Kelpies
3 total works
'Stories are something you carry with you, something to last your entire life, to be passed on to your children, and their children for evermore.'
Duncan Williamson
Duncan Williamson, one of Scotland's Travelling People, has been celebrated as the bearer of Scotland's greatest national treasure: the richest trove of story and song in Europe.
In this collection, he passes on some of these wonderful children's folk and fairy tales, collected from sixty years of travelling around Scotland. This collection includes stories about silver horses and golden birds, cunning lions and trilling nightingales, brave princesses and magic scarecrows, the four seasons and old Father Time.
At the heart of each story is a lesson about life and what it means to be a good person. The stories have been written down as faithfully as possible to Duncan's unique storytelling voice, full of colour, humour and life.
'Stories are something you carry with you, something to last your entire life, to be passed on to your children, and their children for evermore.'
Duncan Williamson
Duncan Williamson came from a family of Travelling People, who told stories around the campfire for entertainment and for teaching. As a child, Duncan learnt the ways of the world through stories: 'My father's knowledge told us how to live in this world as natural human beings -- not to be greedy, not to be foolish, not to be daft or selfish -- by stories.'
In this collection, he passes on some of these wonderful children's folk and fairy tales. For over sixty years Duncan travelled around Scotland -- on foot, then in a horse and cart, and later an old van -- collecting tales, which not only come from the Travelling People but from the crofters, farmers and shepherds he met along the way.
This collection includes tales about cunning foxes and storytelling cats, hunchbacked ogres and beautiful unicorns, helpful broonies and mysterious fairies, rich kings and fearsome warriors, as well as those about ordinary folk trying to make their way in the world. The stories have been written down as faithfully as possible to Duncan's unique storytelling voice, full of colour, humour and life.
'Scotland's greatest contemporary storyteller.'
-- The Guardian
Silver Unicorns and Golden Birds is a treasure trove of traditional Scottish folk and fairy tales as told by Duncan Williamson, one of Scotland's greatest storytellers.
Young readers will explore a land of folklore and magic inhabited by friendly fairies, wicked ogres, majestic birds and shining unicorns in captivating tales, full of colour, humour and life. These timeless stories have been passed down the generations through oral tradition and are now retold for today's children while carefully preserving Duncan's unique storytelling voice.
One of Scotland's Travelling People, Duncan spent a lifetime journeying the country's highways and byways, collecting stories along the way. This beautifully presented treasury includes insight into Duncan's life and cultural heritage alongside a curated collection of his best-loved stories and classic tales.
A selection of these stories has previously appeared in The Coming of the Unicorn and The Flight of the Golden Bird.