Overview

If Puckaster Cove, on the Isle of Wight, us named after Puck, king of the fiaries, surely there must be a fariy tale to go along with it? Indeed there is such a fantasitcal tale, penned by Abragham Elder and published in the pages of Bentley's Miscellany in 1839. It tells of a kindly soul, John Kann, who warns a neighbour not to build on the fairies' playground. The fairy-folk are grateful, and one night treat John Kann, magically reduced in size, Alice in Wonderland like, by a pinch of snuff, to a wonderful feast. And also to a secret that will bring him great reward. But what was that secret? And what happened when John Kann told that secret to another? The original tale is republished here, along with a more recent retelling of it, and a short historical note on Puckaster Cove.