"Alright
girls, so because it's close to Halloween, I'm going to tell you about
the legend of a water horse known as Kelpie," Charlotte
and Emma's Mom said. "It's kind of scary, but it is a perfect tale to
tell on Halloween. Do you want to hear it?"
"Yeah. It sounds like fun," the girls exclaimed in unison.
They were waiting for it to get dark so that they could go trick-or-treating. Just as she had wanted Charolette was Athena, goddess of wisdom. Emma decided that she was going to be Tinker Bell. The girls were so excited that they couldn't wait any longer to put their costumes on. They had about an hour to kill, so their parents had to come up with some way of entertaining them until it was time to leave. Their Dad came down the stairs and handed the book to the Mom. She opened it up to the proper chapter and began to read.
In the rivers and lochs, or lakes, of Scotland and Ireland lives the most dangerous creature known to children and women. It is known as the Kelpie. The Kelpie lives in the deepest darkest depths of the water and only comes out at night or early in the morning when the fog has yet lifted. The Kelpie is a water horse that likes to lure children to eat for dinner.
"Ahhh," the girls screamed in unison.
The Kelpie may also appear as a handsome man to attract women. The Kelpie waits in water with its eyes poking out of the water until it sees some children playing too close to the waters edge, then it will emerge. It appears as a strong beautiful black horse that looks lost. Its fur is shiny and slick, and extremely cold to the touch. It has a long dark shiny mane that is always dripping wet. Occasionally a piece of seaweed will be intertwined in its mane. It also smells exactly like sea water. These are a few ways that children can tell if the horse they are seeing is a Kelpie. It will approach a child and coax them to take a ride on its back. Children most always say yes and climb on without thinking. The child will grab a hold of the Kelpie's mane and pull themselves up. Then the Kelpie's fur starts acting like glue and won't let the child off. The Kelpie then drags the child down to the deepest parts of the river and eats them for dinner. It eats every last part except for their heart or liver.
The proof that we provide for the truth of the Kelpie comes from an old Scottish tale about ten children who were playing too close to the water. A lovely black horse appeared and nine of the children jumped on. The last child placed his finger on the Kelpie and his finger adhered instantly. This child had heard the legend before and didn't believe it, but now knew that it was true. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a knife and cut his finger off in order to save his life. He then tried to run away but the Kelpie ran after him. After ten minutes or so, the Kelpie gave up for fear that people in the nearby area would hear the screams of the children stuck to its back already. So it ran to the bottom of the river and gobbled them all up. The one boy who survived went to the water to see if there was any way that he could save his friends. As he looked out at the water, he saw that his friend's hearts and livers were floating up toward the top. He realized that he was too late. He ran back to tell his parents what he had seen and to go to the doctor to get his finger fixed. From that day on, he traveled across the land to tell the story of the Kelpie and how children should never ride a horse that comes out of the water.
The girls sat and stared wide-eyed at their mom as she finished up the story. Their dad came up behind them and made a loud neighing noise that completely scared them.
"Ahhh! That's not funny, Dad," Charolette screamed.
"Awww! Don't ever do that again! It's not funny! Do you think that the legend is true, Mom?" Emma asked, scared to know the truth.
"Well, I don't know, sweetie, but you don't have to worry about that monster seeing as it lives in Scotland and Ireland," her Mom replied.
"Alright, get your bags, girls. It looks dark enough to go now," said their Dad.
They all got bundled up and went trick-or-treating.
Author's Notes: I chose this story because it sounded like a story I would have heard as a little girl at Halloween. I ended up keeping many of the details the same. The main thing that I changed was adding and elaborating about the child who escapes from the Kelpie. I added some details, like how he would travel to tell others of his experience. It just made sense that he would want to warn others about this crazy creature that he escaped from. I had never heard of a Kelpie before, but I thought that it would be a great story because it lives deep in the water. This kind of story makes people think twice before swimming in unknown waters. There were several myths about how the Kelpie would seduce women by turning into a man. There's even one legend that tells of the Kelpie that comes on land as a man and begins a search for a woman to become its wife. I mentioned the fact that it preys on women as well but never really elaborate by providing examples. I felt that the story about the children being eaten by the Kelpie was better than a woman being seduced by one. Overall, I really enjoyed learning about this legend.
Onto the Next Story: Noah and the Unicorn
Back to My CoverPage
Back to My Introduction
Back to the Previous Story: Buraq and Muhammad
Bibliography: Wikipedia Website
"Yeah. It sounds like fun," the girls exclaimed in unison.
