Tailypo

I'm getting a jump on Halloween here (pun intended, as you will understand if you know this story!) This is a favorite of audiences everywhere, and right now might be a good time to learn it for your own Halloween fun. It's an old mountain tale that's been passed down and enjoyed by anyone who likes a good creepy tale.

Tailypo

An old man once lived alone in a cabin in the woods. All alone 'cept for his three dogs, Yuno, Ino and Cometickocalico. Them's his three dogs.

One day the old man went hunting, but he came home with his gamebag empty, no meat for the pot. He looked around in the cupboard but all he found was an old dried-up piece of cornbread. He threw it in a bowl, poured some water over it, but it was still too tough to eat, so he threw it outside for his dogs.

"No meat tonight," he muttered to himself as he settled into his chair by the fire.

It was just at that moment that he heard something over by the wall. A sound like scritch, scritch, scritch. He looked into the dark corner of the cabin and right at the crack between the logs and the floor he saw two pointy ears, then two red eyes, and then a l-o-n-g, furry tail.

The old man grabbed his hatchet and crept toward that creature. Just as he was about to grab it, it saw him and jumped back under the floor. But the old man reached out and grabbed its tail--and cut that tail clean off with his hatchet!

"There's meat for the pot!" He laughed as he threw the tail into the kettle of water boiling over the fire. Cooked it, he did, then took it out and put it in his bowl, tried to eat it.

"Pah! That tastes awful!" The old man spit it out.

He carried the bowl out to the porch and called his dogs. "Yuno! Ino! Cometickocalico! Here! Here!" He threw the tail out into the yard.

Them dogs come running, took one sniff of that tail, and dragged it under the porch.

The old man went back inside. "Goin' ta bed hungry tonight." He crawled into bed and pulled the quilts up around his neck.

He hadn't been asleep very long when a strange sound woke him up. It was right by his gate.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! 

"Tailypo! Tailypo. Comin' ta git my Tailypo!"

The old man called his dogs. "Yuno! Ino! Cometickacalico! Here! Here!" Them three dogs come running, chased that creature clear down into the woods. And that old man, he went back to sleep.

But he hadn't been sleeping very long when he heard it again. This time it was right out by his gate.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! All I wants is my Tailypo!"

"Tailypo! Tailypo! 
The old man called his dogs. "Yuno! Ino! Cometickacalico! Here! Here!" This time, only two dogs come running, but they chased that creature clear down into the woods. And that old man, he went back to sleep.

But he hadn't been sleeping very long when he heard it again. This time it was right by his cabin door.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! 

"Tailypo! Tailypo! Comin' ta git my Tailypo!"

The old man called his dogs. "Ino! Cometickacalico! Here! Here!" This time, only one dog come running, but Cometickaocalico chased that creature clear down into the woods. And that old man, he went back to sleep.

But he hadn't been sleeping very long when he heard it again. Now it was right out by his front door.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! 

"Tailypo! Tailypo! All I wants is my Tailypo!"

The old man called his dog. "Cometickacalico! Here! Here!" This time, no dog come running.

The old man pulled the covers up to his eyes.

He looked down at the foot of his bed and saw two little pointy ears, and two little red eyes.

SCRITCH! SCRITCH! SCRITCH! 

"TAILYPO! TAILYPO! TAILYPO! COMIN' TA GIT MA TAILYPO!"

"I-I ain't got yore ol' Tailypo!"

"You know...and I know...that you...

DO!" And that creature jumped on that old man.

No one ever saw that old man again. No one ever saw them three dogs again either. 

But if you stand quiet and listen on a moonlit night, you just might hear,

"Tailypo! Tailypo! Now I've GOT my Tailypo!"

You can find many versions of this story-and many varied spellings of the name--online and in print. It's a favorite of storytellers looking for a good jump tale for Halloween or campfire tellings. One article that I found particularly interesting explored the origins of the Tailypo story, right back to the Brothers Grimm. The first printed version of the story appears to have been collected by Joel Chandler Harris, the man we usually connect with the Uncle Remus tales.

For links to other versions of this story as well as other jump tales (and a brief explanation of the jump tale genre) check out this post I wrote back in 2008. 

Have fun!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Jump Tales for Halloween

I mentioned "jump tales" in my last post, with a quick explanation of what the term means. Most of us have been the target of such a story--the kind that end with a boo, a scream, or a "gotcha!"

There are several traditional folktale jump stories that are excellent for telling at this time or year, or around a campfire in any season.

Here are some of the ones I like best. There are many variations to these stories, so what you find online may not be the same story you remember, and may not be exactly like my synopsis below or the way I tell the story, but you can find more versions at your library or bookstore:

Tailypo: an old man who lives alone in a cabin in the woods with his three dogs cuts off the tail of an unusual creature. The creature returns again and again for its tail, and with each appearance another dog disappears, until finally it is just the old man and the creature. Who wins? (For book titles and other information, visit the Applit site . To read a version by my friend and fellow storyteller Marilyn Kinsella, go here.)

Big Hairy Toe: someone digs up a big hairy toe in their garden. They take it home, and...you guessed it...the owner of the toe follows them home, moaning, "who's got my great big hairy toe?" Does the creature regain its toe? (find out in this online version of the story.)

Coming to Get Your Liver: little Johnny is scared to go to bed alone. Then he hears a very spooky voice saying, "Johnny, I'm on the first step, coming to get your liver!" Johnny hides under covers, etc (you can stretch these tales out as far as you have the imagination to do!) until finally the voice is...right...outside...his...door... Then it's in the room and... (read a version online that was collected by another storytelling friend, Tim Jennings.)

Golden Arm: a man or woman loses an arm and replaces it with a gold prosthetic limb. When the person dies, the arm is buried with them. Somebody digs up the grave and steals the golden arm. And of course, the thief is hounded by a voice that keeps repeating "who's got my golden arm?" (sound familiar?). You know the rest. (read Joseph Jacobs' classic version here.)

For more good Halloween stories to tell, visit Bare Bones for Storytellers: Halloween Stories. This is part of Jackie Baldwin's Story-Lovers site; it's a compilation of stories submitted by storytellers all over the world.

Okay, that's my list. tell us your favorite jump tale in a comment. We'd all love to read it--and jump!

(For free Halloween clip art, visit the hershey's chocolate website. They've got some great art for free: http://www.hersheys.com/trickortreats/downloads/clipart.asp#inner1 ).