Introduction
Outlaw William Cloudsley could not resist one last visit to his beloved wife and children. But the Sheriff of Carlisle was waiting for him...
WILLIAM of Cloudsley, Clym of the Clough,* and Adam Bell, had been poaching deer, and were wanted men. But William could not resist a few hours snatched at home with his wife Alice, and their three children.
There William was captured, though not before shooting dozens dead, and sent to Carlisle jail.
With Adam and Clym’s help William escaped, and more of the sheriff’s men fell by his arrows.
Eventually, he gave himself up to the King, but William found no mercy there. He would have been hanged on the spot, except the King could not believe that one archer could wreak such mayhem.
So William made a wager. To save himself and his family, he would shoot an apple off his own son’s head at a hundred and twenty paces. And he did.
The King was so staggered by this feat that he gave William a lifetime pension, and to Alice and the children a place in the Queen’s household.
See Also
Switzerland boasts a similar but better-known tale, William Tell.
A clough is a steep-sided valley. The word is pronounced ‘cluff’.
Précis
William, wanted for poaching, could not resist a quick visit to his family, and there he was caught. The King could not believe the stories about the famous archer, so William bet that he could shoot an apple of his own son’s head, in exchange for a pardon — and won his bet. (52 / 60 words)
William, wanted for poaching, could not resist a quick visit to his family, and there he was caught. The King could not believe the stories about the famous archer, so William bet that he could shoot an apple of his own son’s head, in exchange for a pardon — and won his bet.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 45 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, besides, if, may, or, since, unless, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Boast. Poach. Well.
2 Family. Mayhem. More.
3 Could. Eventual. Tell.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Fall. 2 Spot. 3 Shoot. 4 Place. 5 Save. 6 Help. 7 Escape. 8 Make. 9 Pace.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Save. 2. Head. 3. Bell. 4. Hour. 5. Tale. 6. Child. 7. King. 8. Pension. 9. Queen.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
crps (6+3)
carps. corps. corpse. corpus. creeps. crops.
craps. crepes. cripes.
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Picture: © Richard Croft, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted January 18 2021
