Hot Sunday weather. A blackbird sings, heady scents rise from gaudy flowers, bees hum their soporific song. After roast beef, adults sink into garden chairs. Eyes close, heads droop. Not so the child. Free from restraint, she eagerly patters into the long grass, slips through the gap in the fence and takes a thrilled look at forbidden territory. Glances behind. Still free. A quick scramble; she is there at last. It is shady and damp where she walks under the trees by the millpond. Will she see a fish dart through the weeds? Was that a frog? Maybe there will be insects treading the top of the water. She lingers at the edge, crouches down for a better view, trails her fingers in the murky water, touches duckweed, smells the tall water plants. Was there something? She leans closer. Her small form enters the water with hardly a splash, as pitiless green limbs wrench her under to a quick death. Her hair is all green now, and if you go too near, she will do the same to you. This tale used to be told by children at Long Row School. In the 1960s, more children were allowed to wander a little without supervision. They were familiar with some of the atmospheric landmarks in the area, and they shared the spooky stories they had heard, or maybe invented. That gives us a big clue about the origins of this horrible little tale. Through the years, there have been several theories about why mythology and folklore exist. One theory is that some stories are made for teaching. By hearing stories, members of the community learn what they must or must not do, and because the same stories are frequently retold, the message does not fade away. Warning children to keep away from water has always been an important message. Our moody pond can be found just off the Chevin Road, not far from the A517 road to Ashbourne, but there are plenty of other stories like this one. The being in the water is sometimes called Jenny Greenteeth, and you can hear about her in Shropshire, Cumbria and Lancashire. In Westwood and Simpson's 'The Lore of the Land', Jenny Greenteeth is associated with a class of creatures they describe as freshwater mermaids ('mere' being an old word for pool). Looked at from that perspective, Belper's nasty water creature has relatives all over the country, for there are scary mermaids lurking north, south, east and west. So think on.
