Hello, Super Great Kids.
This story is a selection from the best of Super Great Kids stories.
We're releasing one popular story from our archive in the middle of each month on a Wednesday.
This episode is The Tramp and the Boots, a fairy tale from Scotland told by storyteller Amy Douglas.
It was released in January 2022.
It's about an angry fairy and an unsuspecting tramp.
And it's our gift for you this month of November, as a little taster as we head into fairy tale season.
Hello, my name is Amy Douglas and I am a storyteller.
I particularly love traditional stories.
Those old stories that go from person to person, from mouth to ear.
And a lot of my stories come from a man called Duncan Williamson.
Duncan was a Scottish traveller and he knew thousands of stories and he passed a lot of those stories on to me.
And this is one of Duncan's stories, the first one that he ever told to me.
It's a story from Scotland, and it's called The Tramp and the Boots.
There was once a tramp man, a gentleman of the road, a mile eater, a horizon seeker, a man with an itch in the sole of his feet, a man who could never bear to stay still for long, a man who always wanted to know what lay on the other side of the hill.
Now the tramp man.
He would make a living walking the roads of Scotland and he would stop every now and then and he would find work at a farm or with a fisherman doing whatever needed to be done to put a few coins in his pockets, a bit of food in his belly, before the itch in his feet grew and he knew that it was time to take to the road again.
Well, it was early summer and the tramp was walking along the road.
And times lately had been hard.
He hadn't managed to find any work.
He had no coins in his pocket.
His belly was empty and his clothes were wearing thin.
His elbows were sticking out the sleeves of his jacket.
And his shoes, they were worst of all.
He was wearing a pair of old boots that were really only held on by tying them round his feet with string.
They were smiley boots.
The soles had come away from the main part of the boot so that every time he lifted his foot up, the sole drooped down.
Every time he moved his foot forward, the boot would fill with sand and gravel.
Every time he put his foot down, all those sharp bits of stone and gravel would disappear, dig into the sole of his foot until both his feet were covered in blisters.
And he was walking down the road, limping, and his feet were complaining.
And his feet and his belly were having a battle.
His feet were going, please stop.
Oh, let's sit down.
Oh, please stop.
Let's sit down.
His belly was I was saying, come on, come on, come on.
It was grumbling and rumbling.
I'm empty.
I need something inside me.
Will you hurry up and find somewhere where we can eat?
The tramp man tried not to listen to his feet or his belly and to just keep moving.
But by the side of the road, he saw a beautiful green mossy bank.
There was an oak tree reaching up above it, spreading its shade over that bank, and it looked so cool and soft and inviting.
His feet won the battle.
He climbed up off the side of the road onto that mossy bank.
He leant against the trunk of the tree, closed his eyes, and within a few moments...
He was fast asleep.
He didn't sleep for long.
A moment later, his eyes were awake.
He jumped almost up into the air.
There was a sharp pain in the big toe of his right foot.
And he looked and there, the same height as his boot, was a tiny man.
Not a happy looking man who had one finger up and was digging the nail at the end of that finger into the big blister on the tramp's toe.
Ah, said the tramp.
What are you doing?
Move.
Go on, said the little man.
Hop it.
Shift.
Go away.
No, said the tramp man.
I've as much right to be here as anybody else. now.
Well, have you been looking after this beautiful piece of moss for the past hundred years?
I don't think so.
I'm the one who's been caretaking this moss.
I'm the one who's been getting ready for the King of the Fairies' birthday.
I'm the one who's been planning it for a hundred years.
But no, no, you've got as much right to be here as me.
I don't think so.
Go on, shift, move, said the little man and he pushed that finger deep into the blister.
Oh, said the tramp.
Would you stop doing that?
No, said the fairy.
I have been preparing this piece of ground for a hundred years.
It's the king of the fairy's birthday tonight and I'm in charge of his party.
Where your smelly behind is is where I'm going to put the king's feasting table, and where your feet oh, your awful horrible, cheesy feet.
I was going to put the banquet here.
I can't do that anymore.
I'll have to find somewhere else for that.
I've got all this extra work to do because you chose to stop here and now you won't move.
Go on, you're spread right over the dancing area, right over everywhere that I need.
Go away.
No, said the tramp man.
The little man's face went purple.
Steam started to hiss out of his ears.
