Stories for the Young; Or, Cheap Repository Tracts Entertaining, Moral, and Religious. Vol. VI.

Set on the bleak moors of Somerset, the tale follows a desperate family led by the cunning poacher Giles, who lives in a ramshackle cottage that mirrors their poverty. The story paints a vivid picture of a landscape where harsh weather and sparse work drive the inhabitants to rely on clever tricks rather than honest labor. Through sharp observation, the narrator exposes the gap between the charitable appearances that attract kindness and the squalor that repels it.

When a carriage rattles past their gate, Giles’s children spring into a practiced routine of begging and petty deception, hoping a tossed coin will ease their hunger. Their desperate ploys, from feigned tumbling to frantic gate‑opening, reveal how a habit of living by wits can quickly slip into a cycle of moral compromise. As neighboring travelers begin to withhold their charity, the family confronts the stark reality that ingenuity without industry cannot sustain them.