The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh

In Bamborough Castle once lived a king who had a fair wife and two
children, a son named Childe Wynd and a daughter named Margaret. Childe
Wynd went forth to seek his fortune, and soon after he had gone the queen
his mother died. The king mourned her long and faithfully, but one day
while he was hunting he came across a lady of great beauty, and became so
much in love with her that he determined to marry her. So he sent word
home that he was going to bring a new queen to Bamborough Castle.

Princess Margaret was not very glad to hear of her mother’s place being
taken, but she did not repine but did her father’s bidding. And at the
appointed day came down to the castle gate with the keys all ready to hand
over to her stepmother. Soon the procession drew near, and the new queen
came towards Princess Margaret who bowed low and handed her the keys of
the castle. She stood there with blushing cheeks and eye on ground, and
said: “O welcome, father dear, to your halls and bowers, and welcome to
you my new mother, for all that’s here is yours,” and again she offered
the keys. One of the king’s knights who had escorted the new queen, cried
out in admiration: “Surely this northern Princess is the loveliest of her
kind.” At that the new queen flushed up and cried out: “At least your
courtesy might have excepted me,” and then she muttered below her breath:
“I’ll soon put an end to her beauty.”

That same night the queen, who was a noted witch, stole down to a lonely
dungeon wherein she did her magic and with spells three times three, and
with passes nine times nine she cast Princess Margaret under her spell.
And this was her spell:

I weird ye to be a Laidly Worm,
    And borrowed shall ye never be,
  Until Childe Wynd, the King's own son
    Come to the Heugh and thrice kiss thee;
  Until the world comes to an end,
    Borrowed shall ye never be.

So Lady Margaret went to bed a beauteous maiden, and rose up a Laidly
Worm. And when her maidens came in to dress her in the morning they found
coiled up on the bed a dreadful dragon, which uncoiled itself and came
towards them. But they ran away shrieking, and the Laidly Worm crawled and
crept, and crept and crawled till it reached the Heugh or rock of the
Spindlestone, round which it coiled itself, and lay there basking with its
terrible snout in the air.

Soon the country round about had reason to know of the Laidly Worm of
Spindleston Heugh. For hunger drove the monster out from its cave and it
used to devour everything it could come across. So at last they went to a
mighty warlock and asked him what they should do. Then he consulted his
works and his familiar, and told them: “The Laidly Worm is really the
Princess Margaret and it is hunger that drives her forth to do such deeds.
Put aside for her seven kine, and each day as the sun goes down, carry
every drop of milk they yield to the stone trough at the foot of the
Heugh, and the Laidly Worm will trouble the country no longer. But if ye
would that she be borrowed to her natural shape, and that she who
bespelled her be rightly punished, send over the seas for her brother,
Childe Wynd.”

All was done as the warlock advised, the Laidly Worm lived on the milk of
the seven kine, and the country was troubled no longer. But when Childe
Wynd heard the news, he swore a mighty oath to rescue his sister and
revenge her on her cruel stepmother. And three-and-thirty of his men took
the oath with him. Then they set to work and built a long ship, and its
keel they made of the rowan tree. And when all was ready, they out with
their oars and pulled sheer for Bamborough Keep.

But as they got near the keep, the stepmother felt by her magic power that
something was being wrought against her, so she summoned her familiar imps
and said: “Childe Wynd is coming over the seas; he must never land. Raise
storms, or bore the hull, but nohow must he touch shore.” Then the imps
went forth to meet Childe Wynd’s ship, but when they got near, they found
they had no power over the ship, for its keel was made of the rowan tree.
So back they came to the queen witch, who knew not what to do. She ordered
her men-at-arms to resist Childe Wynd if he should land near them, and by
her spells she caused the Laidly Worm to wait by the entrance of the
harbour.

As the ship came near, the Worm unfolded its coils, and dipping into the
sea, caught hold of the ship of Childe Wynd, and banged it off the shore.
Three times Childe Wynd urged his men on to row bravely and strong, but
each time the Laidly Worm kept it off the shore. Then Childe Wynd ordered
the ship to be put about, and the witch-queen thought he had given up the
attempt. But instead of that, he only rounded the next point and landed
safe and sound in Budle Creek, and then, with sword drawn and bow bent,
rushed up followed by his men, to fight the terrible Worm that had kept
him from landing.

But the moment Childe Wynd had landed, the witch-queen’s power over the
Laidly Worm had gone, and she went back to her bower all alone, not an
imp, nor a man-at-arms to help her, for she knew her hour was come. So
when Childe Wynd came rushing up to the Laidly Worm it made no attempt to
stop him or hurt him, but just as he was going to raise his sword to slay
it, the voice of his own sister Margaret came from its jaws saying:

“O, quit your sword, unbend your bow,
    And give me kisses three;
  For though I am a poisonous worm,
    No harm I'll do to thee.”

Childe Wynd stayed his hand, but he did not know what to think if some
witchery were not in it. Then said the Laidly Worm again:

“O, quit your sword, unbend your bow,
    And give me kisses three,
  If I'm not won ere set of sun,
    Won never shall I be.”

Then Childe Wynd went up to the Laidly Worm and kissed it once; but no
change came over it. Then Childe Wynd kissed it once more; but yet no
change came over it. For a third time he kissed the loathsome thing, and
with a hiss and a roar the Laidly Worm reared back and before Childe Wynd
stood his sister Margaret. He wrapped his cloak about her, and then went
up to the castle with her. When he reached the keep, he went off to the
witch queen’s bower, and when he saw her, he touched her with a twig of a
rowan tree. No sooner had he touched her than she shrivelled up and
shrivelled up, till she became a huge ugly toad, with bold staring eyes
and a horrible hiss. She croaked and she hissed, and then hopped away down
the castle steps, and Childe Wynd took his father’s place as king, and
they all lived happy afterwards.

But to this day, the loathsome toad is seen at times, haunting the
neighbourhood of Bamborough Keep, and the wicked witch-queen is a Laidly
Toad.