English / B1
The Hedley Kow
There was once an old woman who earned a little money by doing jobs for the farmers’ wives near her village. A meal at one house and a cup of tea at another helped her manage. Although she had very little, she always looked cheerful.
One summer evening, on her way home, she noticed a large black pot beside the road. She stopped and looked around for its owner. Nobody was there.
“Perhaps someone left it because it has a hole,” she said. “But I could put a flower in it and keep it by the window.”
She bent down and lifted the lid. Then she jumped back in surprise. The pot was full of gold coins!
For a while, she walked around it, admiring her treasure. She felt wonderfully rich. However, the pot was too heavy to carry. She took off her shawl, the large piece of cloth around her shoulders, and tied one end to the pot. Then she began pulling it home.
“It will be dark soon, so nobody will see my gold. I’ll have the whole night to make plans. I could buy a fine house, or ask the priest to keep the money safe. Perhaps I’ll bury it in my garden.”
After a while, she stopped to rest. When she looked behind her, the pot of gold had become a large piece of silver.
“I thought it was gold,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “But this is better. Silver won’t be so easy to steal. Gold coins would give me too much to worry about.”
Still making happy plans, she continued along the road. At her next stop, she found that the silver had turned into iron.
“That’s very convenient! Iron is easy to sell. I can get plenty of small coins for it. Gold and silver would only keep me awake, worrying about thieves. And iron can be useful in the house.”
She walked on, laughing to herself. When she next looked back, there was a large stone at the end of her shawl.
“Exactly what I wanted! I’ve been needing something to hold my door open. How lucky I am!”
She hurried down the hill to her cottage. At the gate, she bent over the stone to untie her shawl. Suddenly, it jumped and gave a loud cry. It grew as big as a horse, with four long legs, two long ears and a tail. Then it ran off, kicking and laughing like a naughty child.
The woman stared until it disappeared. She recognised the Hedley Kow, a magical creature known for changing its shape.
“Well! I must be the luckiest person around here. Imagine meeting the Hedley Kow like that!”
She went into her cottage and sat beside the fire to enjoy thinking about her good luck.
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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