The Elfin Night And Other Cozy Tales For Autumn

Three lovely tales from the Topaz Story Book compiled by Adam and Eleanor Skinner. Three cozy Autumn sleep stories and a sleepy soft voice to help tuck you in! We will start with The tale of the Elfin Knight, then The Little Pumpkin, and we will finish with The Courteous Prince. I thought these stories would be nice to enjoy whether or not we are in the Fall season and I hope you enjoy them!
The various tracks in this audio are used with a purchased license courtesy of Story Blocks (Oct 2022).

Transcript

The fall is truly one of my most favourite seasons.

The cooler temperatures after a hot summer,

The taste of pumpkin spice in my coffee,

The satisfying sound of crunching leaves underfoot,

And the smell of burning wood always brings me such feelings of comfort and happiness.

And so I thought for the month of October,

I would read stories that have an autumn theme to help create this cozy,

Comfy feeling for your bedtime.

And so for tonight's storytelling,

I will read three tales from the Topaz storybook that contains autumn themed stories compiled by Adam and Eleanor Skinner.

I've chosen to read The Elfin Knight,

The Little Pumpkin,

And The Courteous Prince,

And I hope you enjoy.

And so,

As always my friend,

Settling comfortably under the covers,

Take a full,

Comfortable breath.

And as you exhale,

Relax and let go.

Allow any tension to just melt away.

Letting your body sink deeper and deeper down into the softness of your bed.

There is nothing else to do and nowhere else to be,

So just lay back,

Relax,

And enjoy the story.

The Elfin Knight The autumn wind blew sharp and shrill around the turrets of a grey stone castle,

But indoors,

The fire crackled merrily in my lady's bower where an old nurse was telling a tale of Elfland to Janet,

The fairest of Scotch maidens.

When the story was finished,

Janet's merry laugh echoed through the halls.

The old nurse nodded her head earnestly and said,

"'Tis well known,

My lassie,

That the people of Elfland revel in the hills and halls of Scotland.

Come close and I'll tell you a secret.

" Janet leaned forward and the old woman whispered,

"'An Elfin Knight named Tam Lynn haunts the moorland on the border of your father's estate.

No maiden dares venture near the enchanted place,

For if she should fall under the spell of this Elfin Knight,

She would be obliged to give him a precious jewel for a ransom.

One glimpse of the Elfin Knight would be worth the rarest gem I have,

' laughed Janet.

How I wish I could see him!

" "'Hush,

' said her nurse tremblingly.

Nay,

Nay,

My lady,

Mortal should have nothing to do with the people of Elfland.

By all means,

Shun the moorland at this time of the year,

For tomorrow is Halloween,

The night when the fairies ride abroad.

' But the next morning,

Janet bound her golden braids about her head,

Kilted up her green curdle,

And tripped lightly to the enchanted moorland.

When she came near,

She saw lovely flowers blooming as gaily as if it were midsummer time.

She stooped to gather some of the roses,

When suddenly she heard the faintest silvery music.

She glanced around,

And there,

Riding toward her,

Was the handsomest knight she'd ever seen.

His milk-white steed,

Which sped along lighter than the wind,

Was shod in silver shoes,

And from the bridle hung tiny silver bells.

When the night came near,

He sprang lightly from his horse and said,

"'Fair Janet,

Tell me why you pluck roses in Elfland?

' The maiden's heart beat very fast,

And the flowers dropped from her hands,

But she answered proudly,

"'I came to see Tam Lin,

The Elfen knight.

' He stands before you,

' said the knight.

Have you come to free him from Elfland?

' At these words,

Janet's courage failed,

For she feared he might cast a spell over her.

But when the knight saw how she trembled,

He said,

"'Have no fear,

Lady Janet,

And you shall hear my story.

I am the son of noble parents.

One day,

When I was a lad of nine years,

I went hunting with my father.

Now it chanced that we became separated from each other,

And ill luck attended me.

My good horse stumbled and threw me to the ground where I lay stunned by the fall.

