VMs: Kooky Theory of the Month

["Robert Teague" <rteague@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In the year 1173 near Woolpit, England, farmers out in
the fields were attracted to the sound of crying. Near or
in one of the wolf pits they found two children, a boy and
a girl.

They were wearing clothing unlike anything the farmers
had ever seen, no one could understand their language,
and their skin was green.

They were taken to the nearby lord's home. They made
it understood by gestures that they were hungry, but
refused all ordinary foods offered.

Finally someone happened to bring in some bean plants,
and the children took them and opened the stalks, like
they expected something edible to be there. When they
found nothing, they started crying again. Someone showed
them the beans, which they ate.

They lived on beans for some time, until they learned the
language and were persuaded to try other foods. The
green in their skin slowly faded away after that.

The boy died after about a year, but the girl lived on to
grow up and marry. She became the secretary for her
husband and lived a long life.

When asked about her homeland, she said the sun
never shone there, the land was in a perpetual twilight.
There was a shining city across a wide river from where
she lived.

They had been taught that only foods which were green
were safe to eat.

The account of how they got to Woolpit has several
versions-- in one, they were following herd animals,
and trying to get one that had strayed into a cave and
came out in Woolpit. In another, they followed the 
sound of bells that grew until they swooned,
and when they awoke they were in England.

My theory is that the VMs was written by the Green Girl.

Her husband was wealthy, and she was his secretary,
so she had the liesure to write it, and access to the materials.

The alphabet and language are human, but have no connection
to any earthly ones, so can't be cracked. The words are short
and repetitious because even as an adult, she would have only
a child's understanding of the language.

The plants and animals in the VMs are those of her native land,
which is why they aren't recognizable. The nymphs in baths
are some cultural event we have no referent to.

I also point out that back in those days, Woolpit wasn't some
isolated community, but was a center of commerce. Many
languages would have been heard and spoken.

And that's about it. Duncan Lunan is writing a book about 
the Green Children which I am looking forward to reading.

My work with dates in the Astro section seem to put this
theory out to pasture, but I thought I'd toss it out anyway.

Robert



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