I've heard the brigands version, but - in Oxfordshire, with parents technically from West London - we told it as 'Twas a daaaaaark and stormy night. The captain said "Tell us a story, Bosun*!" So the bosun said "'Twas a daaaaaark and stormy night!" Etc. On occasion it would be expanded to "..stormy night, and the wind was blowing a gale. The ship's captain said..." but no longer than that.
* When at 5 or 6 I read a book with a 'boatswain' in it, it took me about 3 minutes to figure out it was the same word. My parents were apparently somewhat scared by this leap of intuition. But forecastle/fo'c's'le puzzled me for months...
no subject
'Twas a daaaaaark and stormy night. The captain said "Tell us a story, Bosun*!" So the bosun said "'Twas a daaaaaark and stormy night!" Etc. On occasion it would be expanded to "..stormy night, and the wind was blowing a gale. The ship's captain said..." but no longer than that.
* When at 5 or 6 I read a book with a 'boatswain' in it, it took me about 3 minutes to figure out it was the same word. My parents were apparently somewhat scared by this leap of intuition. But forecastle/fo'c's'le puzzled me for months...