There the fairy queen found me and carried me off to yonder green hill,

And while it is pleasant enough in Fairyland,

I long to live among mortals again.

' "'Then why do you not ride away to your home?

' asked Janet.

"'Ah,

That I cannot do unless some fair maiden is brave enough to help me.

In three ways she must prove her courage.

First,

She must will to meet me here in the Enchanted Moorland.

That you have done,

' declared the knight.

Then he stopped and looked pleadingly at Janet.

All her fear vanished,

And she asked,

"'In what other ways must the maiden show her courage?

' She must banish all fear of him.

"'That too you have done,

' said the knight.

"'Tell me the third way,

Tamlin,

For I believe I am the maid to free you.

' Only my true love can prove her courage in the third way,

' fair Janet.

And the maiden answered,

"'I am thy true love,

Tamlin.

'" Then heed what I say,

Brave lady.

Tonight is Halloween.

At the midnight hour,

The fairy queen and her knights will ride abroad.

If you dare win your true love,

You must wait at Mile Cross until the fairy queen and her elfin knights pass.

I shall be in her train.

"'But how shall I know you among so many knights?

' Then asked Lady Janet.

"'I shall ride in the third group of followers.

Look the first and second companies of the fairy queen pass,

And look for me in the third.

There will only be three knights in this last company.

One will ride on a black horse,

One on a brown,

And the third on a milk-white steed,

' said the knight,

Pointing to his horse.

"'My right hand will be gloved,

Janet,

' he continued.

But my left hand will hang bare at my side.

By these signs you will know me.

Wait calmly until I am near you.

Then spring forward and seize me.

When the fairies see you holding me,

They will change my form in many shapes.

Do not fear,

But hold me fast in your arms.

At last I shall take my human form.

If you have courage enough to do this,

You will free your true love from the power of the fairies.

' "'I have courage enough to do all that you say,

' declared Janet.

Then they sealed this promise with a kiss and parted.

Gloomy was the knight,

And eerie was the way to Milecross.

But Janet threw her green mantle about her shoulders and sped to the enchanted moorland.

All the way she said to herself over and over,

"'On this Halloween at midnight I shall free my true love from Elfland.

' At Milecross she hid herself and waited.

While the wind from the sea moaned across the moorland,

Presently she heard a merry tinkling sound of far-off music,

And in the distance she saw a twinkling light dancing forward.

Janet could hear her heartbeat,

But there she stood undaunted.

The fairy queen and her train were riding forth.

In the lead of her first merry company of knights and maids of honor rode the beautiful queen whose jeweled girdle and crown flashed in the darkness.

The second group passed quickly,

And now came three knights in a third group.

One rode on a black horse,

One on a brown,

And there came the milk-white steed last of all.

Janet could see that one hand of the rider was gloved,

And one hung bare at his side.

Then up leaped the maiden.

Quickly she seized the bridle of the milk-white steed,

Pulled the rider from his horse,

And threw her green mantle round him.

There was a clamor among the elfin knights,

And the fairy queen cried out,

"'Tam-Lyn,

Tam-Lyn!

' The mortal has hold of Tam-Lyn,

The bonniest knight in my company.

" Then the strangest things happened.

Instead of Tam-Lyn,

Janet held in her arms a bearded lion which struggled mightily to get away,

But she remembered the knight's warning,

"'Hold me fast and fear me not.

'" The next moment,

She held a fire-breathing dragon which almost slipped from her,

But she tightened her grasp and thought of Tam-Lyn's words.

The dragon changed to a burning bush,

And the flames leaped up on all sides,

But Janet stood still and felt no harm.

Then in her arms,

She held a branching tree filled with blossoms,

And at last,

Tam-Lyn,

Her own true love stood there.

When the fairy queen saw that none of her enchantments could frighten Janet,

She cried out angrily,

"'The maiden has won a stately bridegroom who was my bonniest knight.

'" Alas,

Tam-Lyn is lost to Elfland.

On into the darkness rode the fairy train.

Tam-Lyn and Lady Janet hastened back to the Greystone Castle.

