“The Green Children.” Fairy Gold : A Book of Old English Fairy Tales Chosen by Ernest Rhys, Ernest Rhys, London: J.M. Dent & Co.; New York : E.P. Dutton & co., 1907, pp. 37-38.

Tale Summary

Once, a wonderful thing happened at St. Mary’s of the Wolf-pits, and that thing was the discovery of two strange children by the townspeople. The children, a brother and sister, were from the lower world and their skin was a green tint. No one could understand their speech, and they refused food such as bread, milk, and honey, even though they were very hungry. At last, fresh-cut green beans were brought to them, and with excitement they opened the stalks instead of the bean-pods, and wept when they were empty. They were shown where to properly extract the beans from, and they happily ate them and would not have any other food. They said that everything in the lower world was green, and that instead of sunshine they enjoyed a softer kind of light, such as the light after sunset. When asked how they came to the upper world, they answered that they had followed their green flock to a cavern, and heard sweet-sounding bells which entranced them to keep going further. They came into this world and were blinded by the sunshine, and so were caught. No one knows what happened to the Green Children.