The Golden Ball (Yorkshire) 1866 Henderson/ Baring-Gould
[Here are three versions of "The Golden Ball" the first was published in 1866 by Henderson in the Appendix of his Notes on the Folk Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders as taken by Baring-Gould from some Yorkshire mill lasses.
Long, in her book (p. 59), "The Maid and the Hangman" says of her version E7 that "the text was composed by Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould." Long's implication is that the text in brackets was supplied (written) by Baring-Gould from his recollections of a chap-book (see notes from "Curiosities").
The second is the same text published by Baring-Gould with some notes by him.
The third version is The Golden Ball, which is rewritten by Joseph Jacobs, 1894.
R. Matteson 2015]
Notes on the Folk Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders
By William Henderson 1866
10. THE GOLDEN BALL. (Yorkshire.)
There were two lasses, daughters of one mother, and as they came home from t' fair, they saw a right bonny young man stand it house-door before them. They niver seed such a bonny man afore. He had gold on t' cap, gold on t' finger, gold on t' neck, a red gold watch-chain—eh! but he had brass. He had a golden ball in each hand. He gave a ball to each lass, and she was to keep it, and if she lost it, she was to be hanged. One o' the lasses, 't was t' youngest, lost her ball. [I'll tell thee how'. She was by a park-paling, and she was tossing her ball, and it went up, and up, and up, tilk it went fair over t' paling; and when she climbed up to look, t' ball ran along green grass, and it went raite forward to t' door of t' house, and t' ball went in and she saw 't no more.]
So she was taken away to be hanged by t' neck till she were dead, a cause she'd lost her ball.
[But she had a sweetheart, and he said he would get ball. So he went tu't park-gate, but't was shut; so he climbed hedge, and when he got tut top of hedge, an old woman rose up out of t' dyke afore him, and said, if he would get ball, he must sleep three nights in t' house. He said he would.
Then he went into t' house, and looked for ball, but could na find it. Night came on and he heard spirits move it courtyard; so he looked out o't' window, and t' yard was full of them, like maggots in rotten meat.
Presently he heard steps coming upstairs. He hid behind door, and was as still as a mouse. Then in came a big giant five times as tall as he were, and giant looked round but did not see t' lad, so he went tut window and bowed to look out; and as he bowed on his elbows to see spirits it yard, t' lad stepped behind him, and wi' one blow of his sword he cut him in twain, so that the top part of him fell in the yard, and t' bottom part stood looking out of t window.
There was a great cry from t' spirits when they saw half the giant come tumbling down to them, and they called out, 'There comes half our master, give us t' other half.'
So the lad said, 'It's no use of thee, thou pair of legs, standing aloan at window, as thou hast no een to see with, so go join thy brother;' and he cast the bottom part of t' giant after top part. Now when the spirrits had gotten all t' giant they were quiet.
Next night t' lad was at the house again, and now a second giant came in at door, and as he came in t' lad cut him in twain, but the legs walked on tut chimney and went up them. 'Go, get thee after thy legs,' said t' lad tut head, and he cast t' head up chimney too.
The third night t' lad got into bed, and he heard spirits striving under the bed, and they had t' ball there, and they was casting it to and fro.
Now one of them has his leg thrussen out from under bed, Bo t' lad brings his sword down and cuts it off. Then another thrusts his arm out at other side of the bed, and t' lad cuts that off. So at last he had maimed them all, and they all went crying and wailing off, and forgot t' ball, but he took it from under t' bed, and went to seek his truelove.]
Now t' lass was taken to York to be hanged; she was brought out on t' scaffold, and t' hangman said, 'Now, lass, tha' must hang by t' neck till tha be'st dead.' But she cried out:
Stop, stop, I think I see my mother coming!
Oh mother, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?
I've neither brought thy golden ball
Nor come to set thee free,
But I have come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree.
Then the hangman said, 'Now, lass, say thy prayers, for tha must dee.' But she said:
Stop, stop, I think I see my father coming!
0 father, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?
I've neither brought thy golden ball
Nor come to set thee free.
But I have come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree.
Then the hangman said,'Hast thee done thy prayers? Now, lass, put thy head intut noo-is.'
But she answered, 'Stop, stop, I think I see my brother coming!' &c. After which, she excused herself because she thought she saw her sister coming, then her uncle, then her aunt, then her cousin, each of which was related in full; after which the hangman said, 'I wee-nt stop no longer, tha's making gam of me. Tha must be hung at once.'
But now she saw her sweetheart coming through the crowd, and he had over head i' t' air her own golden ball; so she said:
Stop, stop, I see my sweetheart coming!
Sweetheart, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?
Aye, I have brought thy golden ball
And come to set thee free;
I have not come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree.
Notes: The portions of this curious tale which are enclosed within brackets were obtained from a different informant. It seems to be a Yorkshire version of Grimm's 'Fearless John' (Kinder-Mahrchen, 4). In both these is the giant cut in half, and the incident of the chimney, and also the wonderful bed.
