# The Laidly Worm A Public Domain Short Story Traditional Fairytale from Toddle Poddle Children’s Library An episode of [Toddle Poddle](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1710389589), 11 Jul 2026, 11 min. Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70522942/englishfairytales_13_steel_128kb.mp3 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/toddle-poddle--5908781/support. πŸ‘‡πŸΌFREE KINDLE BOOKSπŸ‘‡πŸΌ https://amzn.to/474y2KX As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Apple Podcasts 🦊 🐞 πŸ‘Ά 🌈 πŸ¦‹ πŸ¦† 🐭 🐯 🦧 🍟 Rat Gang Crew Paperback Kids' Kindle Kids' Blog YOU TUBE 🦊 🐞 πŸ‘Ά 🌈 πŸ¦‹ πŸ¦† 🐭 🐯 🦧 🍟 ## Transcript [0:00] Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen of English Fairy Tales. This is a LibriVox recording. [0:06] Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more [0:11] Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recorded [0:17] Speaker 1: by Elizabeth Parsons. English Fairy Tales by Flora Annie Steele, [0:25] Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, The Laidly Worm. In Bamborough Castle, there once [0:32] Speaker 1: lived a king who had two children, a son named [0:36] Speaker 1: child Wynn and a daughter who was called May Margaret. [0:40] Speaker 1: Their mother, a fair woman, was dead, and the king [0:43] Speaker 1: mourned her long and faithfully. But after his son, child Wynn, [0:48] Speaker 1: went to seek his fortune, the king, hunting in the forest, [0:53] Speaker 1: came across a lady of such great beauty that he [0:56] Speaker 1: fell in love with her at once, and determined to [0:59] Speaker 1: marry her. Now, Princess May Margaret was not over pleased [1:04] Speaker 1: to think that her mother's place should be taken by [1:07] Speaker 1: a strange woman, nor was she pleased to think that [1:11] Speaker 1: she would have to give up keeping house for her father, [1:15] Speaker 1: the King, for she had always taken a pride in [1:18] Speaker 1: her work. But she said nothing, though she stood long [1:22] Speaker 1: on the castle walls, looking out across the sea, wishing [1:26] Speaker 1: for her dear brother's return. For see you, they had [1:31] Speaker 1: mothered each other. Still no news came of child Wynd. [1:36] Speaker 1: So on the day when the old king was to [1:39] Speaker 1: bring the new queen home, May Margaret counted over the [1:42] Speaker 1: keys of the castle chambers, knotted them on a string, [1:46] Speaker 1: and after casting them over her left shoulder. For luck, [1:50] Speaker 1: more for her father's sake than for the new queen's regard, [1:55] Speaker 1: she stood at the castle gate, ready to hand over [1:58] Speaker 1: the keys to her stepmother. Now, as the bridal procession approached, [2:04] Speaker 1: with all the lords of the North Country and some [2:07] Speaker 1: of the Scot's lords in attendants, she looked so fair [2:11] Speaker 1: and so sweet that the lords whispered to one another [2:14] Speaker 1: of her beauty. And when after saying in a voice [2:18] Speaker 1: like a Mavis, Oh, welcome, welcome father, onto your halls [2:24] Speaker 1: and towers, and welcome to my stepmother, For all that's [2:28] Speaker 1: here is yours, she turned upon the step and tripped [2:33] Speaker 1: into the yard, the Scot's lord said aloud, forsooth, May [2:38] Speaker 1: Margaret's grace surpasses all that we have met. She has [2:42] Speaker 1: so fair a face. Now the new queen overheard this, [2:47] Speaker 1: and she stamped her foot, and her face flushed with [2:49] Speaker 1: anger as she turned her about and called you might [2:54] Speaker 1: have accepted me, But I will bring May Margaret to [2:57] Speaker 1: a laidly worm's degree. I'll bring her low as a [3:01] Speaker 1: ladly worm that warps about