TOM TIT TOT

TOM TIT TOT

ONCE UPON A TIME there was a woman, and she baked five

pies. And when they came out of the oven, they were that

overbaked the crusts were too hard to eat. So she says to her

daughter:

“Darter,” says she, “put you them there pies on the shelf,

and leave ‘em there a little, and they’ll come again.”--She

meant, you know, the crust would get soft.

But the girl, she says to herself: “Well, if they’ll come again,

I’ll eat ‘em now.” And she set to work and ate ‘em all, first

and last.

Well, come supper-time the woman said: “Go you, and

get one o’ them there pies. I dare say they’ve come again

now.”

The girl went and she looked, and there was nothing but

the dishes. So back she came and says she: “Noo, they ain’t

come again.”

“Not one of ‘em?” says the mother.

“Not one of ‘em,” says she.

“Well, come again, or not come again,” said the woman

“I’ll have one for supper.”

“But you can’t, if they ain’t come,” said the girl.

“But I can,” says she. “Go you, and bring the best of ‘em.”

“Best or worst,” says the girl, “I’ve ate ‘em all, and you

can’t have one till that’s come again.”

Well, the woman she was done, and she took her spinning

to the door to spin, and as she span she sang:

“My darter ha’ ate five, five pies to-day.

My darter ha’ ate five, five pies to-day.”

The king was coming down the street, and he heard her

sing, but what she sang he couldn’t hear, so he stopped and

said:

“What was that you were singing, my good woman?”

The woman was ashamed to let him hear what her daughter

had been doing, so she sang, instead of that:

“My darter ha’ spun five, five skeins to-day.

My darter ha’ spun five, five skeins to-day.”

 “Stars o’ mine!” said the king, “I never heard tell of any

one that could do that.”

Then he said: “Look you here, I want a wife, and I’ll marry

your daughter. But look you here,” says he, “eleven months

out of the year she shall have all she likes to eat, and all the

gowns she likes to get, and all the company she likes to keep;

but the last month of the year she’ll have to spin five skeins

every day, and if she don’t I shall kill her.”

“All right,” says the woman; for she thought what a grand

marriage that was. And as for the five skeins, when the time

came, there’d be plenty of ways of getting out of it, and likeliest,

he’d have forgotten all about it.

Well, so they were married. And for eleven months the

girl had all she liked to eat, and all the gowns she liked to

get, and all the company she liked to keep.

But when the time was getting over, she began to think

about the skeins and to wonder if he had ‘em in mind. But

not one word did he say about ‘em, and she thought he’d

wholly forgotten ‘em.

However, the last day of the last month he takes her to a

room she’d never set eyes on before. There was nothing in it

but a spinning-wheel and a stool. And says he: “Now, my

dear, here you’ll be shut in to-morrow with some victuals

and some flax, and if you haven’t spun five skeins by the

night, your head’ll go off.”

And away he went about his business.

Well, she was that frightened, she’d always been such a

gatless girl, that she didn’t so much as know how to spin,

and what was she to do to-morrow with no one to come

nigh her to help her? She sat down on a stool in the kitchen,

and law! how she did cry!

However, all of a sudden she heard a sort of a knocking

low down on the door. She upped and oped it, and what

should she see but a small little black thing with a long tail.

That looked up at her right curious, and that said:

“What are you a-crying for?”

“What’s that to you?” says she.

“Never you mind,” that said, “but tell me what you’re acrying

for.”

“That won’t do me no good if I do,” says she.

“You don’t know that,” that said, and twirled that’s tail

round.

 “Well,” says she, “that won’t do no harm, if that don’t do

no good,” and she upped and told about the pies, and the

skeins, and everything.

“This is what I’ll do,” says the little black thing, “I’ll come

to your window every morning and take the flax and bring

it spun at night.”

“What’s your pay?” says she.

That looked out of the corner of that’s eyes, and that said:

“I’ll give you three guesses every night to guess my name,

and if you haven’t guessed it before the month’s up you shall

be mine.”

Well, she thought she’d be sure to guess that’s name before

the month was up. “All right,” says she, “I agree.”

“All right,” that says, and law! how that twirled that’s tail.

Well, the next day, her husband took her into the room,

and there was the flax and the day’s food.

