''The Hobyahs'' is a
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
collected by Mr S. V. Proudfit, in Perth.
included it in ''More English Fairy Tales''.
[ Joseph Jacobs, ''More English Fairy Tales'', "The Hobyahs"] His source was ''American Folk-Lore Journal'', iv, 173.
Synopsis
A man, woman, girl, and little dog lived in a house made of hempstalks. The Hobyahs came for several nights, shouting "Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!" For several nights, the dog barked, scaring them off, but the old man was angry at its barking and cut off its tail, then its legs, then its head. Then the Hobyahs tore down the house, ate the old man and woman, and carried off the girl in a bag. They hung up the bag at home and knocked it, shouting, "Look me!" They went to sleep, because they slept by daytime. A man heard her crying and took her home, putting his big dog in the sack. When the Hobyahs opened the sack, the dog ate them all.
Motifs
Jacobs noted that the Hobyahs, though now destroyed, resembled "the
bogies or spirits of the comma bacillus".
Escaping from a bag is a common fairy tale motif, but the technique used is not. Such tales as ''
Molly Whuppie
Molly Whuppie is an English fairy tale set in Scotland and collected by Joseph Jacobs in ''English Fairy Tales''.Joseph Jacobs, ''English Fairy Tales''"Molly Whuppie"/ref> A Highland version, Maol a Chliobain, was collected by John Francis Campbe ...
'' and ''
The Little Peasant
"The Little Peasant" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'', number 61.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 1535, The Rich Peasant and the Poor Peasant, and includes an episode of type 1737, Trading Places with ...
'' feature the character tricking his way out.
Retellings
Robert D. San Souci
Robert Daniel San Souci (October 10, 1946 – December 19, 2014) was a multiple award-winning children's book author known most for his retellings of folktales for children. A native Californian, Robert D. San Souci was born in San Francisco and ...
retold it in the picture book ''The Hobyahs''. "The Hobyahs" is a very popular children's book. Hobyahs also appear in
Joan Aiken's book ''The Witch of Clatteringshaws''.
A version was published in Victoria in Australia in ''The School Paper'' periodical in 1926. A few years later, the story was retold in the second book of ''The Victorian Readers''
widely available in Victorian schools for several decades, now with 'little dog dingo' and set in the Australian bush.
Provides the imagery for the protagonist's fantasies in the Australian film ''
Celia (1989)'', directed by Ann Turner. The telling differs, however, in that there is no girl, the Hobyahs make off with the old woman, and the old man gives the little dog back his head, legs, and tail, and together they go in search of the old woman.
References
{{Portal , Children's literature
Hobyahs
Hobyahs