The King's Head

A collection of retold folk-tales.

The night before battle, King Penda asks his storyteller, Egil, for a tale to pass the time.

Egil, out of sorts, refuses - but promises to tell a story the next night, after the battle.

King Penda loses the battle, and is captured...

A monk, Brother Dominic, wanders the battlefield with a lantern, hoping to help the wounded. A voice calls for help, but when he reaches the spot, he finds a severed head.

It's Egil's head, and it begs the monk to take it to King Penda, so Egil can keep his promise, and tell the King a final story.

The monk takes the head to his abbot, who gives it to a lord, who has it tell a story for his daughter... The Head tells story after story, hoping eventually to be carried to its King...