He took a deep breath and he was just about to start shouting at the tramp again when...
He let out that breath.
Let's try this another way, since we don't seem to be getting anywhere.
Or at least, you're not getting anywhere.
I see that you could use a new pair of boots.
If I gave you a new pair of boots, then would you go away?
If you gave me a new pair of boots, I would gladly be on my way, said the tramp.
Done, said the little man.
He clicked his fingers and he was gone.
He clicked his fingers, he was back, and this time he was holding in his hand a tiny pair of buttercup yellow boots.
Well, he held them out to the tramp man and the tramp man picked them up between his thumb and forefinger and he looked at them.
He said, they're lovely boots, he said, but I don't think you've quite got my size right.
Just try them, said the fairy.
Well, the tramp man was not convinced, but...
He, undid the string that was holding his boot together, picked up one of those tiny little yellow boots.
It's not going to... But it did fit.
It fitted over one toe, fitted over two toes, three toes, four toes, five toes, the whole of his foot over his heel, up over his ankle.
He pulled on the other buttercup yellow boot, two beautiful bright yellow boots.
He stood up and... They were the most comfortable pair of boots he had ever tried.
It felt like he was still walking on moss and all his blisters had faded, melted away.
Thank you, he said.
These are the most beautiful boots I have ever had.
I know, said the fairy.
They belong to the king of the fairies.
He's getting a new pair for his birthday.
Now, will you go away?
Actually, hang on.
Before you go, one word of warning.
Don't tell anybody where the boots came from.
The last thing I need is a queue of people trying to get a new pair of boots.
If you say a word about where they came from, they will be gone.
Who am I going to tell, said the tramp man.
And he didn't just walk down the road.
He skipped.
Those beautiful yellow boots, they took him all over Scotland that summer.
Whenever he walked in them, there was a spring in his step and he felt like he could keep walking all day and all night, every day.
All through the summer he walked and skipped and enjoyed the sunshine until it was the other side of summer.
Late summer.
Those first golden autumn days.
And there was a babbling brook running by the side of the road.
And he looked at that stream and he thought, Do you know?
I haven't taken these boots off since the first time that I put them on.
Well, I better do something about that.
My feet weren't that clean the first time I put them on and a pair of boots like this.
It's disrespectful.
He sat down, he took off those beautiful boots and whoop, they shrank back down to the same size they had been when he first got given them and he put them safely on a rock next to him and he slowly submerged his feet into the water and there was a as those hot feet went into the cool water and he sat there wiggling his toes, enjoying the sun on his back.
But in the field opposite he saw a figure coming towards him and as the figure got larger he saw that it was the farmer who owned the field.
The farmer didn't look very happy.
He glared at the tramp man and he said, Oi, what do you think you're doing here?
I'm only here for a moment, said the tramp man.
I'm just washing my feet in the water and then I'll be on my way.
Mind that you do, said the farmer.
And then he saw the buttercup yellow boots.
What have you got there?
They're my boots, said the tramp man.
Your boots, said the farmer.
Ha, pull the other one.
Pair of boots like that.
What would you be doing with a pair of boots like that?
You've stolen those.
You've taken them off some poor little girl's doll and you're planning to sell them down the road.
Well, give them to me and I'll take them to the police station.
They're my boots, said the tramp man.
I haven't stolen anything.
Oh, yes, said the farmer.
I don't believe you.
If you don't give me those boots right now, I'll take you and the boots to the police station.
They're my boots, said the tramp man.
The king of the fairies himself gave those boots to me.
And the two boots had vanished.
Gone the moment the words were spoken.
And the farmer.
He looked at the rock where the two buttercup yellow boots had been and his mouth dropped wide open.
I saw those vanish with my own eyes.
I know, said the tramp man.
The farmer looked at the tramp and he said, I owe you an apology.
I'm sorry.
You were obviously telling the truth and I was wrong.
I should never have called you a thief.
I don't have any buttercup yellow boots, but I do have a spare pair of boots, and your feet look about the same size as mine.
How about you come back to the farm and we could have dinner together and you could tell me about the boots and you could try my other boots on?
And so that's what they did.
The two went back to the farm.
And they had a slap-up dinner that night.
They both ate till their bellies were tight as drums with the food that they'd eaten.
