The Devil and the Reeds

by

This is a folklore from the Norfolk Broads, an area full of waterways and lots of reeds. One of the protagonist is called Old Roger, a local name for the Devil. For the pirates he was the Jolly Roger, symbolised by their flag with white skull and crossbones.

Dies ist eine Volkssage aus den Norfolk Broads, einer Gegend voller Wasserwege und Schilf. Einer der Protagonisten heißt Old Roger, ein lokaler Name für den Teufel. Für die Piraten war er der Jolly Roger, symbolisiert durch ihre Flagge mit weißem Totenkopf und gekreuzten Knochen.

These reedbeds, formed by stands of Common reed, are a prominent feature of the coastal and Broads landscape. They are particularly important for birdlife, including species like the bittern and marsh harrier. 

One fine morning, Old Roger, known more for fiery pits than potato pits, decided he was ready to enter the world of agriculture. Maybe he was bored of brimstone, maybe he just wanted some of the earthly harvest pie. So, he struck a deal with the Lord. Each year, one of them would get to choose either the top or the bottom half of whatever the humans planted.
Year One came.
Old Roger: “I will take the top half! The sun shines there! Surely that’s where the good stuff is.“
The Lord: “Very well. I’ll take the bottom.”

Eines schönen Morgens beschloss der alte Roger, der eher für seine Feuergruben als für seine Kartoffelacker bekannt war, dass er bereit war, in die Welt der Landwirtschaft einzusteigen. Vielleicht hatte er genug vom Schwefel, vielleicht wollte er einfach nur etwas von der Ernte auf der Erde abbekommen. Also schloss er einen Deal mit dem Herrn. Jedes Jahr durfte einer von ihnen entweder die obere oder die untere Hälfte von dem wählen, was die Menschen angebaut hatten.
Das erste Jahr kam.
Der alte Roger: „Ich nehme die obere Hälfte! Dort scheint die Sonne! Dort ist bestimmt das Beste.“
Der Herr: „Sehr gut. Ich nehme die untere.“

The Swallowtail butterfly, a large and striking insect, is a quintessential part of the Norfolk Broads landscape. It is UK’s largest butterfly and is uniquely found in this area.

The farmers planted that year potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables.
You can almost hear Old Roger’s disappointed snarl echoing through history: “What is this green nonsense?”

Die Bauern pflanzten in diesem Jahr Kartoffeln, Karotten und anderes Wurzelgemüse.
Man kann fast hören, wie Old Rogers enttäuschtes Knurren durch die Geschichte hallt: „Was ist das für ein grüner Unsinn?”

In the Norfolk Broads (as in Cley), reed is a vital, sustainable resource used mainly for thatching

Having learned his lesson, Old Roger changed his mind.
“This time“, he growled, “I will take the bottom half.”
The Lord, with the divine equivalent of a poker face, took the top.
The farmers planted this year, wheat, rye and barley.
Old Roger ended up with dry, stringy roots. The Lord walked off with golden grain waving in the sun.

Nachdem er seine Lektion gelernt hatte, änderte der alte Roger seine Meinung.
„Dieses Mal“, knurrte er, „nehme ich die untere Hälfte.“
Der Herr nahm mit einem göttlichen Pokerface, das Siri uns Selma gerne gesehen hätten, die obere Hälfte.
Die Bauern pflanzten in diesem Jahr Weizen, Roggen und Gerste.
Der alte Roger blieb mit trockenen, faserigen Wurzeln zurück. Der Herr ging mit goldenem Getreide, das in der Sonne wogte, davon.

If you listened closely, you could hear the Old Roger’s pride cracking louder than thunder. Old Roger, smoke coming out of his ears, stomping across the countryside in a rage so fiery it could scorch the soil. He wandered into a field of reeds — tall, slender, whispering plants that had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Wenn man genau hinhörte, konnte man den gebrochenen Stolz des alten Roger lauter als Donner grollen hören. Der alte Roger, Rauch aus seinen Ohren strömend, stampfte in einer Wut über die Landschaft, die so heftig war, dass sie den Boden versengte. Er wanderte in ein Feld aus Schilf – hohe, schlanke, flüsternde Pflanzen, die das Pech hatten, zur falschen Zeit am falschen Ort zu sein.

Listening to the rustle of the reeds, listening to their whisper.
The sound produced by the vibrating reeds is often described as a whisper, rustle, or sigh, especially when multiple reeds are swaying together. 



As the wind rustled through them, it sounded a lot like mockery. And that was just too much. So Old Roger, in a fit of temper, bit the reeds and cursed them
“You shall tremble forever, even when there’s no danger!”

