Tales from British Folklore: Woodlands & Trees

By Emma Whitefield

Trees have long been regarded as the symbol of life. From the beginning of human history, trees have provided shelter, building materials, fuel, food, medicine, food and beauty. 

 

Forests and woods were once considered mysterious places believed to be inhabited by strange, magical beings such as fairies, demons, elves and witches. In some traditions, trees were believed to be closer to the gods than humans because they grew taller and lived for longer. This led to the creation of a wealth of traditional stories from around the globe that have their origins in humans connection with trees. 

 

This collection of stories includes folk tales from England and Wales that are linked to trees, woodland or forest. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emma Whitefield
• Release date: Nov 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215116586

Book preview

Herefordshire Fairies and the Lost Boy

In the heart of the Herefordshire countryside, a young boy called Tom lived in a tiny house next to a dense, deep wood. He shared the home with his mother, father and five younger brothers and sisters.  In those days, Herefordshire was a poor county where people worked long and hard every day to survive.  Children were sent to labour almost straight out of infancy.

Every day, apart from the Sabbath, Tom walked along the winding path through the cool, dark woodland near his home, to the farm where he worked from dawn until dusk.  As the week went on, he invariably became more and more tired, almost sleepwalking the journey home.

One summer’s evening, the boy was so hungry and exhausted that he decided to take a short cut through the woods, away from his usual path, hoping that he would arrive home sooner.  But he became lost and, try as he might, he couldn’t find his way out of the woods.  Every path he tried took him back to the middle of the densest part of the woods. The sun was setting and the light failing. Bright rays of sunshine were replaced by gentle, silvery slithers of moonlight.  Eventually the moon was totally obscured by clouds, and after stumbling around in pitch-black darkness, tripping over logs and tree roots, Tom resigned himself to sleeping in the woods.

He pulled off his threadbare jacket, rolled it as tightly as he could into a soft ball and placed it at the foot of a broad oak tree, so that he could rest his head and sleep under the canopy. Though brave by nature, Tom found himself nervously drifting in and out of sleep, jolting awake at the sound of small creatures rustling in the undergrowth or even at the gentle hooting of woodland owls. But he was so exhausted that almost as soon as he was roused, he sank into shallow sleep once again. As the night got cooler he found himself stirring more often.  Suddenly, he sensed he was being watched. He sat bolt upright in fear. 

While Tom slept, the clouds had drifted away from the moon which, was now casting enough light for the boy to see his surroundings.  He gasped in panic as he saw the silhouette of a wild beast close looming over him. He made out the figure of an enormous, brown bear standing right before him. As it moved towards Tom he froze in fear, waiting to be savaged.  But, instead of attacking, the bear gently nudged the boy encouraging him to stand up.  The bear slowly walked away, stopping and pausing to look back every few steps. Tom realised it wanted him to follow.  He was no longer afraid of the creature as it would have mauled him by now if that was its intention.

Tom picked up his jacket and followed the bear through a narrow, woodland path, right into the heart of the woods.  After walking the path for what seemed like an eternity, Tom could just make out the flicker of a lamp.  Looking more closely he saw that the lamp was just inside a small window.  As the path turned a bend, a small cottage with a turf roof became visible.  Tom walked towards the door of the cottage relieved.  He could ask the people who lived in the cottage to help him find his way home.  As he was about to knock on the door, he turned around to thank the bear, but it had disappeared into the woods.

He knocked gently at the door and almost immediately a tiny, old woman answered and beckoned Tom inside.  Sitting beside a dancing fire, warming a pot of food, was another tiny woman. She looked so much like the first that they must be sisters. 

Are you hungry child? one of the women asked.

I am, said Tom, "I haven’t eaten since last