Nanny Rutt – Brazil

Nanny Rutt
South Kesteven

Once upon a time, a beautiful young girl agreed to run away from her wicked parents with her one true love. They were to meet at the well in the woods at the strike of midnight. Thus, when evening came, she prepared her bags, climbed out of her bedroom window and started walking towards the woods. 

As she reached the edge of the ancient woods, she encountered an old woman wrapped in a worn and tattered shawl. 

The old woman warned her of the dangers of the wood at dark, of beastly animals and haunting noises, yet the young girl did not listen. She continued to tell her of the risk of meeting secretly with a man, however, she disregarded all of her warnings, bid her farewell and continued towards the well.

A while later, the girl arrived at the meeting place, a decrepit well in a clearing at the heart of the woods, but the man was nowhere to be seen. As the night drew in, she began to wonder if he would ever appear. She waited for many hours with no word from her love. It was evident that he had a change of heart and she would have to return to her home.

As she stumbled her way through the darkness, having lost her way, she saw a dimly lit cottage wherein stood the old woman, scowling at her from the doorway. It was then that she realized the hideousness of the old woman’s face. She ran, stumbling and tripping along the way until finally she fell beside the well, next to her lover’s cold, breathless body. The girl, her lover and the old woman were never seen or heard of again.

Coffee has a long history with Brazil, flavoured by the vast, rich countryside and ancient forests, leaving their mark in the delicate notes of warmth and old age – similar to the historic South Kesteven.