Little Swiler, The

DESCRIPTION: "He was such a very little chap, Blue eyes and sunny smile"; when the boy's father becomes ill, the youth sneaks off (with a knife but no gaff) to take a seal. A band of sealers finds him, feeds him, takes him home, for he "was really only ten"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff)
KEYWORDS: youth work disease father children
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ryan/Small-HaulinRopeAndGaff, p. 116, "The Little Swiler" (1 text)
Roud #V44662
NOTES [85 words]: Probably not traditional, but this fits with the culture of Newfoundland: there was almost a mystic attachment to sealing -- which is why Newfoundlanders were so upset when the rest of the world came to oppose the seal hunt. Children from a young age wanted to grow up to be sealers, even though it was dirty, dangerous work that (although it occasionally produced a very large payout) rarely paid well. In addition to children who would play at being sealers, there was a whole folklore about stowaways. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: RySm116

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