Stories from the Ballads, Told to the Children

Long before movies or television, there were ballads - songs passed from mouth to mouth, village to village, carried across hills and moors by traveling minstrels who kept the old stories alive. This collection gathers seven of the most enduring tales from the Scottish and English oral tradition, retold for young readers who have yet to discover the fierce magic of true love, transformation, and the fairy realms that lie just beyond the edge of the known world. Here is Janet, who rides through the night to find her stolen beloved Tamlane in the hills where the Fairy Queen holds court. Here is Thomas the Rhymer, whisked away to a land where seven years feel like seven hours. Here is the Gay Goshawk, bearing a message between lovers separated by cruelty and chance. These are not gentle nursery tales. They are stories of extraordinary women who act, who choose, who pursue what their hearts demand - even into the realms of the supernatural. Macgregor tells them as they were meant to be told: with breath and pulse, letting the old words work their quiet, ancient enchantment. Perfect for reading aloud in the firelight, or for children ready to discover that fairy tales were never meant only for the very young.