Once there was a girl who...

We are in the middle of a number of workshops for small groups, rather than our big public events now. Today, I was in Buxton Library making up stories with visitors. Together we designed our a hero, sent her off through our town and up the hill towards Solomon's Temple. There our ideas diverged and people went off to find clues as to just what might have happened....The notes that follow came from just a few of our new tales
Gordon, Creeping Toad - storyteller for the session

A girl went for a walk on a sunny summer afternoon. She had rolled her trousers up to her knees and was wearing a wide-brimmed sunhat, sandals, and a T-shirt. She had binoculars round her neck, a basket in one hand, a fishing net in the other and a rucsac on her back.

As she walked up the hill to Solomon's Temple……

the woods on Grin Low

Story 1:            she saw a giant standing in the trees in front of her. She was so terrified she couldn't move and the giant reached out a huge hand to grab her. Then Sarah swung her fist and hit the giant in the face so hard his head fell off!  She picked up the head to put in her basket and take it home. But realised that the giant wasn't dead and was very scared because his head and body weren't joined together any more.  Sarah helped the giant put his head back on his shoulders. It was very wobbly so she got lots of sticks and stuck them in round the join so that the giant's head didn't wobble any more. Then she discovered that this was a very important giant because every day he took one of the shining golden yellow flowers that grew on the bushes along the path and threw it high into the sky. The flowers would stick to the sky and shine down on everyone all day, but by the evening the flower would have shrivelled up and night would swallow the world. Sarah became the only person who knows the secret of sunshine and the only friend the Sunshine Giant every had

a flower of the sun

Story 2            she met a witch looking for the last ingredient for the most difficult potion she had ever made. The girl offered to help and learned that the missing ingredient was a lock of hair from an adventurer's head. She offered some of her own hair but wasn't sure if she was adventurous enough. The witch stirred the girl's hair into the potion and they both waited to see what would happen. Nothing changed. The girl took a sip of the potion and at once disappeared from the Grin Low woods. She found herself far from home, in the middle of a jungle and felt the power of the potion inside her and knew that she could wish herself home again any time she wanted. She was an adventurer after all!

Story 3            she slipped in some mud, fell in a stream and rolled all the way down the stream, down a river, out to sea where a boat rescued her. But a storm came and waves as big as mountains threw the boat all over the place and the girl fell out and into the shark-filled sea. At once the sharks started chasing her and the girl swam away. She swam so fast her shoes slipped off (and the sharks munched them up). She swam so fast her hat flew off (and the sharks munched it up). She swam as fast as a dolphin (shark teeth were snapping), as fast as barracuda (shark jaws were open wide) but the sharks got closer and closer with their sharp, snapping teeth. But just as they were going to pounce, a wonderful golden fish slipped through the waves beside the girl and grabbing hold of its fins, she was pulled through the water and away to safety. They left the sharks far behind and beautiful green turtles kept them company until they reached the river. Then the fish swam the girl up the river, up the stream and flicked her back onto the mud where her adventure started. She went home, covered with mud and no-one ever believed her!

Then there were

 the girl who found a mouse's party bits all wrapped up in a leaf

the girl who just went for a lovely walk, finding beautiful flowers on the way

the girl who found a wild horse on the hills

and of course

the boy who eaten by the sharks and came home as a ghost and never had to go to school again

Grin Low woods and Solomon's Temple are great places for adventures!

Thanks to storytellers Andrew, Holly, Angus and Iona

(these aren't our own photos, so apologies to people who've posted these images on the web and thanks for putting these images out there where the rest of us can appreciate them!)