CarolC -- [re: not being able to find the previous thread, because I posted them as Guest(s)] But would that account for why the thread wouldn't show up in a forum search?

Susan of DT -- Thank you for the offer to email AS. I would like to hear his viewpoint.

Kim Hughes -- thanks for the heads-up about Amazon.co.uk. I'll check it out.

Gloredhel -- this song is relatively new to me, too. I found it by doing a lyric search for "bard" and "storyteller". "Storyteller" came up empty, but when I did another search, using "Rhymer" as a synonym for bard, this song popped up (one reason I love the DigiTrad search feature!). As for the geis (aka taboo / fate)placed on Thomas, I think that silence was chosen because that is the most diffecult for *him*. As someone who lives by speech, and prides himself on glibness, speaking would be a harder temptation to resist than eating. Just a thought. In the longer version (#37b), if I recall correctly, the queen says he may speak only unto her... so he isn't bound by completely silence for 7 years. And the discipline of keeping quiet probably *did* help a lot when he got back to earth unable to lie! ;-)

Malcolm Douglas -- [Re: "harp and carp"] yet more evidence that the line between stories and songs is a lot sharper today than it was in ages past. I wonder if it is our modern assumtion that "stories" are things that are printed in books that has led to the sharpening of this distinction...