A Pig Boy, a Ghost, and a Pooka. Oftentimes stories get jumbled up in the telling, where elements from one tale meld into the next. The term “highwayman” wasn’t really in favor until the eighteenth century, although robbery along the road has been a danger since the creation of roads. There is a famous poem, “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes, which is hauntingly lovely, though the highwayman in my story is far less noble. As for the pooka, he is perhaps the most misunderstood creature of Celtic folklore. A shape-shifter who can be a wolf or an eagle, he is most often known as a horse who can talk with humans. Whether his intention be good or foul depends upon the story (and the pooka). In some places, the pooka’s share is still left out for him on Samhain (the ancient name for the holiday we call Halloween). I visited a graveyard in the west of Ireland called Aghadoe, and though no ghosts came out to haunt me, the image of the graveyard with its crumbling headstones still does. So I rearranged the letters a bit and made Agadhoe the name of my town.
The Old Burned Man and the Hound. There is an ancient Welsh tale called “BeddGelert,” about a brave hound that protects a royal babe but is killed by the king, who unfortunately misunderstands the situation. There is even a monument to this dog in Snowdon, Wales. I always hoped they got the story wrong, and that the brave dog lived. The great thing about being a storyteller is you can create a better ending.
The Storyteller and the Truth. A year and a day is a magical unit of time. Some legends hold that marriages can be dissolved after a year and a day or that perhaps the dead can return in special circumstances, but only for this length of time.
As with all tales, the true meaning of each story is for the listener to determine. And though I enjoy researching folktales, I do not claim to be a folklorist. Just a simple storyteller with a desire to pass along the magic of stories, hoping they’ll reside in your hearts and minds for more than just a year and a day.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Above all else, two very extraordinary people are responsible for Trinket getting the opportunity to tell her tales. Joanna Stamfel-Volpe, my amazing agent, who e-mailed me before she was even done reading the story to let me know how much she was enjoying it and how beautiful she found it. That e-mail changed everything for me. And Beth Potter, my brilliant editor, who loved the story as much as I did and helped me weave the words even more tightly so that they would hold together, true and strong.
Thank you to teachers/writers Nancy Villalobos and Chris Kopp, who read each of Trinket’s tales, one by one, as I slowly finished them, and always seemed eager to read another. And faraway thanks to friends Holly Pence and Kathy Duddy, whose long-distance support is worth more to me than a thousand gold coins.
I could not be more pleased with the work done by the copy editors, the art directors, the amazing Dan Craig, and everyone at FSG Macmillan. I appreciate you so much.
Special thanks to my parents, John and Nancy Moore, and the rest of my wonderful family in New Mexico: John Moore III, Tammi Moore, Hope Moore, Jacob Moore, Jim Daniels, Elora Daniels, and Mia Daniels. My sister, Susan Moore Daniels, plays the harp so beautifully that I am certain her strumming echoed in my brain as I wrote this book. My nephew John Moore IV composed a hauntingly beautiful version of “Trinket’s Lullaby” that makes me tear up whenever I listen to it. I am not sure what I did to be part of such a wonderful crew, but I am thankful for them.
To the dancers of the Comerford Irish Dance School and their director, Tony Comerford: thank you for several years of amazing rhythms and the inspiration I’ve gained from watching your feet fly.
To the students and staff of Jefferson Elementary: every day you give me hope for the future of our world. And, kids, I never get tired of you asking for more stories. Never.
And finally, to my husband, Sean: you put up with a lot while I was working on this book and it is only because of your support that I was able to finish it at all. And to my beautiful daughters, Noel, Isabelle, and Caledonia: you are my muses. My stories are always for you, first and foremost. So is my advice: never be afraid to live your dreams and tell your tales. I love you.
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
175 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010
Text copyright © 2012 by Shelley Moore Thomas
Pictures copyright © 2012 by Daniel Craig
All rights reserved
First hardcover edition, 2012
eBook edition, September 2012
mackids.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Thomas, Shelley Moore.
The seven tales of Trinket / Shelley Moore Thomas. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: “Guided by a tattered map, accompanied by Thomas the Pig Boy, and inspired by the storyteller’s blood that thrums through her veins, eleven-year-old Trinket searches for the seven stories she needs to become a bard like her father, who disappeared years before.”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-374-36745-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-374-36744-2 (e-book)
[1. Storytellers—Fiction. 2. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.T369453Se 2012
[Fic]—dc23
2011050075
eISBN 9780374367442
The Seven Tales of Trinket Page 18