by
Kari USA
The village folks were terrified of the Hedly Kow. The Hedly Kow was like the boogieman or a hobgoblin. But there was one woman who was not afraid of him. She made her living by doing errands for the farmers' wives. Nonetheless, she was very happy. The farmers' wives always took care to send the old woman home before sunset, though the woman claimed she did not mind walking in the dark. But the farmers' wives were afraid because after dark the Hedly Kow roamed. He could change into hideous shapes, and he delighted in scaring people in this way. He also pulled pranks, which angered the villagers. One fine summer night, the old woman was sent home at the same time as usual. Unfortunately, she stepped into a pothole. This slowed her down. Night was fast approaching. Strangely enough, on the side of the road there appeared a big black pot. "Lovely," said the old woman," That would be perfect for storing something. I wonder who left it there?" Seeing no one, she walked up to the pot and was ready to carry it home. " Mercy Me! If it ain't chock full of gold pieces!" She tied her scarf around the pot and started to drag it home. " Well, I do be feeling rich and grand. I could buy a big beautiful house and hire people to do my errands. Maybe I'll use some of those figurines as decorations. Oh, I be feeling so good I don't rightly know myself." She was very happy. She had traveled quite a distance on her sore foot, so she stopped to rest. A few moments later she turned to look at her treasure. Her beautiful gold had turned into shiny, sparkling diamonds that were beautiful but not as valuable. " That's a change for the better. Gold is easily stolen; diamonds are not. I could make bracelets and sell them in the village. I'll be almost as rich as if I still had my gold. What a change for the better!" She continued home cheerfully, but again her foot started to bother her so she stopped. " This road is longer than I thought it was." She turned to look at her diamonds except now it was a lump of coal. " My, what a stroke of luck, now I won't have to fetch wood from the forest anymore! I'll just use this here coal for my fire. It works longer too. Diamonds are always getting stolen, but no one will steal my coal." She smiled and continued homewards. Again her foot started to bother her, but she did not rest. She decided she would just look at her coal. Now it turned into a rock. "Perfect! That's the perfect sized rock to hold my door open!" She reached home and was about to open the door when the rock turned into a lion. It grew a mane and a tail and began making terrible noises. The lion roared, then stopped. "I've been needing something to guard my house while I'm gone." The old woman said. The lion was quiet; "You're not afraid?" said the lion. " No," replied the old woman. Suddenly the lion changed into a human. The old woman said, "No harm done. Fancy me meeting the Hedly Kow," and she invited the man to dinner. As soon as she placed the bit of cheese and bread on the table, they doubled in size. She had received both of the items from one of the farmers' wives. The old woman and the Hedly Kow had a great time and he visited her often. Now, when the farmers' wives told stories of the terrible Hedly Kow, the old woman just smiled.
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