There,

In a short time,

A wedding feast was prepared,

And Tam-Lyn,

Who was really a Scottish earl,

And Lady Janet,

The bravest maid in Scotland,

Were married.

The Little Pumpkin Once there was a little pumpkin that grew on a vine in a field.

All day long,

The sun shone on him,

And the wind blew gently around him.

Sometimes,

The welcome rain fell softly upon him,

And the vine sent her roots deep down into the earth and drew the good sustenance from it,

And it flowed through her veins.

The little pumpkin drank greedily of the good juice,

And grew bigger and bigger,

And rounder and rounder.

By and by,

He grew so big he understood all that the growing things around him were saying,

And he listened eagerly.

I came from the seed of a jack-o-lantern,

Said the vine to a neighbour.

Therefore,

I must grow all jack-o-lanterns.

So did I,

Said a neighbour.

But no jack-o-lanterns for me.

It is too hard a life.

I am going to grow just plain pumpkins.

When the little pumpkin heard he was supposed to be a jack-o-lantern,

He grew very worried,

For he could not see that he was in any way different from any ordinary pumpkin,

And if Mother Vine expected him to be a jack-o-lantern,

He did not want to disappoint her.

At last,

He grew so unhappy over it that the dancing little sunbeams noticed it.

What's the matter,

Little pumpkin?

They cried.

Why do you not hold up your head and look around as you used to do?

Because,

Answered the little pumpkin sadly,

I have to be a jack-o-lantern,

And I don't know how.

All I know about is how to be a yellow pumpkin.

Then the merry little breezes laughed and laughed until they shook the vine so that all the pumpkins had to tighten their hold not to be shaken off.

Oh,

Little pumpkin,

They cried.

Why worry about what you will have to do later?

Just try with all your might to be a little yellow pumpkin,

And believe that if you do the best you can,

Everything will be alright.

We know a secret,

A beautiful secret,

And someday we will tell it to you.

Oh,

Tell me now,

Cried the little pumpkin,

But the sunbeams and breezes laughed together and chuckled.

Oh no,

Oh no,

Oh no,

Just grow and grow and grow,

And someday you will know.

The little pumpkin felt comforted.

Perhaps,

If I cannot be a jack-o-lantern,

I could be a good pumpkin,

And I am so far down on the vine,

Perhaps Mother Vine won't notice me.

He looked around and saw that all his brothers and sisters were only little pumpkins too.

Oh dear,

He cried.

Are we going to disappoint Mother Vine?

Aren't any of us going to be jack-o-lanterns?

Then all his little brothers and sisters laughed and said,

What do we care about being jack-o-lanterns?

All we care about is to eat the good juice and grow and grow.

At last came the cold weather,

And all the little pumpkins were now big ones,

And a beautiful golden yellow.

The biggest and yellowest of all was the little pumpkin who had tried so hard all summer to grow into a jack-o-lantern.

He could not believe Mother Vine did not see him now,

For he had grown so big that everyone who saw him exclaimed about him,

And Mother Vine did not seem at all disappointed.

She just kept at work carrying the good food that kept her pumpkin children well fed.

At last,

One frosty morning,

A crowd of children came to the field.

The pumpkins are ready,

And we're going to find the biggest and yellowest and nicest to make a jack-o-lantern for the Thanksgiving party.

All the grandmothers and grandfathers and aunts and uncles will see it,

And we are going to eat the pies made from it.

They looked here and there all over the field,

And pushed aside the vines to see better.

All at once,

They saw the little pumpkin.

Oh,

They cried,

What a perfect jack-o-lantern!

So big and firm and round and yellow!

This shall be the jack-o-lantern for our Thanksgiving party,

And it is so large there will be pie enough for everyone.

Then they picked the pumpkin and carried him to the barn.

Father cut a hole in the top around the stem,

Lifted it off carefully,

And scooped out the inside,

And the children carried it to mother in the kitchen.

Then father made eyes and a nose and a mouth,

And fitted a big candle inside.