In one of Grimm's versions of the tale, the lad is able to overcome the spirits by means of a stick which he obtained from a dead man on the gallows, the man having been hung for a theft which he had not committed. The boy brings him to Christian burial, and in reward obtains the stick. In the Yorkshire story, the lad saves a girl from the gallows by means of a golden ball he had recovered from the spirits. There is a family likeness in the tales.
The other portion of the story resembles the popular Essex game of ' Mary Brown,' which is thus played:
The children form a ring, one girl kneeling in the centre; those in the ring sing out:
Here we all stand round the ring,
And now we shut poor Mary in.
Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown
And see your poor mother go through the town.
To this she answers:
I will not rise upon my feet
To see my poor mother go through the street.
The children bid her rise to see her poor father, then her brother, her sister, the poor beggars go through the street, and lastly, her poor sweetheart, whereupon she rises to her feet.
The Swedish 'Fair Gundela' also resembles it.
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Curiosities of Olden Times
By Sabine Baring-Gould
The following story I give as it was told to me by some Yorkshire mill lasses, in their own delightful vernacular. I forewarn the reader that the golden ball in the story is the same as the Philosopher's Stone, as we shall hear presently:
"There were two lasses, daughters of one mother, and as they came home from t' fair, they saw a right bonny young man stand i't' house-door before them. He had gold on t' cap, gold on t' finger, gold on t' neck, a red gold watch-chain—eh! but he had brass. He had a golden ball in each hand.1 He gave a ball to each lass, and she was to keep it, and if she lost it, she was to be hanged. One o' t' lasses, 'twas t' youngest, lost her ball. She was by a parkpaling, and she tossed the ball, and it went up, up, and up, till it went over t' paling, and when she climbed to look, t' ball ran along green grass, and it went raite forward to t' door of t' house, and t' ball went in, and she saw 't no more.
"So she was taken away to be hanged by t' neck till she were dead, acause she'd lost her ball.
[" But she had a sweetheart, and he said he would get the ball. So he went to t' park-gate, but 'twas shut; so he climbed hedge, and when he got to t' top of hedge, an old woman rose up out o' t' dyke afore him, and said, if he would get ball, he must sleep three nights i' t' house. He said he would.
"Then he went into t' house, and looked for t' ball, but couldna find it. Night came on, and he heard spirits move i' t' courtyard; so he looked out o' t' window, and t' yard was full of them, like maggots i' rotten meat.
"Presently he heard steps coming upstairs. He hid behind t' door, and was still as a mouse. Then in came a big giant five times as tall as he, and t' giant looked round, but did not see t' lad, so he went to t' window and bowed to look out; and as he bowed on his elbows to see spirits i' t' yard, t' lad stepped behind him, and wi' one blow of his sword he cut him in twain, so that the top part of him fell in t' yard, and t' bottom part stood looking out o' t' window.
"There was a great cry from t' spirits when they saw half t' giant tumbling down to them, and they called out, 'There comes half our master, give us t' other half.'
"So the lad said, 'It's no use of thee, thou pair o' legs, standing aloan at window, so go join thy brother'; and he cast the bottom part of t' giant after top part. Now when t' spirits had gotten all t' giant they was quiet.
"Next night t' lad was at the house again, and saw a second giant come in at door, and as he came in, t' lad cut him in twain; but the legs walked on to t' chimney and went up it. 'Go, get thee after thy legs,' said t' lad to t' head, and he cast t' head up chimney too.
"The third night t' lad got into bed, and he heard spirits stirring under t' bed; and they had t' ball there, and they was casting it to and fro.
"Now one of them had his leg thrussen out from under bed, so t' lad brings his sword down and cuts it off. Then another thrusts his arm out at t' other side of t' bed, and t' lad cuts that off. So at last he had maimed them all, and they all went crying and wailing off, and forgot t' ball, and let it lig there, under t' bed; and the lad took it and went to seek his true love.1]
"Now t' lass was taken to York to be hanged; she was brought out on t' scaffold, and t' hangman said, 'Now, lass, tha' must hang by thy neck till tha' be'st dead.' But she cried out:
'Stop, stop, I think I see my mother coming!
O mother! hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?'
'I've neither brought thy golden ball
Nor come to set thee free,
But I have come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows tree.'
"Then the hangman said, 'Now, lass, say thy prayers, for tha' must dee.' But she said:
'Stop, stop, I think I see my father coming!
O father! hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?'
'I've neither brought thy golden ball
Nor come to set thee free,
But I have come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows tree.'
"Then the hangman said, 'Hast thee done thy prayers? Now, lass, put thy head into t' noose.'
"But she answered, 'Stop, stop, I think I see my brother coming,' etc. After which she excused her1 The portion within brackets I got from a different informant. The first version was incomplete; the girls had forgotten how the ball was recovered. They forgot also what happened with the second ball.
self because she thought she saw her sister coming, and her uncle, then her aunt, then her cousin, each of which was related in full; after which the hangman said, 'I wee-nt stop no longer, tha's making gam o' me.' But now she saw her sweetheart coming through the crowd, and he held overhead i' t' air her own golden ball; so she said—
'Stop, stop, I see my sweetheart coming!
