fire, or maybe they are related to cats. Anyway, the blacksmith laughed when he saw the wee bannock, and he picked up an iron rod and put it into the forge and pumped the bellows until the sparks flew and the fire blazed.
'I’ll heat this rod until its red hot and then thrust it into a cog of strong ale to heat it up and make it tasty. Then I’ll toast you over the forge and eat you up with the ale.'
The poor wee bannock was frightened by the blacksmith, and he knew that ale was as dangerous to a wee bannock as cheese was, so he ran towards the door. The blacksmith picked up his heavy hammer and threw it at the wee bannock, but it ducked out of the way and escaped.
On and on the wee bannock ran until it reached a farmhouse that had a large stack of peats by the end of it. It ran in and up to the fire to warm its wee toes and nose. By the fire a man was busy beating lint on the floor with an iron bar while his wife was combing the flax that had been split by her husband.
'Look, Janet,' said the man, 'a wee bannock! I’ll have half of it.'
'And I’ll have the other half,' said his wife, 'hurry up John, and hit it over the back with the rod.'
The man swung the iron rod at the wee bannock, while his wife threw her flax comb at it, but it was too quick for either of them. They chased it around and around the room, but the wee bannock ducked and weaved around them. Why, if only they could have taught that wee bannock to play rugby then Scotland would never lose a match again! It slipped between the man’s legs, was out the door and away.
It ran up a stream to the next house, where a woman was stirring a porridge pot with a stick.
'Jock! Jock!' she shouted to her husband, 'You’re always crying that you would like a wee bannock, well, one has just walked through the door! Come here and help me to catch it.'
Jock came lumbering into the room and they both tried to grab the wee bannock, but it was far too clever for them. The woman threw her porridge stick at the wee bannock, while the man tried to catch it with the rope that he had been plaiting from rushes, but he didn’t know how to make a lasso, and so after leading them a merry dance the wee bannock slipped out of the door and away into the evening.
The next house that the wee bannock came to sat up on the hillside. It ran through the door and right up to the fire where the woman of the house was dishing up the supper porridge with a big spoon.
'Well, well! Will you look at that; a wee bannock is warming itself by our fire.'
'Quick,' said her husband, 'bar the door. We’ll have that wee bannock to eat after our porridge. There is never enough to eat around here.'
As soon as the wee bannock heard that it was off through the house, being chased by the man and his wife, both with spoons in their hand. The man threw his bonnet at the wee bannock, but despite its size it was as fast on its feet as a pancake and the bonnet skimmed over the top of its head and landed on the floor in front of it. The wee bannock jumped over the bonnet and was out the door in a flash.
By the time it reached the next house the sun was setting, and the old man and the old woman were getting ready to go to bed. The old man had just taken off his trousers and was standing by the bed in his long, woolly drawers, when the wee bannock ran past him.
'What was that?' he asked his wife.
'Why, it’s a wee bannock,' she replied.
'I could do with a bite of that bannock,' the old man said, 'for the supper porridge tonight wouldn’t have stuck much flesh to my ribs.'
'Catch it,' cried the old woman, 'for I could do with a piece of it too.'
The two of them scrambled around after it, but it was too fast for them.
'Throw your trousers over it,' shouted the old woman.
The old man grabbed his trousers and threw them over the top of the wee bannock. The wee bannock lay there on the floor, almost smothered by the old man’s trousers. They smelt of old string and Pan Drops mint sweeties, but eventually the wee bannock struggled free and ran out of the door and into the night. The old man ran after it too, but after a while he gave up and had the embarrassment of walking home wearing just his long woolly drawers and matching woolly simmet.
By this time it was getting dark, and the wee bannock thought that it would have to find a safe place to sleep for the night. There was a big clump of whin bushes up ahead, so the wee bannock slipped into them to find a soft spot to rest. There, under the whin bushes, was a big hole, so the wee bannock went inside to see what was there. Mr Fox sat and watched the wee bannock as it walked towards him; for this was the fox’s home. He hadn’t eaten for two days and he was very hungry. He smiled, a big, toothy smile, and said,
'Welcome, welcome!' and then with one snap of his sharp teeth he bit the wee bannock in two; and that was the end of the wee bannock.
