Folklore of Lincolnshire by Susanna O'Neill

sinister look crossed the creature’s face and he told the boy that the help would certainly stop, but as he had said thank you again he was now stuck with the Yallery Brown dogging him through all his life! He vanished, singing an ominous song:
    Wok ’s tha will,
    Tha’ll niver do well,
    Wok ’s tha mowt,
    Tha’ll niver gain owt,
    For harm an’ mischance an’ Yallery Bro-wun
    Tha’s let oot theesen from unner th’ sto-wun.
    Poor Tom only met with misfortune after this; he lost every job he managed to get, his marriage broke down and his children died. His own attempt at farming failed, all his crops dying, and through each disaster Tom heard the cruel laugh of Yallery Brown echoing behind him.
    The Lincolnshire Life magazine narrates a story with another cunning figure who tried to ensnare a respectable maiden. 16 The man in question was called Mr Fox and he was trying to court the young girl, much to her parents’ dismay, as he had a reputation for being a bit of a rogue.
    On one particular day, the young lass was sent out to do an errand by her father but, before she set off, a message arrived telling her to meet Mr Fox at the crossroads in Paddy Lane on her way home later. She knew of his reputation and realised it was rather a remote place to meet him, but she was flattered by his attention and also curious to know what he wanted. After her errand, she made her way to Paddy Lane but found that Mr Fox wasn’t there. She was feeling somewhat nervous andso decided to hide from view and wait for him to arrive, so she found a tall tree and climbed up. After a while she saw Mr Fox approaching and was just about to call out to him, when she saw him bring out a spade he had hidden behind a bush. She waited to see what he was going to do with it and was amazed to see him digging what seemed to be a grave. She could only assume the grave was meant for her, so she kept very quiet and hid from him until he decided to leave. He waited a long time for the girl to show up, but when it got dark he lost his patience and stormed away in a rage. She then slipped down from the tree and ran home, telling her parents all that she had seen when she arrived. They made sure the story was passed around the area quickly and Mr Fox disappeared, no one around there ever seeing him again. Who he was or why he wanted to murder the girl are questions that remain unanswered.
    It is not just creatures and strange beasts that behave in a reprehensible manner. There is a story, retold by Westwood, about the old man of Winterton. 17 Mr Lacy was a very rich man with three sons and when he got older, he decided he would split his fortune between the three whilst still living, on the condition that they should each keep him for a week, in turn, until his death. The sons agreed, pleased to have his money early, but after a while they each became weary of having him with them and started to treat him badly. They were mean to him, leaving him neglected, cold and hungry and treating him no better than a dog.
    The old man was getting very upset and fed up with being treated like this and so went to visit a good friend of his, who was also an attorney. His friend told him there was nothing to be done legally to enforce better behaviour. He did, however, suggest an idea to his old friend:
    As you have always been good to me over the years I will lend you a strong box with £1,000 inside. Keep the box locked but at each of your sons’ houses make a show of bringing out the box and counting the money inside. Make sure you lock the box again afterwards each time, but talk about it to keep reminding them of its existence. Their greed will soon have them treating you better, especially if you add that the son who treats you the best in the time you have left will receive the greater share upon your death.
    Mr Lacy liked the idea very much and received the box a few days later. He did just as his attorney friend had suggested and when his sons saw there was more