And the Trump told the farmer all about the fairies and the boots.
And the next day, when he took to the road again, he had a new pair of boots on his feet.
They weren't buttercup yellow.
And it didn't feel like he was walking on moss, but they were an awful lot better than the boots he started the story with.
And from that moment, the Trump's tongue was unlocked.
From then on, he could tell the story as many times as he liked.
And he did.
And he earned many dinners from the telling of that story and many pairs of boots.
And the people who heard that story, well, they passed it on.
And it went from mouth to ear, from mouth to ear, from mouth to ear, until somebody told it to Duncan.
And Duncan told it to me.
And now I've told it to you.
And who you tell it to is up to you.
Thanks to storyteller Amy Duncan for that fairy tale from scotland.
Oh, would you like to own a pair of fairy boots?
I wonder if they give you fairy powers, maybe you'd be able to fly.
Anyway, thanks for listening and a special thanks to all our listeners in glasgow.
Now it's time to dig into my bag of happies and say some thank yous for all the beautiful pictures and generous comments which you've been sending us.
Thanks to Nico, who is five, and Cleo, who is seven, who are both from London and have sent in bright, magical pictures.
Cleo, I love the way you coloured in all the background.
It makes me feel as if I'm in the woods with Molly and the leprechaun.
And Nico, what marvellous pictures.
I really like the dots around the magic orange tree that make it feel magical, and the fact that Fox is peeping out from behind the table in your Fox at a Party picture.
And thanks to Sebby, who is seven, who has sent a magnificent picture of a whistling giant from How the Mosquito Became.
Sebby.
I love the giant's flaming red hair and how you can see he's a giant by the size of the two brave sisters at his feet.
Looking well, looking rather small and not quite so brave.
That is one of my favourite stories.
Thanks for sharing your picture.
And super great kids fan Benny sent two lovely detailed pictures.
I can see you know the stories really well, Benny.
I love the fact that you've written the stick woman's little rhyme like a cartoon.
Good writing too.
Thank you and well done.
And thanks to Abel, who is eight, from New Zealand, he's drawn a fabulous picture of the magic orange tree.
It really looks like it's growing up and up and up forever, Abel.
Really imaginative.
Thank you for sharing that drawing.
What a great picture of Baba Yaga's hut from four-year-old Matilda in the Lake District.
I love all the details you've drawn Matilda, like the chicken feet and the sticks with the skulls on top.
Thank you for drawing it, especially on a day when you weren't feeling very well.
And Baba Yaga is so scary, she's inspired lots of you to draw her.
Siblings Charlie, who is six, and Imelda, who is three, from Kildare in Ireland, also sent Baba Yaga pictures.
Imelda drew a scary picture of Baba Yaga snoring beside Natasha's baby brother.
And Charlie sent a picture of Natasha with all the gifts which the animals gave her to help her escape from Baba Yaga's clutches.
And Rita, who is four, from Rockland in Maine, has also been inspired by Baba Yaga's story.
Ooh, I like your fence, Rita, with all those skulls on top.
Baba Yaga is so scary, I wouldn't fancy her as my friend, would you?
Well done you for listening to this story.
Very brave.
And Poppy, who is four, was inspired by the story How the Birds Got Their Colours.
Poppy.
I love the way you've taken little bits of the rainbow snake and turned them into pieces of colour for the birds to eat.
Thank you for sharing your picture.
If you want to see these pictures, they're all on our Facebook page.
And if you'd like to send in your pictures, send them via Facebook Messenger on facebookcom forward slash super great kids stories.
Thanks to all of you who've been giving us some sparkling reviews on Apple Podcasts.
Thanks to Liana and her grandma, who like listening to our stories when they're having weekend sleepovers together.
And thank you, Lily, for your funny and generous review.
It really made me laugh.
And super great thanks go to our sponsors and subscribers.
We simply couldn't make this podcast without you.
So thanks very much to Grace and to five-year-old Francis in Berkeley in California for your donation on Ko-fi.
And thanks to David for your Patreon subscription.
If you subscribe on Apple and you'd like us to say hello to your children, do get in touch on Facebook Messenger.
In the meantime, we're extremely grateful to all of you.
Thank you.
That's it for this week.
More thanks next week.
See you soon.
This podcast was produced by Wardour Studios in London.
