The Coming of the Unicorn: Scottish Folk Tales for Children

by Duncan Williamson

Stories are something you carry with you, something to last your entire life, to be passed on to your children, and their children for evermore.' Duncan Williamson came from a family of Travelling People, who told stories around the campfire for entertainment and for teaching. As a child, Duncan learnt the ways of the world through stories: 'My father's knowledge told us how to live in this world as natural human beings -- not to be greedy, not to be foolish, not to be daft or selfish -- by stories.' In this collection, he passes on some of these wonderful children's folk and fairy tales. For over sixty years Duncan travelled around Scotland -- on foot, then in a horse and cart, and later an old van -- collecting tales, which not only come from the Travelling People but from the crofters, farmers and shepherds he met along the way. This collection includes tales about cunning foxes and storytelling cats, hunchbacked ogres and beautiful unicorns, helpful broonies and mysterious fairies, rich kings and fearsome warriors, as well as those about ordinary folk trying to make their way in the world. The stories have been written down as faithfully as possible to Duncan's unique storytelling voice, full of colour, humour and life.

Genres: Fantasy, Folklore, Childrens, Short Stories, Fiction, Middle Grade, Unicorns

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Duncan James Williamson was a Scottish storyteller and singer, and a member of the Scottish Traveller community. The Scottish poet and scholar Hamish Henderson once referred to him as "possibly the most extraordinary tradition-bearer of the whole Traveller tribe."

Williamson is reputed to have been born in a bow-tent on the banks of Loch Fyne, near the village of Furnace in Argyll, to Jock Williamson and Betsy Townsley, and was one of 16 children. He learned his repertoire of stories and songs from family, and other members of the Traveller community. His illiterate father was a basketmaker & tinsmith, and insisted that his children get an education, sending Williamson to school in Furnace. Like other Scottish travellers, the Williamson family lived in a fairly large tent during the winter months and took to the roads for the summer, walking from camping place to camping place and picking up seasonal work as they went. At age fourteen, he was apprenticed to a stonemason and dry stane-dyker. A year later, he left home with an older brother, travelling all over Argyll and Perthshire. He worked as a farm labourer, and later as a horse dealer. He was married to his first wife, Jeannie Townley (a distant cousin) in 1949 and had seven children together. Jeannie died in 1971.

On 22 February 1977, Williamson married the American-born musicologist/folklorist Linda Headlee, with whom he had two children. For the first four years of their marriage they lived in a tent, following which they lived in a cottage in Fife. It was largely through her that Duncan came into demand as a storyteller in Scottish schools, as well a featured performer at storytelling festivals both in the UK and abroad.

Williamson's life on the road in his teens and as a young married man is recounted in his oral autobiography, The Horsieman: Memories of a Traveller 1928-1958. From early on he developed a zest for storytelling as well as a love for the conviviality that attends "having a crack" (trading talk with friends or companions). His repertory of songs and stories continued to expand throughout his life, particularly after he gained entry to the world inhabited by folklorists by taking part in Scotland's folksong and storytelling revivals during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

In 1967 Williamson met the travellers' rights activist Helen Fullerton, a collector of traditional folktales, who had previously recorded his mother and siblings in 1958. Fullerton told another collector, Geordie MacIntyre, about Williamson, with MacIntryre making further recordings, also in 1967. In 1968, Williamson performed at the Blairgowrie Folk Festival.

Thanks chiefly to Linda's skill in editing his tape-recorded performances, a number of Duncan's stories came into print during his lifetime. A few audio recordings of his songs and stories have been issued commercially as well. Many more recordings remain in storage in personal or public archives, including the Sound Archive of the Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh and the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress, Washington DC.

Williamson's talents as a storyteller are celebrated in several books written by specialists in Scottish tradition and the art of oral narrative.

Reviews

[Del · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this at the start of lockdown as a wee alternative to the picture book stuff my boy was used to, and it took a bit of time for him to accept that there were no illustrations, but the stories are fantastic, and he got swept up in a lot of them. They're told in a free flowing style - you can imagine someone telling these stories around a campfire, and it adds to the atmosphere. Very enjoyable.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

We didn't manage to get through all the stories. School started and my time available to read to the kids immediately dropped to zero. But the stories we did get through we loved! The kids at first weren't too enthusiastic about me reading this to them, because there are no pictures. However, they ended up loving it, like I said. My favorite part about it was the writing style. It really is written like a story being told out loud in a much more conversational type of way. I can't really describe it, but it reminds me of stories at a storytelling festival vs the usual kids book. Definitely recommend. I will be adding it to my Amazon wish list to buy eventually.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. It is intentionally written in an oral style because the Duncan Williamson came from a family of Travelling People who told stories around the campfire. The style of language makes it an unusual read, especially when compared with many other fairytales, both contemporary and vintage, that tend to be told in a particular fairytale idiom that's often fairly formal in character. This style is very informal. Worth a read.

[Jayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grades 5 and up

A unique book written by a traveling storyteller that contains several tales of Scottish folk tales. A memorable tale is the title piece "The Coming of the Unicorn" which tells the tale of how the unicorn came to be in Scotland through the sadness of a King and an unwillingness to hunt.