Oh,

See that beautiful jack-o-lantern!

They cried.

The little pumpkin waited in the barn.

At last,

I'm a jack-o-lantern!

He said.

After a time it grew dark,

And father came and carried him into the house and lighted the candle and put him right in the middle of the table.

And all the grandmothers and grandfathers and aunts and uncles cried.

Oh,

What a beautiful big round yellow jack-o-lantern!

Then the little pumpkin was happy,

For he knew mother Vine would have been proud of him,

And he shone,

Shone,

Shone until the candle was all burned out.

The Courteous Prince Once upon a time,

A bongi prince fell in love with a lassie who was nobly born but was not his equal in rank.

The king was sorely vexed because his son looked with favour on this maiden,

And his majesty determined to part the lovers.

He sent the High Chancellor of the Court to an old witch for advice.

After thinking the matter over for nine days,

The old woman muttered the following answer.

The lassie will I charm away,

Till courtesy doth win the day.

I'm not quite sure what the old hag means,

Said the king,

But if she'll get this maiden out of the prince's sight,

I can arrange for his marriage with someone of his own rank.

In a few days,

The lassie disappeared,

And the prince could find no trace of her.

He was very sad indeed,

And declared if he could not marry his own true love,

He would remain single all his life.

It happened one fine day near the end of October that the young prince and a party of nobles went hunting.

The hounds were soon on the track of a fine deer,

Which was so wily and flea to foot that the nobles one by one lost track of the quarry and dropped out of the chase.

The young prince,

Who was a famous rider,

Continued the hunt alone.

Miles and miles over the low hills he galloped,

Until at last in the depths of a wooded glen,

The exhausted deer was brought to bay by the hounds and dispatched by the prince.

Not until after the prize was won did the royal hunter realize how dusky it was in the glen and how threatening the evening sky looked.

He felt sure he was too far from the palace to retrace his journey.

Besides,

He had lost all trace of direction.

He threw the quarry over his steed's back,

Whistled to his hounds,

And rode slowly down the wooded valley,

Wondering where he could lodge for the night.

Little sign of hospitality in this lonely place,

He mused.

Perhaps I'd better make the best of it and find shelter in one of the rocky hollows.

On he rode in the gathering darkness.

A turn in the valley brought him to a stretch of moorland,

And a little distance away he saw the dark outline of an old,

Deserted hunting hall.

A cheerless looking inn,

Thought the prince.

No doubt one will have to play host as well as guest here.

However,

I have my trusty hounds and noble steed for company,

And the quarry will furnish a good meal for all of us.

He leaped from his horse and walked up the old rune.

With very little effort,

He broke open the door.

The creaking of its rusty hinges made strange echoings throughout the hall.

The prince led his horse into one of the small rooms.

Then,

With his hounds,

He went into the large dining hall,

Where he lit a fire on the great hearth and proceeded to cook some venison for supper.

While he was waiting for the meat on the spit to roast,

He listened to the rising wind,

Which moaned about the gloomy old rune and rattled the doors and windows unceasingly.

The good steed in the adjoining room pawed the floor restlessly,

And every few moments the hounds stretched their heads straight up into the air and whined in a most uncanny way.

As he mused before the fire,

The prince thought,

This is all Halloween the night when ghosts and witches hold their revels.

Nevertheless,

I'd rather be in this deserted hall than on the storm-swept moorland.

He took the roasted meat from the fire and prepared to eat his supper.

Suddenly a fierce blast of wind burst open a large door at the end of the hall,

And into the room stalked a tall,

Ghostly woman.

Her length figure was clothed in grey garments,

Which trailed for yards on the floor.

Her long grey hair hung loose down her back.

By the light of the flickering fire,

The prince could see her hollow eyes and wand features.

He was a brave man,

But this ghostly creature filled him with dread and horror.

The hounds dropped their bones of ennison and crept close to their master,

Who was unable to utter a word.

Suddenly down the hall,

The grey ghost glided to the prince,

And pointing a long,

Bony finger at him,

She asked in a hollow voice,

Art thou a courteous knight?

