The pirates came from the sea, their beards gnarly, their blades shiny. In their eyes were glints of hunger, in their nostrils the smell of new land. Their ship was hung with a flag the colour of rubies, a skull stared out from on top of the mast.

But Kernow was not for the taking. Giant Dan Dynas stood on the cliffs protecting ships entering Porthcurno. Dan could not hear and Dan could not speak but Dan watched the sea like a hawk and guarded the coast of Cornwall. The giant wore a green waistcoat of soft leather and a brown shirt a little too big, he tucked it into his giant’s trousers, Dan’s boots were big as wheelbarrows. He built a stronghold which is still there today at Treryn Dynas, Treen.

Dan wanted to protect local people sheltering within and built a stout outer wall for his castle. He had a wife called Venna who talked for them both. Venna worked hard gathering soil in her apron, she patted the soil in between her husband’s rocks, holding them in place. Dan chose his stones carefully, each fitting like a clasp. The spare ones he piled for a very important task.

When the pirates came to Cornwall, Dan was waiting with gleaming eyes, he watched the ruby sail come closer, squinted at the gold chains hanging round the pirates’ necks and misfitting stolen velvet jackets big on their shoulders. Dan’s huge form cast a shadow over the sea. The pirates cowered in horror as they saw a giant loom from the land. They thought of all the gold they had hidden around the world and they wished they hadn’t come to Cornwall. Dan took the first spare rock in his sling and aimed it at the invaders, he slung it with the speed of a shooting star. The pirates were sunk in seconds and Dan sat to watch as the skull floated to shore.

Now, Dan Dynas of Castle Treen may have thrown rocks at pirates and invaders but he was also a valued member of the local community. Dan and Venna invited their neighbours to bring cattle inside the shelter of the walls of Castle Treen, to protect them from sea storms and sea pirates. If the enemy came close, Dan defended the stronghold and the community within.

Dan was really a friendly giant, and alongside helping out, Dan loved to play games with the lads from Treen village. His favourite games were quoits and skittles, played with rocks. But poor Dan didn’t understand the frail skeletal structures of his young friends, and he didn’t hear the shouts of the youths in warning. Dan threw rocks excitedly, often missing his target and breaking ribs or arms of the young men he played with. Dan cried when his friends and neighbours were angry at him and no longer wanted to play because he accidentally hurt them – he just didn't know his own strength.

Venna banned him from quoits and skittles. 'If you must throw rocks, throw them at the pirates,' she said. And he did. That's why there are no pirates in Cornwall today.

 Retold by Anna Chorlton

Source Bottrell 'Traditions and Hearthside Stories of Cornwall'