Als der Wind durch sie raschelte, klang es sehr nach Spott. Und das war einfach zu viel. Also biss der alte Roger in einem Anfall von Wut auf die Schilfhalme und verfluchte sie
„Ihr sollt für immer zittern, auch wenn keine Gefahr besteht!“

From that day on, reeds have shivered at the slightest breeze. Not because they’re cold. Not because they’re afraid. But because Old Roger lost the farming contest and bit into the stalks. If you look closely you can still see where .

Seit diesem Tag zittern die Schilfhalme bei jedem noch so leichten Windhauch. Nicht weil ihnen kalt ist, nicht weil sie Angst haben. Sondern weil Old Roger den Landwirtschaftswettbewerb verloren hat und in die Halme gebissen hat. Wenn ihr genau hinschaut, könnt ihr noch sehen, wo.

The moral of this story (as every Christian story is moralistic)
Be careful what deals you make and don’t bite plants. They remember.
At least this is what Siri and Selma learned from this old folklore. And what did you learn from it?

Die Moral dieser Geschichte (denn jede christliche Geschichte ist moralisch)
Sei vorsichtig, welche Abmachungen du eingehst, und beiß nicht in Pflanzen. Sie merken sich das.
Das zumindest haben Siri und Selma aus dieser alten Volkssage gelernt. Und was lerntet ihr?

With best regards from the whispering reeds
Mit herzlichen Grüßen vom flüsternden Schilf

The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂


© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2025

142 thoughts

  3. My dear friends,
    what a lovely write-up and gorgeous photos as ever, Hanne. Isn’t that a remarkable butterfly, so pretty! I have never seen a Swallowtail butterfly, please take me to the Broads and show me the next time I come.
    I can sense the folkloric feel to the swaying reeds and the sounds it produces: It makes that haunting whispering sound in the wind and I loved our walk in the Cley Reserve listening to as it was recorded. It is something I associated with thresholds — water/land, wild/domestic —
    it’s echoing your legend beautifully.
    I hope you can all cope with current heatwave in East Anglia.
    Stay cool, hydrated and healthy.
    Stor kram,
    Annalena xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Annalena

      Next time you are here we try to show you this relatively big butterfly, the Swallowtail. We’ll go into the reed beds, we love it. It’s a world of its own.
      The reed is still harvested here and quite often sent to the Netherlands and Germany for thatching. We love thatched cottages.

      We hope that the heat wave is gone now. Today is the first day with normal summer temperatures. We don’t like it when it is too warm and sunny. But with global warming we’ll get more of these heat waves.

      When it was too hot we staid in our house und drank a lot of water with a bit of cucumber in it. Nice!

      Did you had such a heat wave in Sweden as well?
      We suppose in your summer house at the lake it was bearable.

      KRAM 🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗
      xxxx
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thankfully, it’s not quite so hot here.
      I wonder why don’t you get to see the Swallowtail in Cley?
      There are so many reedbeds in your part of the world!
      Kram
      Annalena xx

      Liked by 1 person

    • Danke, liebe Uschi 🙏 🙏
      Kb sammelt ja solche Volkserzählungen, da sie viel über Symbolik verraten.
      Toll, dass dir Hanne-Dinas Fotos gefallen.
      Alles Gute
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear Pete

      Indeed, that’s not such a known folk-tale. But when Siri researched it, she found out that similar tales were told all over Europe.
      Thank you for liking Dina’s photography.

      We hope you survived this heat wave well. We had to go to Wells yesterday, wow, it was hot there. People went from spots of shade to spots of shade. Now we have normal temperatures here at the coast.

      With lots of love from us all
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Pete

      We have 22 degrees right now. That feels quite cold after the heat yesterday.
      I cleaned our sauna in the garden which made me sweating as I would have been in a hot sauna. So I suppose that it is quite humid here as well.

      Keep cool 😉
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  8. I posted a photograph some years ago of my wife weeding in the garden, in that bent over pose we so often assume while at that work. A friend, who lives in Norfolk, said it reminded him of childhood and the seasonal workers who came to work on the farm and who struck the same pose. They were known locally as “Arse-ups”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Paddy

      Great! This reminds us of our visits to Sissinghurst. There is a framed sketch of Vita Sackville-West in the “arse-up”-position in the garden by her husband Harold Nicolson. His comment: That’s what I see of my wife when she is in the garden.”

      We love your info about what the seasonal workers here were called. We didn’t know that.

      Thank you very much
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  15. My dear friends in the hot reed county. How are you?
    I loved the story and very much enjoyed Hanne’s photos.
    You weave together legend and landscape to create something beautifully symbolic, atmospheric and layered with meaning.
    Boundaries are places of power in folklore.
    A perfect whisper of a story long passed down, told by the wind in the hollow stem.
    Sending you hugs
    Klem
    Per Magnus

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, our dear friend Per Magnus

      Legends and pictures are quite similar, both are a symbol for reality. Both convey faith in fake. I became aware of it after reading an old edition of articles by Umberto Eco. The lord as hero and the picture are both not the real thing, they are fiction. But we love to believe in fiction. Do we rather believe in fiction than in reality?

