"The Hedley Kow" is an Englishfairy tale, particular to the village ofHedley on the Hill inNorthumberland.[2] It was collected byJoseph Jacobs inMore English Fairy Tales in 1894.[1] The story concerns a shapeshiftingtrickster known as the Hedley Kow.
A poor woman finds a pot on the road. She thinks it must have a hole for it to be discarded, but optimistically decides she might find a use for it as a flowerpot. Looking inside she discovers it is full ofgold pieces, and decides to drag it home in her shawl. She drags it for a while, but when she looks back, the pot has become a lump of silver. She decides this is better than gold, as it is less likely to be stolen, and goes on. After a time she turns back again, to find the silver has turned into a chunk of iron. She observes this will be easier to sell, and that the penny pieces it will bring would be safer than either gold or silver. She goes on again, and when she turns back a third time, the iron has become a rock. She exclaims how convenient this will be as adoorstop, and happily goes home.
When she reaches her home, the rock transforms again, revealing itself to be the Hedley Kow, a mischievousshapeshifting creature. The creature trots off laughing, leaving the woman staring after it. She proclaims that it was quite a thing to have seen the Hedley Kow for herself, and goes inside to think about her good luck.
The Hedley Kow was a kind ofelf noted for its mischievous habits ofshapeshifting. Similar creatures include theBrag, also fromNorthumberland, and theDutchKludde andOschaert.[3] However, the old woman's equanimity in face of the creature's changes distinguishes this tale.
The German fairy tale "Hans in Luck" has a similar sequence in which the character believes that every change is for the better. The Hedley Kow is likewise catalogued underATU 1415 Lucky Hans.[4]
The full text ofThe Headley Kow at Wikisource