They were waiting for it to get dark so that they could go trick-or-treating. Just as she had wanted Charolette was Athena, goddess of wisdom. Emma decided that she was going to be Tinker Bell. The girls were so excited that they couldn't wait any longer to put their costumes on. They had about an hour to kill, so their parents had to come up with some way of entertaining them until it was time to leave. Their Dad came down the stairs and handed the book to the Mom. She opened it up to the proper chapter and began to read.
In the rivers and lochs, or lakes, of Scotland and Ireland lives the most dangerous creature known to children and women. It is known as the Kelpie. The Kelpie lives in the deepest darkest depths of the water and only comes out at night or early in the morning when the fog has yet lifted. The Kelpie is a water horse that likes to lure children to eat for dinner.
"Ahhh," the girls screamed in unison.
The Kelpie may also appear as a handsome man to attract women. The Kelpie waits in water with its eyes poking out of the water until it sees some children playing too close to the waters edge, then it will emerge. It appears as a strong beautiful black horse that looks lost. Its fur is shiny and slick, and extremely cold to the touch. It has a long dark shiny mane that is always dripping wet. Occasionally a piece of seaweed will be intertwined in its mane. It also smells exactly like sea water. These are a few ways that children can tell if the horse they are seeing is a Kelpie. It will approach a child and coax them to take a ride on its back. Children most always say yes and climb on without thinking. The child will grab a hold of the Kelpie's mane and pull themselves up. Then the Kelpie's fur starts acting like glue and won't let the child off. The Kelpie then drags the child down to the deepest parts of the river and eats them for dinner. It eats every last part except for their heart or liver.
The proof that we provide for the truth of the Kelpie comes from an old Scottish tale about ten children who were playing too close to the water. A lovely black horse appeared and nine of the children jumped on. The last child placed his finger on the Kelpie and his finger adhered instantly. This child had heard the legend before and didn't believe it, but now knew that it was true. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a knife and cut his finger off in order to save his life. He then tried to run away but the Kelpie ran after him. After ten minutes or so, the Kelpie gave up for fear that people in the nearby area would hear the screams of the children stuck to its back already. So it ran to the bottom of the river and gobbled them all up. The one boy who survived went to the water to see if there was any way that he could save his friends. As he looked out at the water, he saw that his friend's hearts and livers were floating up toward the top. He realized that he was too late. He ran back to tell his parents what he had seen and to go to the doctor to get his finger fixed. From that day on, he traveled across the land to tell the story of the Kelpie and how children should never ride a horse that comes out of the water.
The girls sat and stared wide-eyed at their mom as she finished up the story. Their dad came up behind them and made a loud neighing noise that completely scared them.
"Ahhh! That's not funny, Dad," Charolette screamed.
"Awww! Don't ever do that again! It's not funny! Do you think that the legend is true, Mom?" Emma asked, scared to know the truth.
"Well, I don't know, sweetie, but you don't have to worry about that monster seeing as it lives in Scotland and Ireland," her Mom replied.
"Alright, get your bags, girls. It looks dark enough to go now," said their Dad.
They all got bundled up and went trick-or-treating.
Author's Notes: I chose this story because it sounded like a story I would have heard as a little girl at Halloween. I ended up keeping many of the details the same. The main thing that I changed was adding and elaborating about the child who escapes from the Kelpie. I added some details, like how he would travel to tell others of his experience. It just made sense that he would want to warn others about this crazy creature that he escaped from. I had never heard of a Kelpie before, but I thought that it would be a great story because it lives deep in the water. This kind of story makes people think twice before swimming in unknown waters. There were several myths about how the Kelpie would seduce women by turning into a man. There's even one legend that tells of the Kelpie that comes on land as a man and begins a search for a woman to become its wife. I mentioned the fact that it preys on women as well but never really elaborate by providing examples. I felt that the story about the children being eaten by the Kelpie was better than a woman being seduced by one. Overall, I really enjoyed learning about this legend.
Onto the Next Story: Noah and the Unicorn
Back to My CoverPage
Back to My Introduction
Back to the Previous Story: Buraq and Muhammad
Bibliography: Wikipedia Website
Picture Information:
In Center: Kelpie from Rhea's
Rhapsody, On Left: Kelpie from Monstropedia,
On the Right: Kelpie from I
Gallop On