Sweetheart, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?'
'Ay, I have brought thy golden ball
And come to set thee free;
I have not come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows tree.'"
[Footnote 1 In another version one ball was gold, the other silver. I sent this story to Mr. Henderson, and it is included in the first edition of his Folklore of the Northern Counties, but omitted in the second.]
Notes: In this very curious story, the portion within brackets reminds one of the German story of " Fearless John," in Grimm (K. M. 4), of which I remember obtaining an English variant in a chap-book in Exeter when I was a child—alas! now lost. It is also found in Iceland,[2] and is indeed a widely-spread tale. The verses are like others found in Essex in connection with the child's game of "Mary Brown," and those of the Swedish "Fair Gundela." But these points we must pass over. Our interest attaches specially to the golden ball. The story is almost certainly the remains of an old religious myth. The golden ball which one sister has is the sun, the silver ball of the other sister is the moon. The sun is lost; it sets, and the trolls, the spirits of darkness, play with it under the bed, that is, in the house of night, beneath the earth.
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The Golden Ball, Joseph Jacobs 1894
THERE were two lasses, daughters of one mother, and as they came from the fair, they saw a right bonny young man stand at the house-door before them. They never saw such a bonny man before. He had gold on his cap, gold on his finger, gold on his neck, a red gold watch-chain -- eh! but he had brass. He had a golden ball in each hand. He gave a ball to each lass, and she was to keep it, and if she lost it, she was to be hanged. One of the lasses, 'twas the youngest, lost her ball. I'll tell thee how. She was by a park paling, and she was tossing her ball, and it went up, and up, and up, till it went fair over the paling; and when she climbed up to look, the ball ran along the green grass, and it went right forward to the door of the house, and the ball went in and she saw it no more.
So she was taken away to be hanged by the neck till she was dead because she'd lost her ball.
But she had a sweetheart, and he said he would go and get the ball. So he went to the park gate, but 'twas shut; so he climbed the hedge, and when he got to the top of the hedge, an old woman rose up out of the dyke before him, and said, if he wanted to get the ball, he must sleep three nights in the house. He said he would.
Then he went into the house, and looked for the ball, but could not find it. Night came on and he heard bogles move in the courtyard; so he looked out o' the window, and the yard was full of them.
Presently he heard steps coming upstairs. He hid behind the door, and was as still as a mouse. Then in came a big giant five times as tall as he, and the giant looked round but did not see the lad, so he went to the window and bowed to look out; and as he bowed on his elbows to see the bogles in the yard, the lad stepped behind him, and with one blow of his sword he cut him in twain, so that the top part of him fell in the yard, and the bottom part stood looking out of the window.
There was a great cry from the bogles when they saw half the giant come tumbling down to them, and they called out, 'There comes half our master; give us the other half.'
So the lad said, 'It's no use of thee, thou pair of legs, standing alone at the window, as thou hast no eye to see with, so go join thy brother'; and he cast the lower part of the giant after the top part. Now when the bogles had gotten all the giant they were quiet.
Next night the lad was at the house again, and now a second giant came in at the door, and as he came in the lad cut him in twain, but the legs walked on to the chimney and went up it. 'Go, get thee after thy legs,' said the lad to the head, and he cast the head up the chimney, too.
The third night the lad got into bed, and he heard the bogles striving under the bed, and they had the ball there, and they were casting it to and fro.
Now one of them has his leg thrust out from under the bed, so the lad brings his sword down and cuts it off. Then another thrusts his arm out at other side of the bed, and the lad cuts that off. So at last he had maimed them all, and they all went crying and wailing off, and forgot the ball, but he took it from under the bed, and went to seek his true-love.
Now the lass was taken to York to be hanged; she was brought out on the scaffold, and the hangman said, 'Now, lass, thou must hang by the neck till thou be'st dead.' But she cried out:
'Stop, stop, I think I see my mother coming!
O mother, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?'
'I've neither brought thy golden ball
Nor come to set thee free,
But I have come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree.'
Then the hangman said, 'Now, lass, say thy prayers, for thou must die.' But she said:
'Stop, stop, I think I see my father coming!
O father, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?'
'I've neither brought thy golden ball
Nor come to set thee free,
But I have come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree.'
Then the hangman said, 'Hast thee done thy prayers? Now, lass, put thy head into the noose.'
But she answered, 'Stop, stop, I think I see my brother coming!' And again she sang, and then she thought she saw her sister coming, then her uncle, then her aunt, then her cousin; but after this the hangman said, 'I will stop no longer; thou'rt making game of me. Thou must be hung at once.'
But now she saw her sweetheart coming through the crowd, and he held over his head in the air her own golden ball; so she said:
'Stop, stop, I see my sweetheart coming!
Sweetheart, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?'
'Aye, I have brought thy golden ball
And come to set thee free,
I have not come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree.'
And he took her home, and they lived happy ever after.