Story of the Wee Bannock
There was once an old man and an old woman who lived in a nice wee house by the side of a burn. They didn’t have very mu...Here in the US I knew this as the The Gingerbread Man...
Story of the Wee Bannock
There was once an old man and an old woman who lived in a nice wee house by the side of a burn. They didn’t have very much, but they had two cows that gave them milk, five hens who gave them lovely brown eggs to eat, a cock who crowed in the morning and told them when it was time to get up, a cat who kept the house free from mice and two kittens who played rough-and-tumble by the side of the fire. The old man looked after the cows and the hens and grew vegetables in the garden while his wife cooked, cleaned and spun wool on a spindle and distaff. One day, after their morning porridge, the old woman thought that she’d like a nice wee oatmeal bannock for their supper, so she took down her mixing bowl and she made two fine wee bannocks and she set them over the fire to cook. When they were ready, and lying toasting by the fireside, the old man came in and sniffed the air.
'Mmmm, bannocks,' he said, 'they smell grand!'
He picked up one of the bannocks and snapped it in two and started to eat it. The other wee bannock sat up, rubbed its eyes in horror as it saw its friend being eaten, and then it jumped down onto the floor and ran out of the house as fast as its wee bannock legs would carry it. The old woman ran after it, still carrying the spindle and distaff in her hand, but she was an old woman and it was a very young bannock and it soon disappeared out of sight.
It ran and it ran until it saw a fine house with a thatched roof and it ran through the door and headed for the fireplace. In the room were three tailors, who were sitting crossed legged on a big table, but as soon as they saw the wee bannock they gave a scream of terror and ran and hid behind the tailor’s wife, like chicks behind a mother hen.
'Och, you bunch of scardy-cats,' said the tailor’s wife, 'it’s only a wee bannock come to warm its wee nose by our fireside. Quick, catch it and we can have it along with a glass of milk.'
The tailor and his two apprentices tried to catch the wee bannock, but it was too fast for them. The tailor threw an iron at it, while his wife, who had been carding flax, threw her cards at it, but they both missed. The one apprentice tried to hit it with his lap-board while the other one ran after it with his shears, going Snip! Snip! Snip! trying to cut the wee bannock into two. But the wee bannock ran outside and was away.
By the side of the road stood a wee house, and the bannock ran in there to hide. There sat a weaver at his loom, weaving cloth, while his wife was winding a hank of yarn.
'Tibby, my love,' said the weaver, 'what was that?'
'Why Willie, my dear,' said his wife, 'it’s a fine wee bannock.'
'Then be quick, and grab it,' said the weaver, 'for that porridge we had for breakfast was very thin and watery.'
The woman threw her hank of wool at the bannock, while the weaver lunged at it, but it was too fast for them. It was out the door and over the hill like a freshly tarred sheep!
It ran into another house where a woman was standing churning cream into butter. She smiled when she saw it enter and said:
'Come away in, wee bannock! I have some cream left over and you’ll be very tasty mixed with that.'
She chased the wee bannock around and around the churn, until she nearly knocked the churn over and only just managed to steady it to stop it from falling. By the time she had saved the churn she was just able to see its wee bannock backside disappearing through the door.
Down the hillside the wee bannock ran until it saw a mill and ran inside. The miller saw the wee bannock come puffing through the door, and he smiled a big smile.
'My, what a great country this is,' said the miller, 'that there is so much food that wee bannocks are running around wild. Why don’t you come here while I introduce you to my friend, Mr Cheese! I am very fond of cheese and bannocks, and will be happy to give you a nice, warm place to spend the night.'
As he said that he rubbed his big belly, and licked his lips. The wee bannock knew that cheese was a dangerous thing to be around, and he didn’t trust the miller, so he turned tail and ran out of the mill and away.
The next place that the wee bannock came to was a smiddy, and there inside was a huge blacksmith standing by his anvil hammering away at some iron to make it into horseshoe nails. The forge was burning brightly alongside of him, so the wee bannock toddled towards it for a warm. They seem to like the fireside, wee bannocks, maybe it’s because that are made over a fire, or maybe they are related to cats. Anyway, the blacksmith laughed when he saw the wee bannock, and he picked up an iron rod and put it into the forge and pumped the bellows until the sparks flew and the fire blazed.
