or When the Wolves were Running
A Fantasy by John Masefield, freely dramatised for radio by John Keir Cross

O Greatness, hear, O Brightness, hark,
Leave us not little, nor yet Dark

See facing page [text below]

The Box of Delights
John Masefield's fantasy, The Box of Delights, seems to me a work of supreme enchantment. Those who think of the Poet Laureate, in his prose, as a writer mainly of sea or adventure stories, will find in it a quite remarkably different aspect of his wonderful imagination.
It was written in 1935, and is the kind of story that, once heard, is everlastingly haunting. Some twenty years ago I wrote a serial version of it, and still, to this day, I am asked when it might be repeated. Recently, writing a script for The Archers, I made a passing reference to this unusual tale; and from all over the world came letters from its secret addicts who wanted to know if it was still in print - as in fact it is.
It is indeed something quite special - a work not only for young folk but for readers and listeners of all ages: full of charm and villainy, of magic black and magic white, of tremendous fun, of heroism, of tenderness, of hosts of engaging characters - above all, of the true poetic spirit of Christmas...
And so here it is, compressed to an hour and a half. Alas, much has had to be omitted - it broke my heart in the writing! But I hope that this new version will still reflect something of the essence of this entrancing ' Christmas Eve's Dream.'
(John Keir Cross)