a stone, And not till [3:05] Speaker 1: the child of Wind come back will the witching be undone. Well. [3:11] Speaker 1: Hearing this, May Margaret laughed, not knowing that her new stepmother, [3:16] Speaker 1: for all her beauty, was a witch. And the laugh [3:20] Speaker 1: made the wicked woman still more angry. So that same [3:24] Speaker 1: night she left her royal bed, and, returning to the [3:28] Speaker 1: lonely cave where she had ever done her magic, she [3:32] Speaker 1: cast Princess May Margaret under a spell with charms three [3:36] Speaker 1: times three and passes nine times nine. And this was [3:41] Speaker 1: her spell. I weared ye to a ladly worm, And [3:46] Speaker 1: such sail ye ever be until child, when the King's [3:50] Speaker 1: dear son comes home across the sea, until the world [3:55] Speaker 1: comes to an end. Unspelled ye'll never be unless child [4:01] Speaker 1: Wind of his own free will sail give you kisses three. [4:06] Speaker 1: So it came to pass that Princess May Margaret went [4:10] Speaker 1: to her bed a beauteous maiden full of grace, and [4:14] Speaker 1: rose next morning a laily worm. For when her tirewomen [4:19] Speaker 1: came to dress her, they found coiled up in her [4:22] Speaker 1: bed an awesome dragon, which uncoiled itself and came towards them. [4:29] Speaker 1: And when they ran away, terrified, the lady worm crawled [4:33] Speaker 1: and crept and crept and crawled down to the sea [4:37] Speaker 1: till it reached the rock of the Spindlestone, which is [4:40] Speaker 1: called the Hue, and there it curled itself round the [4:44] Speaker 1: stone and lay basking in the sun. Then for seven [4:49] Speaker 1: miles east and seven miles west, and seven miles north [4:54] Speaker 1: and south, the whole countryside knew the hunger of the [4:58] Speaker 1: lady worm of Bindlestone Hue, for it drove the awesome [5:03] Speaker 1: beast to leave its resting place at night and devour [5:07] Speaker 1: everything it came across. At last, a wise warlock told [5:12] Speaker 1: the people that if they wished to be quit of [5:15] Speaker 1: these horrors, they must take every drop of the milk [5:19] Speaker 1: of seven white milch kind every morn and every eve [5:24] Speaker 1: to the trough of stone at the foot of the [5:27] Speaker 1: Hue for the lady worm to drink. And this they did, [5:32] Speaker 1: And after that the lady worm troubled the countryside no longer, [5:37] Speaker 1: but lay warped about the hue, looking out to sea, [5:41] Speaker 1: with its terrible snout in the air, But the word [5:45] Speaker 1: of its doings had gone east and had gone west. [5:49] Speaker 1: It had even gone over the sea, and had come [5:52] Speaker 1: to child Wind's ears, And the news of it angered him, [5:57] Speaker 1: for he thought perchance it had something to do with [6:00] Speaker 1: his beloved sister made Margaret's disappearance. So he called his [6:05] Speaker 1: men at arms together and said, we must sail to [6:10] Speaker 1: Bamborough and land by Spindlestone, so as to quell and [6:14] Speaker 1: kill this lady worm. Then they built a ship without delay, [6:20] Speaker 1: laying the keel with wood from the rowan tree, and [6:24] Speaker 1: they made masts of rowan wood, also in oars likewise, [6:29] Speaker 1: and so furnished set forth. Now the Wicked Queen knew [6:34] Speaker 1: by her arts they were coming, so she sent out [6:38] Speaker 1: her imps to still the winds, so that the fluttering [6:41] Speaker 1: sails of silk hung idle on the masts. But child [6:46] Speaker 1: Wind was not to be bested, so he called out [6:49] Speaker 1: the oarsmen. Thus it came to pass that one morn [6:54] Speaker 1: the Wicked Queen, looking from the keep, saw the gallant [6:58] Speaker 1: