There was once a woman who had three daughters. One day the eldest said, “Mother, bake me a bannock and roast me a collop, for I must seek my fortune.” Her mother provided the food, and the lass went to visit a local witch for advice on where to find her fortune. The witch told …
Many years ago, there was a lad named Jack who lived in a small cottage with his mother. I’m not sure how many years ago this happened, but as you will see, you would probably want to know.) Jack worked as a shepherd for a rich laird who was as stingy a man as ever …
Once there was a young man called Jock who lived with his old mother. One day she said to him, “Jock, you are a lazy fellow, and it seems that I have to do everything for both of us. You need to go out and find some work to help us out.” “I’ll do that, …
words and music (c) 2013, Jeanne McDougall People come from many different lands We share one world, together hand in hand But if you see something special in the shining Scottish sky There’s a reason and you’ll know it when I tell you why …. There’s a wee bit o’ Scot in us all There’s …
A man’s still a man to me Arbroath made it right to be free The voices of freedom are calling to me Saying stand for the free soil of Scotland Be it land of your heart, or the land of your birth It was right from the start, and it spread o’er the Earth Their …
Long, long ago – when the Scotland was invaded by Viking forces, there was a young Norse warrior named Breakan who fell in love with a local beauty. When the couple told the maiden’s father of their desire to marry, he was not happy to think of a union between his only child and the …
In ancient times, Duncan Campbell, the laird of Inverawe, sat in his castle in the western isles of Scotland. One dark night, there was a loud pounding at the gate, and when Campbell opened it, he saw a stranger who begged him for asylum. The man was disheveled and his clothes were torn and smeared …
Do you have a cat? If you do, you may be one of those people who insist that cats have a special place in the universe — and a world of their own that humans can only glimpse from time to time. Here’s a little story that has variations all over the British Isles and …
Back From the GraveMargaret Halcro married, 1674, in her 27th year, the Rev. Henry Erskine, and died, 14th January 1725, in the house of her son, Rev. Ebenezer Erskine. She was buried at Scotland Wells, where her tombstone is still to be seen. Those are the basic facts of Margaret Halcro Erskine’s life, but they …
By Marilyn McPhie Robert Burns, an icon of Scottish literature, who is celebrated annually on his late-January birthday, wrote a long narrative poem telling the old Scottish legend of Tam O’Shanter. Here’s how the story goes: It was a dark and stormy night in a cozy neighborhood pub. There at the bar sat Tam O’Shanter, …