Once, long, long ago a terrible storm was brewing near the quiet village of Mortehoe. Thunderous waves crashed against the sharp, black rocks; wild winds blasted from the sky; gloomy clouds darkened the horizon. Like a pebble skimming the waves, a tiny boat plunged in and out of view, carrying a Spanish family to Bristol. On the cliff above, a gang of men assembled silently. They were the wreckers, feared by all sailors. Rubbing his hands with glee, the leader sneered, "Come on, lads! Tie the lanterns to the donkeys' tails and we'll soon be rich!" Over the roar of the waves a quiet cry came from the boat. "Hush, little one," the mother soothed, hiding tears of worry from her baby daughter. "Will we survive this dreadful storm?" she appealed to her husband who was scanning the horizon. "Wait a minute!" he cried, "I can see lights in the distance. It must be a safe harbour!" Little did he know that the wreckers' lanterns were luring them towards the vicious rocks. Suddenly there was a terrifying crash. The boat's mast began to crack and fell with a thud. "Lord, save us!" cried the mother, "We're lost!" But her husband thought quickly. "Wrap the baby in a shawl and put her in the chest with the treasure," he told her. Together they wrestled with the heavy chest until it disappeared overboard. Minutes later the little boat sank inch by inch into the wild whirlpool taking the husband and wife down with it while the violent sea swept the chest towards the rocky beach. The wreckers came like ghosts soundlessly down the winding path to the beach. "Blow out the lanterns, " snarled their leader, "The donkeys have done tonight's work. Let's search the beach and find ourselves some riches." All along the shoreline the wreckers searched in the dark and gusty night. "Look over there!" The leader had glimpsed something in the moonlight. All they found was a ruby ring. "Disappear, lads! Daylight's coming. There's nothing for us here." As the first beams of sunlight rose above the hills, the Customs man from West Down wandered along the cliff top on his horse. Suddenly he heard a cry coming from the beach. He tied up his horse and scrambled down the path as fast as he could. Following the strange sound, he came across the treasure chest hidden between two rocks. "Oh, what's this? Maybe gold? Maybe Silver?" He lifted the lid carefully and, to his surprise, he found a tiny baby, blue from the cold and lying on a bed of treasure. To keep the baby warm he wrapped her in his jacket and took her home to his wife. There the couple brought up the baby as their own in their cosy cottage in West Down. What happened to the "lost treasure" after that? Nobody knows.
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