      Anyway, we really love the real thing as well, the whisper of the reeds, their constant movement.

      It’s a pity that you are not around. It would be great to discuss this faith in fake more.

      Keep well
      KLEM
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Yes, it would be great to catch up with you all in person soon. I’ll give you a ring at the weekend and we can discuss when it’s convenient for you.

      Don’t you think faith in fake is the paradox of belief: humans need belief, and will even knowingly suspend disbelief to find meaning.
      I admire Banksy for the way he uses visual irony to challenge what people take as “true” or “real” in society.
      Enjoy summer in Cley.
      Klem
      Per Magnus x

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Per Magnus

      Yes, we think so. Humans need believe and they try to see what they believe at any price. That’s a kind of rationalisation. Truth is what people believe. The will to believe is stronger than the realisation of reality. Unfortunately 😦

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear Rebecca

      Thank you very much.

      Folk tales as well as fairy tales influenced modern literature quite a bit. Their magic is that they are build of archetypes, and they have often quite a simple plot design.

      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Linda
      Well, we hope so. But if that would be true we wouldn’t need conservation. We think nature needs our help. And we shouldn’t bite plants!
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you very much, dear Maggie. And have a look, you can still see where Old Roger bit.

      Thanks and Cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  24. Fab Four of Cley,
    Great story and I think Siri & Selma will remember that tale and repeat it for their own children. I took away, be grateful for what you’ve got.
    Have a wonderful week.
    GP

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear GP

      Siri and Selma will surely tell that tale to their children. They like telling tales.
      It’s amazing how many meanings we can see in such a tale. That’s probably possible because it’s based on archetypes.

      Thanks a lot.
      We wish you a wonderful week as well.
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  25. 😂..dass es bei euch wunderschöne Schwalbenschwänze gibt, denen die Sage nichts ausmacht! Das Schilf zittert und vermehrt sich dennoch, hat seinen festen Halm und biegsam dazu… Normalerweise ist es wohl leichter zitterndes Schilf zu fotografieren als den flatterhaften Falter!

    Toll aufgenommen und fein humorig erzählt!

    Liebe Grüße,

    SyntaxiaSophie

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Liebe Sophie

      habe herzlichen Dank.

      Da hast du wohl recht, so flatterhafte Falter lassen sich schwieriger fotografieren als zitterndes Schilf. Dieses zitternde Schilf aus Norfolk ist besonders gut für Dächer geeignet. Es wird geerntet und in die Niederlande und nach Deutschland exportiert. Hier gibt es leider nur noch wenige Ried gedeckte Häuser.

      Mit herzlichen Grüßen
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  26. Lovely story, I didn’t know that at all. The pictures are perfect with the story, my favourite the beautiful butterfly.

    Thank you, have a lovely July. Greetings from hot London.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Ute

      Today dropped the temperature quite drastically. It’s raining and we just have 15 degrees. We love it after this heat wave.
      We are happy that you like our tale and Dina’s pictures. We live here surrounded by reeds. But this swallowtail butterfly is rare.

      We wish you a happy July
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  27. A very interesting folk tale. Accompanied by Hanne’s lovely photos. What a beautiful butterfly. I have never seen a swallowtail in the wild. Sadly I haven’t seen many butterflies this year.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Jude

      This swallowtail butterfly is rare here as well. And we have less butterflies in the last years than before. But a couple of days ago we were out with the boat and hundreds if not thousands of white butterflies came in over the sea. They came from the continent we were told. It was magic being surrounded by white butterflies. It was the first time we experienced this. It was a bit like heavy snowfall.

      Thanks and wishing you a wonderful July
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • That sounds like an amazing experience. I usually have lots of white butterflies here, but even they are missing this year. Maybe some will migrate down here from the east.

      Liked by 1 person

    • There were big and small ones, all were white. We suppose that were pieris brassicae and pieris rapae. But we are not good with identifying butterflies.

      Like

  28. Oh Klausbernd!!! What a delightful and spirited telling of Old Roger and the Reeds! I LOVED the humor and rhythm of the story—so full of wit, irony, and the quiet magic that lives in folklore. It’s remarkable how tales like this, passed down through generations, carry both amusement and meaning in equal measure. What I especially find remarkable is how this story brings the cosmic struggle in the humble vegetable patch—sunshine and soil as the playing fields of wisdom and folly. It reminds me that even the most powerful figures in myth and legend are not above seeking victory even in small areas. I believe that folklore like this keeps the landscape alive. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful piece of cultural storytelling—it’s a joy to travel these imaginative paths with you. Sending much love and many hugs to our dear, dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

    P.S. Hanne-Dina – your photography is truly amazing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Rebecca

      These folk tales are based on archetypes and they are grounded, down to earth. We suppose that makes their magic and that lets them survive the ages. And, as you write, they are entertaining and amusing. That’s all what a good story needs. Their structure is easy, there is a clear good and evil and a happy end as the good wins and there is schadenfreude (malicious joy) that evil loses. It’s the power of simplicity.

