English / A2
The Hedley Kow
An old woman lived in a village. She did small jobs for the farmers’ wives. She earned little, but people sometimes gave her food or tea. She was always cheerful.
One summer evening, she found a large black pot beside the road. She looked around, but nobody was there.
“Perhaps it has a hole,” she thought. “I can still put a flower in it.”
She opened it and jumped back. It was full of gold coins!
“How lucky I am! I can buy a fine house and stop working.”
The pot was heavy. She took the cloth from her shoulders, tied it to the pot and pulled it along the road. Soon she stopped to rest.
There was no pot of gold behind her now. There was a large piece of silver.
“That’s better,” she said. “Gold coins are easy to steal. This silver will be safer. I’m still rich!”
She went on. The next time she stopped, the silver was a piece of iron.
“How useful! I can sell iron easily. With gold or silver, I can’t sleep because I’m afraid of thieves.”
Later, she looked back again. Now she was pulling a big stone.
“Just what I need! This will keep my door open. What good luck!”
She hurried home. At her garden gate, she bent down to take the cloth off the stone. Suddenly, the stone jumped and made a loud noise. It grew as big as a horse, with four long legs, two long ears and a tail. Then it ran away, laughing.
The woman watched it go. She knew what it was: the Hedley Kow, a magical creature that could change its shape.
“How lucky I am!” she said. “I’ve met the Hedley Kow!”
She went inside and sat by the fire, thinking about her wonderful evening.
English summary · includes the ending
An old woman earns little money by helping local farmers’ wives, but she remains cheerful. One evening, she finds a black pot beside the road. Nobody is nearby, and when she looks inside, she discovers gold coins. She ties her shawl to the pot and begins pulling it home.
Whenever she stops or looks back, her treasure has changed. The gold becomes silver, then iron, then a stone. Each time, she finds a reason to be pleased. Silver seems safer than gold, iron is useful and easy to sell, and the stone will hold her door open.
At her gate, the stone turns into a strange animal and runs away laughing. She recognises the Hedley Kow, a magical creature that changes its shape. Instead of feeling cheated, she considers herself lucky to have met it. She goes inside and sits by the fire, still enjoying her good fortune.
Adapted for LEJRBÅL from the public-domain English folktale The Hedley Kow in More English Fairy Tales, collected and edited by Joseph Jacobs. Regional and historical phrasing is modernized.
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