Shropshire Routes to Roots

7b. Worksheet: A Folk Tale

Read the tale of Ned the Harpist (Opens in a new window). Now write your own folk tale. Imagine you are sitting by the fire in the local inn on a cold winter's night. The landlord challenges each man to tell a story. The person who tells the most terrifying tale will win a barrel of ale.

Here are some made-up ideas you might like to start with:

• A story about a man who fell down a mine shaft and broke his leg, going for three days without bread a water. When he was rescued, he was blinded by the light and did not see again.
• A pony which worked a winch down the Snailbeach mine was starved to death by the pit owners. Now miners hear ghostly hooves and neighs when they descend to the shaft in which the poor pony worked.
• Every Friday the Thirteenth, miners hold a race through one of the tunnels. One year a man who was in the race never came back.