Stories from the Netherlands.
On the Waal, near Waardenburg in Gelderland in the middle of the Netherlands, stands a castle linked to stories about Doctor Faust. Zaltbommel lies across the river, called simply Bommel in the tale. According to this tradition, a scholar hired the devil—and drove even that servant to despair.
In Twente, in the province of Overijssel in the east of the Netherlands, people told that the plague travelled like a little cloud past the farms near Enschede. People called the feared disease the Black Death. In this tradition, an entire farmstead could perish while almost nothing could be seen from outside.
Near Lochem and Barchem, in the Achterhoek region of Gelderland in the east of the Netherlands, people told of the witte wieven: mysterious women who appeared over the land like mist. According to this old story, three lived in a hollow near the Koerbelt. The eldest had nails sharp enough to peel a potato without a knife. She ruled the witte wieven as far as the Veluwe.
In Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, people told of the knight of Stenhuisheerd. He had many enemies. Most of them he had made himself.
In Limburg, in the southeast of the Netherlands, people told of the giant king Halichem. His people wanted him to marry. He wanted them to stop bringing it up.
Near Maastricht, on the Meuse in Limburg in the southeast of the Netherlands, people knew an old story about the owner of the Black Mill. It takes place during the Crusades, when preachers called on men to travel to the Holy Land for their faith. The miller Godeslas listened to one such sermon and worked out what it would cost him.
In Pietersbierum, a village near Harlingen in Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands, people told of a woman who saw her own funeral before she died. Such a vision was called a voorloop, a forewarning. Her husband was a minister, and he wanted none of it.
In Deventer, on the IJssel in Overijssel in the east of the Netherlands, the Bergkerk has two towers. According to an old story, they are linked to two sisters: Martha and Beatrix. Martha was a little taller, and so, people said, were the towers: side by side, one just a little higher than the other.
Knight Allaert had the hermit drowned because the man told him something he did not want to hear. The hermit reproached him for his sinful life. Allaert could answer a reprimand with an order; he expected the water to take care of the rest.
Near Echt, in Limburg in the southeast of the Netherlands, people told of a headless woman who wandered by the ruins of Sleutje. In wartime, local people had killed her before she received the church’s forgiveness. Her ghost had sworn vengeance on the people of Echt.
AI-generated imageGabriel has measured Limburg out neatly. The devil has a sword. And the residents have ideas of their own.
AI-generated imageSkipper Job catches something that isn’t his. He sees even grief at sea as a business opportunity.
AI-generated imageThe burgomaster’s trousers begin to smoke. The council sets out to find a solution that requires nobody to stand up.
AI-generated imageThe lord of the castle has made his subjects pay one time too many. Emma may leave with whatever she can carry herself.
AI-generated imageA learned head. Two unwilling knees. And guards who carry their prisoner out themselves. Provided his nose behaves.
AI-generated imageEllert and Brammert have a bell for their victims. Marieke has been listening long enough.
AI-generated imageFather has worked out exactly what kind of child he wants. The stone has not yet said yes to it.
AI-generated imageThe gentlemen have come to think up names. First they want to eat. Then a ditch turns out to be wiser than the whole committee.
AI-generated imageThere’s a monster lying in the street. Fortunately, Weert has a sheriff who knows exactly where he is safe.
AI-generated imageThe farmer calls himself the hardest worker in the Kempen. His work mostly gets done while he is asleep.
AI-generated imageEdam catches a wonder. Haarlem feels entitled to a bigger wonder. Nobody asks the wonder what she wants.
AI-generated imageZwolle wants every last coin. Kampen makes sure there are a great many of them.
AI-generated imageBeneath the brewery lives something nobody may look at. The youngest brewery hand goes down anyway — with his eyes shut.
AI-generated imageHe sets sail when every sensible person stays in port. Turning back is not on his list.
AI-generated imageThe court wants a good laugh at a cobbler on the throne. But the cobbler has a few jobs for the court.
AI-generated imageA ship full of grain is not precious enough for her. So the sea gets it. Only, the sea has kept something for her too.