In a trembling voice,

The prince answered,

I will serve thee.

What dost thou wish?

Go ye to the moorland,

And pluck enough heather to make a bed in the turret room for me,

Said the phantom-like figure.

It was a strange request to make,

But the prince was relieved to have any excuse to get out of her sight.

He sprang quickly to his feet,

And hurried out to face the stormy night in search of heather.

He plucked as much as he could carry in his plaid,

And returned to the hall where the ghostly visitor was waiting for him.

She led the way down the room,

And up a half-rooned staircase to the turret room.

Here the prince spread a heather bed for her,

And covered it with his plaid.

When it was finished,

She pointed to the door and dismissed him.

May you sleep well,

Said the prince courteously.

Then,

Cold and weary,

He descended to the hall,

And lay down to sleep in front of the dying embers of the fire.

When he awakened,

The bright sun was shining in the windows.

The prince lost no time in making ready to depart,

For he remembered quite well the ghostly visitor of the past night.

No doubt she departed before the crowing of the rooster,

He said.

I wonder if she left my bonnie plaid in the turret room.

The autumn air is keen and biting,

I'll go and see.

He ran quickly up the ruined staircase.

To his surprise when he reached the top,

The door of the chamber opened,

And there before him stood his lost sweetheart.

How camest thou here?

Gasped the prince.

And where is the great ghost?

Last night I was the great ghost,

She said.

Thou will change thy form again tonight?

He asked in horror.

No,

Never again,

Said the maiden.

In order to part us,

A wicked witch threw a spell over me,

A spell which changed me into the awful shape thou saw last night.

But thou hast broken her wicked charm.

Tell me how,

Said the prince,

Whose face was beaming with happiness.

The witch's charm could not be broken until some night should serve me,

Even though my form was horrible.

By thy courtesy,

Thou hast broken the spell,

Said the maiden.

So the prince and his true love rode away and were happily married,

And when the king heard of his son's adventure in the hunting hall,

He said,

Now I know what that old witch meant by her prophecy.

And as the storytelling comes to a conclusion,

You can just rest here now,

Following my voice as I gently guide you into a deeper feeling of relaxation.

And as you focus on my words and the silent pauses between my words,

You may notice a feeling of sleepiness beginning to grow and expand,

And it feels wonderful.

And as you give way to this sleepy feeling,

It makes you feel heavier and heavier,

Sleepier and sleepier,

Letting go,

Letting go,

And surrendering the weight of your body,

Sinking down into the softness of that cozy bed.

And as this feeling of relaxation naturally grows and expands,

It pulls you down easily,

Deeper and deeper down,

Helping you sink all the way down into that comfort beneath you.

And as you melt deeper down into your bed,

Imagine an orange sparkly mist floating above you like a soft cloud,

And this orange mist has a calming effect over your body,

Your mind,

Your entire being.

It calms your breathing,

And as your breathing calms down,

It naturally slows down the beating of your heart,

And even your thoughts calm down.

Imagine the comforting energy that this orange mist radiates like a comfy blanket,

And you feel safe and at ease.

And the more at ease you feel,

The easier it is to give way to this sleepy relaxation.

There is nothing left to do,

My friend,

And nowhere else to be.

It is time to rest.

It is time to sleep.

And when you feel ready,

And in your own way and time,

You will easily drift off into a sound and restful sleep.

Thank you.

You You

Reviews

Very nice, but fell asleep during the third story so I will have to listen again! Thank you!🙂

Interesting! The story of “The Elfin Knight” is taken from an old Scottish folk song called “The Ballad of Tam Lyn”, one of the ancient Childe ballads. Funny to hear it transformed into a children’s bedtime story… it’s quite dramatic, scary and even “edgy” in the original. If the writing is a bit saccharine (the story has been redone here to be “safe for family audiences”, still it was fun to hear… I’ve performed the original around many campfires! 🥰 🔥

Loved it

Very effective!

Love her voice!!!

I fell asleep before the end of the story but what byI heard was beautiful