



Produced by Delphine Lettau, Charles Franks and the people at DP







WELSH FAIRY-TALES AND OTHER STORIES

By Anonymous


Collected And Edited By P. H. Emerson


To

Leonard, Sybil, Gladys, And Zoe.




AUTHOR'S NOTE.

These tales were collected by me whilst living in Anglesea during the
winter 1891-2.

With the exception of the French story, they were told me and I took
them down at the time.

Particulars respecting the narratives will be found in the Notes.

In most cases I have done but little "editing", preferring to give the
stories as told.

The old book referred to in the Notes I bought from a country
bookseller, who knew neither its author, title, or date, but I have
since been informed the book is Williams' _Observations on the Snowdon
Mountains_, published in 1802, a book well known to students of Celtic
literature.

P. H. E.

CLARINGBOLD, BROADSTAIRS. _April 1894_.



CONTENTS.

     THE FAIRIES OF CARAGONAN       Welsh
     THE CRAIG-Y-DON BLACKSMITH     Welsh
     OLD GWILYM                     Welsh
     THE BABY-FARMER                Welsh
     THE OLD MAN AND THE FAIRIES    Welsh
     TOMMY PRITCHARD                Welsh
     KADDY'S LUCK                   Welsh
     THE STORY OF GELERT            Welsh
     ORIGIN OF THE WELSH            Welsh
     THE CROWS                      Welsh
     ROBERTS AND THE FAIRIES        Welsh
     THE FAIRY OF THE DELL          Welsh
     ELLEN'S LUCK                   Welsh
     THE FAIRIES' MINT              Welsh
     THE PELLINGS                   Welsh
     THE LONG-LIVED ANCESTORS       Welsh
     THE GIANTESS'S APRON-FULL      Welsh
     A FABLE                        Welsh
     THE STORY OF THE PIG-TROUGH    Irish
     BILLY DUFFY AND THE DEVIL      Irish
     JOHN O' GROATS                 Scotch
     EVA'S LUCK                     Jersey
     THE FISHERMEN OF SHETLAND      Shetland
     THE PASTOR'S NURSE             French
     NOTES





THE FAIRIES OF CARAGONAN.


Once upon a time a lot of fairies lived in Mona.

One day the queen fairy's daughter, who was now fifteen years of age,
told her mother she wished to go out and see the world.

The queen consented, allowing her to go for a day, and to change from a
fairy to a bird, or from a bird to a fairy, as she wished.

When she returned one night she said:

"I've been to a gentleman's house, and as I stood listening, I heard the
gentleman was witched: he was very ill, and crying out with pain."

"Oh, I must look into that," said the queen.

So the next day she went through her process and found that he was
bewitched by an old witch. So the following day she set out with six
other fairies, and when they came to the gentleman's house she found he
was very ill.

Going into the room, bearing a small blue pot they had brought with
them, the queen asked him:

"Would you like to be cured?"

"Oh, bless you; yes, indeed."

Whereupon the queen put the little blue pot of perfume on the centre of
the table, and lit it, when the room was instantly filled with the most
delicious odour.

Whilst the perfume was burning, the six fairies formed in line behind
her, and she leading, they walked round the table three times, chanting
in chorus:

  "Round and round three times three,
  We have come to cure thee."

At the end of the third round she touched the burning perfume with her
wand, and then touched the gentleman on the head, saying:

"Be thou made whole."

No sooner had she said the words than he jumped up hale and hearty, and
said:

"Oh, dear queen, what shall I do for you? I'll do anything you wish."

"Money I do not wish for," said the queen, "but there's a little plot of
ground on the sea-cliff I want you to lend me, for I wish to make a ring
there, and the grass will die when I make the ring. Then I want you to
build three walls round the ring, but leave the sea-side open, so that
we may be able to come and go easily."

"With the greatest of pleasure," said the gentleman; and he built the
three stone walls at once, at the spot indicated.



II.

Near the gentleman lived the old witch, and she had the power of turning
at will into a hare. The gentleman was a great hare hunter, but the
hounds could never catch this hare; it always disappeared in a mill,
running between the wings and jumping in at an open window, though they
stationed two men and a dog at the spot, when it immediately turned into
the old witch. And the old miller never suspected, for the old woman
used to take him a peck of corn to grind a few days before any hunt,
telling him she would call for it on the afternoon of the day of the
hunt. So that when she arrived she was expected.

One day she had been taunting the gentleman as he returned from a hunt,
that he could never catch the hare, and he struck her with his whip,
saying "Get away, you witchcraft!"

Whereupon she witched him, and he fell ill, and was cured as we have
seen.

When he got well he watched the old witch, and saw she often visited the
house of an old miser who lived near by with his beautiful niece. Now
all the people in the village touched their hats most respectfully to
this old miser, for they knew he had dealings with the witch, and they
were as much afraid of him as of her; but everyone loved the miser's
kind and beautiful niece.



III.

When the fairies got home the queen told her daughter:

"I have no power over the old witch for twelve months from to-day, and
then I have no power over her life. She must lose that by the arm of a
man."

So the next day the daughter was sent out again to see whether she could
find a person suited to that purpose.

In the village lived a small crofter, who was afraid of nothing; he was
the boldest man thereabouts; and one day he passed the miser without
saluting him. The old fellow went off at once and told the witch.

"Oh, I'll settle his cows to-night!" said she, and they were taken sick,
and gave no milk that night.

The fairy's daughter arrived at his croft-yard after the cows were taken
ill, and she heard him say to his son, a bright lad:

"It must be the old witch!"

When she heard this, she sent him to the queen.

So next day the fairy queen took six fairies and went to the croft,
taking her blue pot of perfume. When she got there she asked the crofter
if he would like his cows cured?

"God bless you, yes!" he said.

The queen made him bring a round table into the yard, whereon she placed
the blue pot of perfume, and having lit it, as before, they formed in
line and walked round thrice, chanting the words:

  "Round and round three times three,
  We have come to cure thee."

Then she dipped the end of her wand into the perfume, and touched the
cows on the forehead, saying to each one:

"Be thou whole."

Whereupon they jumped up cured.

The little farmer was overjoyed, and cried:

"Oh, what can I do for you? What can I do for you?"

"Money I care not for," said the queen, "all I want is your son to
avenge you and me."

The lad jumped up and said:

"What I can do I'll do it for you, my lady fairy."

She told him to be at the walled plot the following day at noon, and
left.



IV.

The next day at noon, the queen and her daughter and three hundred other
fairies came up the cliff to