The Hobyahs
Once
there was an old man and woman and a little girl, and they all lived in
a house made of hempstalks. Now the old man had a little dog named
Turpie; and one night the Hobyahs came and said, "Hobyah! Hobyah!
Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and
carry off the little girl!" But little dog Turpie barked so that the
Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, "Little dog Turpie barks so that
I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off
his tail." So in the morning the old man cut off little dog Turpie's
tail.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said,
"Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man
and woman, and carry off the little girl!" But little dog Turpie barked
so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, "Little dog Turpie
barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I
will cut off one of his legs." So in the morning the old man cut off
one of little dog Turpie's legs.
The next night the Hobyahs
came again, and said, "Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the
hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little
girl!" But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and
the old man said, "Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor
slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off another of his
legs." So in the morning the old man cut off another of little dog
Turpie's legs.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and
said, "Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old
man and woman, and carry off the little girl!" But little dog Turpie
barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, "Little dog
Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till
morning I will cut off another of his legs." So in the morning the old
man cut off another of little dog Turpie's legs.
The next
night the Hobyahs came again, and said, "Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear
down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the
little girl!" But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off;
and the old man said, "Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep
nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off another of his
legs." So in the morning the old man cut off another of little dog
Turpie's legs.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and
said, "Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old
man and woman, and carry off the little girl!" But little dog Turpie
barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, "Little dog
Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till
morning I will cut off little dog Turpie's head." So in the morning the
old man cut off little dog Turpie's head.
The next night the
Hobyahs came again, and said, "Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the
hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little
girl!" And when the Hobyahs found that little dog Turpie's head was off
they tore down the hempstalks, ate up the old man and woman, and
carried the little girl off in a bag.
And when the Hobyahs
came to their home they hung up the bag with the little girl in it, and
every Hobyah knocked on the top of the bag and said, "Look me! look
me!" And then they went to sleep until the next night, for the Hobyahs
slept in the daytime.
The little girl cried a great deal,
and a man with a big dog came that way and heard her crying. When he
asked her how she came there and she told him, he put the dog in the
bag and took the little girl to his home.
The next night the
Hobyahs took down the bag and knocked on the top of it, and said "Look
me! look me!" and when they opened the bag—
the big dog jumped out and ate them all up; so there are no Hobyahs now.
| All English Fairy Tales
THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK
JACK THE GIANT-KILLER
THE PIED PIPER OF FRANCHVILLE
THE STORY OF THE THREE BEARS
TOM TIT TOT
THE THREE SILLIES
THE ROSE-TREE
THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG
HOW JACK WENT TO SEEK HIS FORTUNE
MR. VINEGAR
NIX NOUGHT NOTHING
JACK HANNAFORD
BINNORIE
MOUSE AND MOUSER
CAP O' RUSHES
TEENY-TINY
THE MASTER AND HIS PUPIL
TITTY MOUSE ND TATTY MOUSE
JACK AND HIS GOLDEN SNUFF-BOX
HENNY-PENNY
CHILDE ROWLAND
MOLLY WHUPPIE
THE RED ETTIN
MASTER OF ALL MASTERS.
THE GOLDEN ARM
THE HISTORY OF TOM THUMB
MR. FOX
LAZY JACK
JOHNNY-CAKE
EARL MAR'S DAUGHTER
MR. MIACCA
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT
THE STRANGE VISITOR
THE LAIDLY WORM OF SPINDLESTON HEUGH
THE CAT AND THE MOUSE.
THE FISH AND THE RING.
THE MAGPIE'S NEST
KATE CRACKERNUTS
THE CAULD LAD OF HILTON
THE ASS, THE TABLE, AND THE STICK
FAIRY OINTMENT
THE WELL OF THE WORLD'S END.
THE THREE HEADS OF THE WELL |
