MATTAPOISETT — Storyteller and performer Davis Bates began his March 18 show at the Mattapoisett Library with a warning for the audience.

“I should warn you, this is folk music,” he said with a grin. “There are no wrong notes.”

And, true to his word, over the course of one hour Bates sang songs and told stories that celebrated the heritage and culture of Ireland, Scotland and Wales — just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

His performance ran the gamut from a story about a “wee fella” who tricks a dastardly highwayman, to songs played on the spoons with accompanying vocals.

During one part of his performance he brought out a wooden dog named Bingo. According to Bates, Bingo is a “real dog” — “a real wooden dog.”

He explained that buskers who played celtic music in public would often use wooden puppets that would “dance” and make noise to go along with their music.

Bingo danced on a piece of wood, adding percussion to the song “Bingo was his name-o.”

During the final verse, Bingo danced so hard that he needed a rest after.

Bates, who has been telling stories for over 44 years, thinks that anyone can tell a tale and make it their own.

According to Bates, when someone tells a story, not only are they present, but so is everyone who has ever told that story before them.

“That’s how stories travel around,” he said. “You can take [a story] and tell it to anybody you want to.”