ship in Bamborough Bay, and she sent out all her [7:02] Speaker 1: witchwives and her impets to raise a storm and sink [7:06] Speaker 1: the ship. But they came back unable to herd it. [7:10] Speaker 1: Foresee you it was built of rowan wood over which [7:14] Speaker 1: witches have no power. Then, as a last device, the [7:19] Speaker 1: Witch Queen laid spells upon the lady worm, saying, oh, [7:24] Speaker 1: lady worm, go make their topmast heel, go worm the [7:29] Speaker 1: sand and creep beneath the keel. Now the lady worm [7:33] Speaker 1: had no choice but to obey, so the worm leapt up. [7:38] Speaker 1: The worm leapt down and plaited round each plank and [7:43] Speaker 1: I as the ship came close to shore, she healed [7:47] Speaker 1: as if she sank. Three times three did child Win [7:52] Speaker 1: attempt to land, and three times three the lady Worm [7:56] Speaker 1: kept the good ship from the shore. At less. Child [8:00] Speaker 1: Wind gave the word to put the ship about, and [8:04] Speaker 1: the Witch Queen, who was watching from the keep, thought [8:07] Speaker 1: he had given up. But he was not to be bested, [8:11] Speaker 1: for he only rounded the next point to Budy Sands, [8:16] Speaker 1: and there, jumping into the shoal water, he got safely [8:20] Speaker 1: to land, and, drawing his sword of proof, rushed up [8:24] Speaker 1: to fight the awesome worm. But as he raised his [8:28] Speaker 1: sword to strike, he heard a voice soft as the [8:31] Speaker 1: Western wind, Oh quit thy sword, unbed thy bow, and [8:36] Speaker 1: give me kisses. Three for though I seem a laidly worm, [8:41] Speaker 1: no harm I'll do to thee. And the voice seemed [8:45] Speaker 1: to him like the voice of his dear sister, May Margaret, [8:49] Speaker 1: so he stayed his hand. Then once again the lady [8:53] Speaker 1: worm said, Oh, quit thy sword, unbend thy bow, my [8:58] Speaker 1: lady form, forget, forgive the wrong, and kiss me thrice [9:03] Speaker 1: for love of May Margaret. Then child Wyn, remembering how [9:08] Speaker 1: he had loved his sister, put his arms round the [9:12] Speaker 1: lady worm and kissed at once. And he kissed the [9:16] Speaker 1: loathly thing twice, and he kissed it yet a third [9:20] Speaker 1: time as he stood with the wet sand at his feet. [9:25] Speaker 1: Then with a hiss and a roar, the lady worm [9:28] Speaker 1: sank to the sand, and in his arms was May Margaret. [9:33] Speaker 1: He wrapped her in his mantle, for she trembled in [9:36] Speaker 1: the cold sea air, and carried her to Bamborough Castle, [9:40] Speaker 1: where the wicked Queen, knowing her hour was come, stood [9:45] Speaker 1: all deserted by her imps and witchwives, on the stairs, [9:49] Speaker 1: twisting her hands. Then child Wyn, looking at her, cried, woe, [9:56] Speaker 1: woe to thee, thou wicked witch, and ill fate shalt [10:01] Speaker 1: thine be the doom thou dreed on May Margaret, the [10:05] Speaker 1: same doom shalt thou drea. Henceforth thoult be a ladly [10:10] Speaker 1: toad that in the clay doth wend and unspelt, thou [10:16] Speaker 1: wilt never be till this world hath an end. And [10:21] Speaker 1: as he spoke, the wicked Queen began to shrivel, And [10:25] Speaker 1: she shriveled and shriveled to a horrid, wrinkled toad that [10:29] Speaker 1: hopped down the castle steps and disappeared in a crevice. [10:34] Speaker 1: But to this day a lonesome toad is sometimes seen [10:39] Speaker 1: haunting Bamborough Keep, and that lady toad is the wicked [10:43] Speaker 1: witch Queen. But child Wyn and Princess May Margaret loved [10:48] Speaker 1: each other as much as ever, and lived happily ever after. [10:56] Speaker 1: End of Chapter thirteen Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.