Piskies, Spriggans, and Other Magical Beings: Tales from the Droll-Teller

Shirley Climo, whose many folkloric adaptations for children range from picture-books like The Irish Cinderlad and King of the Birds, to collections like A Treasury of Mermaids and Monkey Business, began her children's book career with this volume (published in 1981), which presents nine magical

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tales from Cornwall. Each folktale, or 'droll,' is accompanied by a short introduction to the magical being - a Piskey, a Spriggan, a Knacker - which features in that selection, as well as a brief afterword, in which the superstitions and customs pertaining to that type of creature or situation are laid out.

The opening selection, The Very Old Woman and the Piskey, follows the story of an elderly farm couple who are aided by a Piskey - a mischievous, but essentially good elf - until the woman's meddling (done with the best of intentions) finally drives him away. Note: one should never shake all the apples from a tree, but rather, should leave some for the Piskey. Also, one should make sure to leave a mouse-sized hole in the outer wall of one's home, to allow the Piskies access.

The second selection, which features the Spriggan - a different kind of elf altogether, one that was mean and ugly, and possibly (so they said) the spirit of a long-dead giant - is entitled The Widow and the Spriggans of Trencrom Hill, and sets out the tale of an old widow, living alone in a house known as 'Chyanwheal' ("the house on the mine"), who tangles with some coin-counting Spriggans, and comes out the worse for it. Note: a horseshoe hung over the window will scare off Spriggans, just as a garment turned inside-out will deflect their spells. Also, one should be wary of toads, and shoo them from the doorstep, as they will bring Spriggans with them.

The third selection, Tom Treverrow and the Knackers, relates the story of a foolish miner and his (mis)adventures in the Ballowal mines with some Knackers - underground elves who mine for tin, and who, if respected and left alone, are not usually harmful. Note: miners should always remember to touch a horseshoe four times before gong down into a mine, to tip their caps in all directions before picking up their pickaxes, to pay attention to the snails (good luck!) or hares (bad luck!) which cross their path, to share a few crumbs of their midway meal with the Knackers, and to drip a bit of candle grease every time they light a candle, to supply the Knackers with material to makes their own lights.

Betty Stoggs' Baby is the fourth selection, and follows the tale of careless (and lazy) Betty, who almost loses her son, Wee Jan, to the Small People - fairies with the appearance of miniature humans, who danc by moonlight, sup on honey and blackberries, and make off with neglected children. Note: careful parents should pin their baby's covers to the pillow, to prevent it from being stolen, and should hang a hot cross bun in the corner of the kitchen, for good luck. Also important: keep a ginger cat - it will ward off fire!

Those malicious Spriggans pop up again in the fifth selection, The Changeling of Brea Vean, in which the loving Janey Trayer's baby is stolen, and a fretful Spriggan changeling is left in its place. Luckily, Janey's neighbors, the Two Wise Sisters, know what to do, because she herself is too softhearted to break the spell (Parents: please don't try any of this at home, when your baby won't stop crying!). Note: shoes placed at the foot of a bed, with their toes pointed upward, will drive off cramps, just as standing on the head for fifteen minutes with cure stomachache. One should carry a stolen potato, or a cork, to be rid of rheumatism.

The sixth selection, The Giant of Castle Treen - which concerns those massive inhabitants of ancient Cornwall, whose great standing stones, and sea-column formations have outlasted them - follows the tale of a childless Giant couple, Den-an-Dynas (or Dan Dynas) and his wife Venna, who find that a son can be a mixed blessing. Note: One can ward off a witch's ill wishes by walking around the Garrack Zans (a giant slab of granite near Land's End), and can become a witch by touching one of Cornwall's rocking stones nine times, at the stroke of midnight.

The Cornish tradition of Merpeople - believed to be the children of Llyr, the Celtic sea god - appears in the seventh selection, The Mermaid of Zennor, in which a lovely Mermaid named Morveren is drawn to the singing of a human man, Mathew Trewella, and falls in love with him. Thankfully, this ends much more happily (for the couple, anyway) than it does in Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale of The Little Mermaid. Note: fisherman should always nail a horseshoe to the bottom of their boats, to insure a good catch, and should leave a little fish on the shore for the Merpeople, to share good fortune.

It would seem that Cornwall is (and always has been) awash in Witches, and these magical practitioners feature in the eighth selection, The Tricking of Pye Clemo, which follows the story of a greedy miser who gets his comeuppance, when he snatches a pig out from under old Madgy of St Buryan, while shopping at the market. Note: anyone cursed by a Witch is advised to fill a glass bottle with old needles and pins, and let them rust, which will cause the Witch to wither and fade. Alternately, one could stick an onion with many pins, and hang it in the house.

The ninth and final selection, Duffy and the Devil, features that old Cornish Bucca-bhu (the origin of the English word 'bugaboo'), the Devil, and is a fascinating variant on the Rumpelstiltskin-type tale. Note: sadly, this selection didn't include an afterward, perhaps because the Devil must always be dealt with on a case-by-case basis...?

All in all, I enjoyed the stories in Piskies, Spriggans, and Other Magical Beings: Tales from the Droll-Teller, and particularly appreciated the introductions and afterwords that Climo provided, placing each selection in a larger folk tradition. The accompanying illustrations by Joyce Audy dos Santos felt very familiar to me, although I didn't recognize her name at first. Then I went digging, and realized that she also wrote and illustrated The Diviner, a French-Canadian folktale that I have in my collection. How very rich the folk tradition of Cornwall is, and how very sad that the Cornish language is all but extinct! I would definitely like to read more about Kernow... perhaps with Climo's own later collection, Magic & Mischief: Tales from Cornwall?

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