Laily Worm stained glass panel

The Laily Worm and the Mackrel of the Sea panel is based on a Northumbrian legend. It describes the story of siblings, brother and sister, enchanted by their evil stepmother. He was changed into the Laily Worm (a dragon) and his sister became a fish. In the version collected by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (in the <em>Oxford Book of Ballads</em>), the chorus goes:

…she has made me the laily worm
to lie at the foot of the tree
and my sister Maisry she has made
the machrel of the sea
And every Saturday at noon,
the machrel comes to me
She combs my hair with a silver comb
and washes it in the sea