Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea, The [Child 36]

DESCRIPTION: The singer's mother died when he was seven, and his stepmother enchanted him into a "laily worm" and his sister into a "machrel." When their father learns the truth, he forces her to restore the children, then burns her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1802/3 (Skene ms.)
KEYWORDS: family father children stepmother magic shape-changing rescue monster
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Child 36, "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea" (1 text)
Quiller-Couch-OxfordBookOfBallads 14, "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea" (1 text)
Grigson-PenguinBookOfBallads 20, "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea" (1 text)
DT 36, LAIDLEYW
ADDITIONAL: Bob Stewart, _Where Is Saint George? Pagan Imagery in English Folksong_, revised edition, Blandford, 1988, p. 127, "The Lailly Worm" (1 text)
Roud #3968
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Allison Gross" [Child 35] (theme)
NOTES [28 words]: Child's text is badly and multiply defective, but the lack of materials makes restoration well-nigh impossible. Child's conjectures as to what is missing seem apt. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: C036

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