      In former times, these folk tales were illustrated with wood cuts or sometimes with drawings. Hanne-Dina gave the illustrations a modern touch that stayed simple and down to earth like that tale.

      We say ‘thank you very much‘ to our dear Canadian friends and sending hugs 🤗 and XXXX love ❤ ❤ to Vancouver
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Janet

      That’s an old tradition to combine the text of the folk tales with illustrations. It were mostly woodcuts or simple drawings. Hanne-Dina made it a bit more modern with her photography but stayed simple and down to earth.

      It’s an old story presented in a modern way without changing their essence.

      Thanks for your comment
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Thank you, dear Amy 🙏 🙏

      It’s a soothing sound that adds to the atmosphere of being in a reed bed. The reeds are higher than we are when they fully grown. But we like it even more when they are half grown and you look from the middle of a reed bed over an endless sea of reeds.

      Thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  35. Danke für die Sage und ganz besonders die tollen Bilder dazu.

    Die Sage an sich kannte ich; ich kann mich aber nicht mehr erinnern, welches Ende die Version hat, die ich kannte -auf jeden Fall nicht die mit dem angebissenen Gras 😉

    Ich glaube, ich nehme zweierlei aus der (vollständigen) Sage mit: wer andern eine Grube gräbt… und dass es scheinbar immer Kollateralschaden gibt.

    Herzliche Grüße an Euch Vier

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Liebe Belana Hermine,
      ja genau, wer anderen eine Grube gräbt …, ist uns auch spontan dazu eingefallen. Und Kollateralschäden gibt es leider immer.
      Diese Volkssagen lassen immer viele Deutungen zu. Das ist unseres Erachtens ihre Stärke.
      Danke fürs Kommentieren
      The Fab Four Of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Liebe Karin

      Wir hatten es hier auch sehr warm, aber für uns bedeutet das knapp 30 Grad. Wir lieben keine Temperaturen über 25 Grad. Jetzt haben wir angenehme 23 Grad und eine leichte Seebriese. Das ist das Sommerwetter, das uns gefällt. Wir drücken euch fest die Daumen, dass es bald kühler wird.

      Danke, dass dir die Sage gefällt.
      Mit lieben Grüßen
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  44. Thank you! I love this tale. All the images, especially with the reeds, are fabulous.

    I think I learned – Pick something and stick with it!

    My best wishes to the Fab Four of Cley!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  45. I love how tales like these often contain profound words of wisdom, offering guidance on life, morality, and human nature. These nuggets of wisdom, often conveyed through proverbs, parables, or the actions of characters, provide timeless lessons that resonate across cultures and generations. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  46. What a wonderful “tale” that I’m sure has much basis in truth. What did I learn from the moral lesson? Don’t be arrogant, don’t think I know what is best, and if offered something, ask, “what do YOU think I should receive?” Moreover, I talk to my plants all the time – I’d never take a bite. Instead, I fondle a leaf every morning and say, “you are life. thank you.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • It must be great to be a plant at yours.
      Thank you for your answers on what you learned from this tale. There are always many answers to such tales. That makes them interesting. But as you write, most of these kinds of tales tell us to be humble.
      Happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  47. I’d never heard this story before, but it made me smile! I have a fondness for folklore, having had a wonderful English teacher back in my college days who opened my eyes to its magic. Thank you for retelling the story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi Debbie

      You were very lucky. I had a horrible English teacher, old and boring. Unfortunately, I was in a school where everything was about science.

      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Debbie

      I had a splendid German teacher. He later became a professor of medieval literature. He made us students love the great epic novels like ‘Parzival’ and ‘Tristan and Iseult’ f.e.

      I wish you a happy week
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  50. You do know how to tell a tale, and what a delight weaving the rich folklore of the Norfolk Broads with the everyday magic of the landscape. I love the photo of the Swallowtail butterfly, we have them in my hometown, and for years I always thought they were Monarch butterflies 😊! The moral made me smile—next time I see reeds trembling, I’ll remember Old Roger and his lesson in humility. You are all legends, as is the local beauty you describe wherever your feet take you. Cheers to a fantastic weekend for the Fab Four!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Randall, for your kind words.
      Hanne is our specialist for butterflies and all insects. She is chasing them with her camera.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend as well. We have a long weekend with this week’s bank holiday.
      With love from the sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

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