Lakeland Folk Tales for Children by Taffy Thomas

Author:Taffy Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780750969482
Publisher: The History Press

RED BANK, GRASMERE

Our popular Halloween event in Grasmere at the Storyteller’s Garden would not be complete without the story that follows. You might like to make it part of your family Halloween.

Halfway up Red Bank, the steep hill between Grasmere and Langdale, stands a big old house called Dale End. The roof has pointed, sticking-up bits called gables, so people who live in the area know the house by the name of Grasmere Gables. These locals know two things about Grasmere Gables: first, it’s haunted, and secondly, there’s treasure there! This story is about three great heroes who went to get the treasure from Grasmere Gables.

Now, you need to know a bit about these three great heroes. The oldest one was a boy about sixteen years old. Like many teenage boys, he spent hours in front of the mirror doing his hair. The worst thing that could happen to him would be a Bad Hair Day. He was also desperate for money, to save up for a new skateboard. He had two sisters. The older sister was 14; she was always pinching make-up from her mother’s make-up tray and needed money for the latest music or fashion item. These two teenagers had a toddler sister; she was still wearing a nappy. This nappy was pointed, like a bumblebee’s tail, and if you were lucky the pointed bit was empty. As yet not troubled by fashion or the need for money, the toddler went to the playgroup in Grasmere. This nursery was run by a wonderful, jolly woman called Mrs Happy. Now Mrs Happy taught the little ones that there was nothing to be frightened of in the dark, as there was nothing there in the dark that wasn’t there in the light. For this reason alone, the toddlers of Grasmere knew no fear.

One misty evening, these three children set out to get the treasure from Grasmere Gables. The mist was hanging waist-deep as they walked up Red Bank. In the swirling mist the shape of the old house towered above them. They paused at the two stone gateposts that marked the end of the drive, to discuss who was going in first. Of course the 16-year-old brother said it had to be him. He felt he had to prove to his sisters that he was cool and hard. The girls were happy to hold hands and watch their big brother disappear towards the front door of the house. Although he told them he wasn’t frightened, they could hear his knees knocking together like coconut shells.

Beyond their sight the big lad pushed open the heavy oak front door with the big iron knocker. A cobweb fell on to his head, spoiling his hairstyle. It was now a Bad Hair Day. Pulling the cobweb off, he squeezed through the door and then through the first door on the right, into the kitchen. There was a big wooden table, piled high with bags of treasure.

He was just about to help himself to the

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