The Strange Visitor (Campfire Story)

Once upon a time, in a lonely cottage at the edge of a lonely moor, there lived a lonely old woman. Every night she sat by the fire with her spinning wheel, and she spun, and she spun, and she wished for company. But nobody ever came.

point to the audience to bring the chant in

One night, as the fire burned low, the door went CREAK. And in came a pair of broad, broad feet, all by themselves, and sat down by the fireside.

'That's very strange,' thought the woman.

STILL SHE SAT...

The door went CREAK. In came a pair of long, long legs, and sat down on the broad, broad feet.

'That's very strange,' thought the woman.

STILL SHE SAT...

The door went CREAK. In came a pair of knobbly, knobbly knees, and sat down on the long, long legs.

'That's very strange,' thought the woman.

STILL SHE SAT...

speed up a little from here, and let the list of parts grow each time

STILL SHE SAT...

The door went CREAK. In came a pair of broad, broad shoulders, and sat down on the wide, wide waist.

STILL SHE SAT...

The door went CREAK. In came a pair of long, long arms, and sat down on the broad, broad shoulders.

STILL SHE SAT...

The door went CREAK. In came a pair of huge, huge hands, and sat down on the long, long arms.

STILL SHE SAT...

The door went CREAK. In came a thin, thin neck, and sat down on the broad, broad shoulders.

STILL SHE SAT...

slow way down

And there it was. A great tall figure, sitting in her fireside chair, looking at her with its great saucer eyes.

The old woman stopped spinning. She cleared her throat. And she asked it, very politely:

'How did you get such broad, broad feet?'

in a deep, hollow voice

'How did you get such long, long legs?'

'Much running, much running.'

'How did you get such huge, huge hands?'

'Much digging, much digging.'

'How did you get such a great, round head?'

'Much thinking, much thinking.'

'How did you get such big, big eyes?'

'Much looking, much looking.'

slowly, nervously

wait in silence for a long moment, then leap toward the audience and shout

Storyteller tips: teach the chant before you begin, and have the crowd practice the creaky door. The fun is in the build: each body part comes in, the list grows, the chant comes back. Let the questions at the end go slow and quiet so the last line lands.

Retold from the English folk tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales, 1890.