“Now there’s the flax,” says he, “and if that ain’t spun up

this night, off goes your head.” And then he went out and

locked the door.

He’d hardly gone, when there was a knocking against the

window.

She upped and she oped it, and there sure enough was the

little old thing sitting on the ledge.

“Where’s the flax?” says he.

“Here it be,” says she. And she gave it to him.

Well, come the evening a knocking came again to the window.

She upped and she oped it, and there was the little old

thing with five skeins of flax on his arm.

“Here it be,” says he, and he gave it to her.

“Now, what’s my name?” says he.

“What, is that Bill?” says she.

“Noo, that ain’t,” says he, and he twirled his tail.

“Is that Ned?” says she.

“Noo, that ain’t,” says he, and he twirled his tail.

“Well, is that Mark?” says she.

“Noo, that ain’t,” says he, and he twirled his tail harder,

and away he flew.

Well, when her husband came in, there were the five skeins

ready for him. “I see I shan’t have to kill you to-night, my

dear,” says he; “you’ll have your food and your flax in the

morning,” says he, and away he goes.

every day that there little black impet used to come mornings

and evenings. And all the day the girl sat trying to think

of names to say to it when it came at night. But she never hit

on the right one. And as it got towards the end of the month,

the impet began to look so maliceful, and that twirled that’s

tail faster and faster each time she gave a guess.

At last it came to the last day but one. The impet came at

night along with the five skeins, and that said,

“What, ain’t you got my name yet?”

“Is that Nicodemus?” says she.

“Noo, t’ain’t,” that says.

“Is that Sammle?” says she.

“Noo, t’ain’t,” that says.

“A-well, is that Methusalem?” says she.

“Noo, t’ain’t that neither,” that says.

Then that looks at her with that’s eyes like a coal o’ fire,

and that says: “Woman, there’s only to-morrow night, and

then you’ll be mine!” And away it flew.

Well, she felt that horrid. However, she heard the king

coming along the passage. In he came, and when he sees the

five skeins, he says, says he,

“Well, my dear,” says he, “I don’t see but what you’ll have

your skeins ready to-morrow night as well, and as I reckon I

shan’t have to kill you, I’ll have supper in here to-night.” So

they brought supper, and another stool for him, and down

the two sat.

Well, he hadn’t eaten but a mouthful or so, when he stops

and begins to laugh.

“What is it?” says she.

“A-why,” says he, “I was out a-hunting to-day, and I got

away to a place in the wood I’d never seen before And there

was an old chalk-pit. And I heard a kind of a sort of a humming.

So I got off my hobby, and I went right quiet to the

pit, and I looked down. Well, what should there be but the

funniest little black thing you ever set eyes on. And what

was that doing, but that had a little spinning-wheel, and

that was spinning wonderful fast, and twirling that’s tail.

And as that span that sang:

“Nimmy nimmy not

My name’s Tom Tit Tot.”

Well, when the girl heard this, she felt as if she could have

jumped out of her skin for joy, but she didn’t say a word.

Next day that there little thing looked so maliceful when

he came for the flax. And when night came, she heard that

knocking against the window panes. She oped the window,

and that come right in on the ledge. That was grinning from

ear to ear, and Oo! that’s tail was twirling round so fast.

“What’s my name?” that says, as that gave her the skeins.

“Is that Solomon?” she says, pretending to be afeard.

“Noo, t’ain’t,” that says, and that came further into the room.

“Well, is that Zebedee?” says she again.

“Noo, t’ain’t,” says the impet. And then that laughed and

twirled that’s tail till you couldn’t hardly see it.

“Take time, woman,” that says; “next guess, and you’re

mine.” And that stretched out that’s black hands at her.

Well, she backed a step or two, and she looked at it, and

then she laughed out, and says she, pointing her finger at it:

“NIMMY NIMMY NOT, YOUR NAME’S TOM TIT

TOT!”

Well, when that heard her, that gave an awful shriek and

away that flew into the dark, and she never saw it any more.

If you like this story please don't forget to share it.

ENGLISH FAIRY TALES COLLECTED BY
JOSEPH JACOBS A PENN STATE ELECTRONIC CLASSICS SERIES PUBLICATION