Strong Fairy Tale Heroines #16: THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S END

This is another story from Robert Chambers’ ‘Popular Rhymes of Scotland’. It's told in Scots and the original spelling of the title is ‘The Wal at the Warld’s End’. It likely dates back to at least the mid 16^th century, since a list of titles in ‘The Complaynt of Scotland’ (1548) includes one called ‘The Wolf of the Warldis End’ which is a probable misprint of this one.  

I’ve anglicised the spelling just a little, but you need to know that ‘to flit’ means ‘to move’ in the context of relocating an animal to a new pasture or moving one’s abode – that ‘hecklepins’ are the sharp prickly combs used for teasing out flax – and that ‘scaud’ means ‘scalded’; I've consulted a Scottish friend who suggests that in this context it may mean 'scabby'! To ‘weird’ is to foretell or prophesy, like the ‘weird sisters’ in Macbeth.  

This heroine succeeds without the assistance of any prince (the one who turns up at the end has nothing to do with the story; he's introduced simply to underline her good fortune and contrast it with her step-sister's). She is rewarded for her kindness and courtesy. But her ride 'far and far' over the wild moorland to the well at the world's end reminds me of the Lyke Wake Dirge (hear it here): it seems her adventurous journey takes her to the edge of the Otherworld.

If you would like to read more about eerie heads floating in wells, and the stories which contain them, I’ve written about some of them here: 'Haunted By Heads'.

 

There was a king and a queen, and the king had a daughter, and the queen had a daughter. And the king’s daughter was bonnie and guid-natured and a’body liked her; and the queen’s daughter was ugly and ill-natured, and naebody liked her. And the queen didna like the king’s daughter, and she wanted her awa’. So she sent her to the well at the world’s end, to get a bottle o’ water, thinking she would never come back. 

                Weel, she took her bottle, and she gaed and she gaed till she came to a pony that was tethered, and the pony said to her, 

                “Flit me, flit me, my bonnie May

                 For I havna been flitted this seven year and a day.” 

And the king’s daughter said, “Ay will I, my bonnie pony, I’ll flit ye.” So the pony gave her a ride ower the moor of hecklepins. 

                Weel, she gaed far and far, and farther than I can tell, before she came to the well at the world’s end; and when she came to the well it was awful deep, and she couldna get her bottle dipped. And as she was lookin’ doon, thinking how to do, there looked up to her three scaud men’s heads, and they said to her,

                “Wash me, wash me, my bonnie May,

                And dry me wi’ your clean linen apron.’

And she said, “Ay will I; I’ll wash ye.” So she washed the three scaudit men’s heads, and dried them wi’ her clean linen apron; and syne [then] they took and dipped her bottle for her. 

                And the scaud men’s heads said the tane to the tither [one to the other]

                “Weird, brother, what’ll ye weird?”

And the first ane said, “I weird that if she was bonnie afore, she’ll be ten times bonnier.” And the second ane said, “I weird that ilka [each] time she speaks, there’ll be a diamond and a ruby and a pearl drop oot o’ her mouth.” And the third ane said, “I weird that ilka time she kaims her hair, she’ll get a peck o’ gold and a peck o’ siller oot o’ it.”

                Well, she came hame to the king’s court again, and if she was bonnie afore,she was ten times bonnier; and ilka time she opened her lips to speak, there was a diamond and a ruby and a pear droppit oot o’ her mouth, and ilka time she kaimed her hair, she got a peck o’ gold and a peck o’ siller oot o’ it.  And the queen was that vexed, she didna ken what to do, but she thought she would send her own daughter to see if she could fall in wi’ the same luck. So she gave her a bottle and telled her to gang awa’ to the well at the world’s end, and get a bottle o’ water. 

             Weel, the queen’s daughter gaed and gaed  till she came to the pony, an’ the pony said,

“Flit me, flit me, my bonnie May

              For I havna been flitted this seven year and a day.” 

And the queen’s daughter said, “Oh you nasty beast, do ye think I’ll flit ye? Do you ken wha ye’re speaking till? I’m a queen’s daughter!” So she wouldna flit the pony, and the pony wouldna give her a ride ower the moor of hecklepins. And she had to gang on her bare feet, and the hecklepins cutted her feet, and she could hardly gang at all.

 

                Weel, she gaed far and far, and farther than I can tell, before she came to the well at the world’s end. And the well was deep, and she couldna get her bottle dipped; and as she was looking doon, thinking how to do, there looked up to her three scaud men’s heads, and they said till her: 

“Wash me, wash me, my bonnie May,

              And dry me wi’ your clean linen apron.’

And she said,”Oh ye nasty dirty beasts, div ye think I’m gaunie wash ye? Div ye think wha ye’re speaking till? I’m a queen’s daughter.” So she wouldna wash them, and they wouldna dip her bottle for her.

And the scaud men’s heads said the tane to the tither,

           “Weird, brother, what’ll ye weird?”

And the first ane said, “I weird that if she was ugly before, she’ll be ten times uglier.” And the second said, “I weird that ilka time she speaks, there’ll be a puddock and a taid [a frog and a toad] leap oot o’ her mouth.” And the third ane said, “And I weird that ilka time she kaims her hair, she’ll get a peck o’ lice and a peck o’ fleas oot o’ it.” 

                So she gaed awa’ hame again, an if she was ugly afore, she was ten times uglier, and ilka time she opened her lips to speak, there was a puddock and a taid droppit oot o’ her mouth, and ilka time she kaimed her hair she got a peck o’ lice and a peck o’ fleas oot o’ it. So they had to send her awa’ frae the king’s court. And there was a bonnie young prince came and married the king’s daughter; and the queen’s daughter had to put up wi’ an auld cobbler. 

Picture credit:

'The Three Heads in the Well' by Arthur Rackham