'I’ll heat this rod until its red hot and then thrust it into a cog of strong ale to heat it up and make it tasty. Then I’ll toast you over the forge and eat you up with the ale.'
The poor wee bannock was frightened by the blacksmith, and he knew that ale was as dangerous to a wee bannock as cheese was, so he ran towards the door. The blacksmith picked up his heavy hammer and threw it at the wee bannock, but it ducked out of the way and escaped.
On and on the wee bannock ran until it reached a farmhouse that had a large stack of peats by the end of it. It ran in and up to the fire to warm its wee toes and nose. By the fire a man was busy beating lint on the floor with an iron bar while his wife was combing the flax that had been split by her husband.
'Look, Janet,' said the man, 'a wee bannock! I’ll have half of it.'
'And I’ll have the other half,' said his wife, 'hurry up John, and hit it over the back with the rod.'
The man swung the iron rod at the wee bannock, while his wife threw her flax comb at it, but it was too quick for either of them. They chased it around and around the room, but the wee bannock ducked and weaved around them. Why, if only they could have taught that wee bannock to play rugby then Scotland would never lose a match again! It slipped between the man’s legs, was out the door and away.
It ran up a stream to the next house, where a woman was stirring a porridge pot with a stick.
'Jock! Jock!' she shouted to her husband, 'You’re always crying that you would like a wee bannock, well, one has just walked through the door! Come here and help me to catch it.'
Jock came lumbering into the room and they both tried to grab the wee bannock, but it was far too clever for them. The woman threw her porridge stick at the wee bannock, while the man tried to catch it with the rope that he had been plaiting from rushes, but he didn’t know how to make a lasso, and so after leading them a merry dance the wee bannock slipped out of the door and away into the evening.
The next house that the wee bannock came to sat up on the hillside. It ran through the door and right up to the fire where the woman of the house was dishing up the supper porridge with a big spoon.
'Well, well! Will you look at that; a wee bannock is warming itself by our fire.'
'Quick,' said her husband, 'bar the door. We’ll have that wee bannock to eat after our porridge. There is never enough to eat around here.'
As soon as the wee bannock heard that it was off through the house, being chased by the man and his wife, both with spoons in their hand. The man threw his bonnet at the wee bannock, but despite its size it was as fast on its feet as a pancake and the bonnet skimmed over the top of its head and landed on the floor in front of it. The wee bannock jumped over the bonnet and was out the door in a flash.
By the time it reached the next house the sun was setting, and the old man and the old woman were getting ready to go to bed. The old man had just taken off his trousers and was standing by the bed in his long, woolly drawers, when the wee bannock ran past him.
'What was that?' he asked his wife.
'Why, it’s a wee bannock,' she replied.
'I could do with a bite of that bannock,' the old man said, 'for the supper porridge tonight wouldn’t have stuck much flesh to my ribs.'
'Catch it,' cried the old woman, 'for I could do with a piece of it too.'
The two of them scrambled around after it, but it was too fast for them.
'Throw your trousers over it,' shouted the old woman.
The old man grabbed his trousers and threw them over the top of the wee bannock. The wee bannock lay there on the floor, almost smothered by the old man’s trousers. They smelt of old string and Pan Drops mint sweeties, but eventually the wee bannock struggled free and ran out of the door and into the night. The old man ran after it too, but after a while he gave up and had the embarrassment of walking home wearing just his long woolly drawers and matching woolly simmet.
By this time it was getting dark, and the wee bannock thought that it would have to find a safe place to sleep for the night. There was a big clump of whin bushes up ahead, so the wee bannock slipped into them to find a soft spot to rest. There, under the whin bushes, was a big hole, so the wee bannock went inside to see what was there. Mr Fox sat and watched the wee bannock as it walked towards him; for this was the fox’s home. He hadn’t eaten for two days and he was very hungry. He smiled, a big, toothy smile, and said,
'Welcome, welcome!' and then with one snap of his sharp teeth he bit the wee bannock in two; and that was the end of the wee bannock.
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- June 5, 2016 5:19 pm
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Liz Doyle likes this.
