British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and TraditionsSikes, Wirt
History
British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions
Sikes, Wirt
Folklore -- Wales; Goblins -- Wales; Mythology, Celtic -- Wales; Mythology, Welsh; Wales -- Social life and customs
him again in the guise of a gentleman, but the Welshman knew it was
the tempter. This time he made a bargain for which he was ever
afterwards sorry, i.e., he sold himself to the devil for a sum down,
but with the understanding that whenever he could cling to something
the devil should not then control him. One day when Sion was busily
gardening, the evil one snatched him away into the air without
warning, and Sion was about giving up all hopes of again returning to
earth, when he thought to himself, 'I'll ask the devil one last
favour.' The stupid devil listened. 'All I want is an apple,' said
Sion, 'to moisten my lips a bit down below; let me go to the top of my
apple-tree, and I'll pick one.' 'Is that all?' quoth the diawl, and
consented. Of course Sion laid hold of the apple-tree, and hung on.
The devil had to leave him there. But the old reprobate was too wicked
for heaven, and the devil having failed to take him to the other
place, he was turned into a fairy, and is now the jack-o'-lantern.[86]
FOOTNOTE:
[86] 'Cymru Fu,' 355 et seq.
IV.
Best known among the natural objects in various parts of Wales which
are connected with the devil in popular lore, is the Devil's Bridge,
in Cardiganshire. Associated with this bridge are several legends,
which derive their greatest interest from their intrinsic evidences of
an antiquity in common with the same legends in other lands. The
guide-books of the region, like guide-books everywhere, in their
effort to avoid being led into unwarranted statement, usually indulge
in playfully sarcastic references to these ancient tales. They are
much older, however, than the bridge itself can possibly be. The
devil's activity in bridge-building is a myth more ancient than the
medieval devil of our acquaintance. The building story of the Devil's
Bridge in Cardiganshire runs briefly thus: An old woman who had lost
her cow spied it on the other side of the ravine, and was in great
trouble about it, not knowing how to get over where the animal was.
The devil, taking advantage of her distress, offered to throw a bridge
over the ravine, so that she might cross and get her cow; but he
stipulated that the first living creature to cross the bridge should
be his. The old woman agreed; the bridge was built; and the devil
waited to see her cross. She drew a crust of bread from her pocket,
threw it over, and her little black dog flew after it. 'The dog's
yours, sir,' said the dame; and Satan was discomfited. In the story
told of the old bridge over the Main at Frankfort, a bridge-contractor
and his troubles are substituted for the old woman and her cow;
instead of a black dog a live rooster appears, driven in front of him
by the contractor. The Welsh Satan seems to have received his
discomfiture good-naturedly enough; in the German tale he tears the
fowl to pieces in his rage. In Switzerland, every reader knows the
story told of the devil's bridge in the St. Gothard pass. A new bridge
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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