Vivamus porttitor blandit ultrices
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"A mischievious brownie was once lived in the kitchen of Hylton Castle. He took joy in throwing pots and pans around during the night, after the servants had taken great care in tidying it before going to bed. However, if the servants had left the kitchen in a state of disarray then he would carefully tidy it and spend the night cleaning up the mess. The Brownie was called the Cauld Lad and his mishievious tricks included overturning chairs, rolling up mats, emptying the linen from the cupboards, pilling all the pans in the middle of the floor, and throwing water over the wood pile. He was often heard singing:
"Wae's me, wae's me
The acorn is not yet
Fallen from the tree
That's to grow the wood
That's to make the candle
That's to rock the bairn
That's to grow a man
That's to lay me."
Eventually the servants had enough of his mischief and decided to banish him away. Luckily, they knew the best way to banish a Brownie was to give him new clothing, as a smartly dressed Brownie considers himself far too well dressed for housework. The servants made a small green cloak of silk and a red velvet hood, and laid them in front of the fire. At midnight, the Cauld Lad appeared and tried the clothing on in delight, then danced around the kitchen, singing:
"Here's a cloak and here's a hood,
The Cauld Lad O'Hilton will do no more good."
He disappeared and was never to be seen again in the Hylton Castle, but people say that he has been spotted rowing people across the River Wear in a ferry boat, but when he got half way across the river, he would disappear and give them a terrible fright.