The Heron, the Weasel and the Bramble

Contributed by Martin Maudsley, storyteller

A traditional tale retold by Martin Maudsley

Once upon a time there was a heron, a weasel and a bramble. The three creatures farmed together, and after a turn of the seasons did well for themselves. At the end of that year they shared out the money they’d made – a third each, fair and square – and went their separate ways.

The parsimonious heron put her money in a little, leather purse strung with a cord around her long neck, and off she flew. Whilst flying along the sinuous river she saw her own reflection in the water. Bending down her head to get a closer view the string slipped from her neck and the purse was lost in the water. Ever since then the heron has been fastidiously looking for the purse along the riverside, stalking the shallows on long legs and peering into the murky depths…

The wily weasel used his money to buy a big bag of grain - planning to plant another field with wheat and turn a tidy profit. However, whilst his back was turned, a posse of mice nibbled a hole in the sack stole all of his grains. Ever since then the furious weasel has ferociously hunted mice, running as fast as he can to catch them…

Unsure what else to do the bramble blithely lent the money to a passing stranger, who promised profusely to bring the money back. But the stranger never returned, and the money was never repaid. Ever since then the prickly bramble has caught hold of every passing person, snatching and snagging at their clothes, thinking that this might be the one who borrowed her money…

                 

Story retold on 6/03/2019.  All images by Jackie Morris.