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
'On this the mother returned to her house and took the two children
and threw them into the Llyn; and suddenly the goblins in their blue
trousers came to save their dwarfs, and the mother had her own
children back again; and thus the strife between her and her husband
ended.'[35]
FOOTNOTE:
[35] 'Cambrian Quarterly,' ii., 86.
IV.
This class of story is not always confined to the case of the
plentyn-newid, as I have said. It is applied to the household fairy,
when the latter, as in the following instance, appears to have brought
a number of extremely noisy friends and acquaintances to share his
shelter. Dewi Dal was a farmer, whose house was over-run with fairies,
so that he could not sleep of nights for the noise they made. Dewi
consulted a wise man of Taiar, who entrusted Dewi's wife to do certain
things, which she did carefully, as follows: 'It was the commencement
of oat harvest, when Cae Mawr, or the big field, which it took fifteen
men to mow in a day, was ripe for the harvesters. "I will prepare food
for the fifteen men who are going to mow Cae Mawr to-morrow," said
Eurwallt, the wife, aloud. "Yes, do," replied Dewi, also aloud, so
that the fairies might hear, "and see that the food is substantial and
sufficient for the hard work before them." Said Eurwallt, "The fifteen
men shall have no reason to complain upon that score. They shall be
fed according to our means." Then when evening was come Eurwallt
prepared food for the harvesters' sustenance upon the following day.
Having procured a sparrow, she trussed it like a fowl, and roasted it
by the kitchen fire. She then placed some salt in a nut-shell, and set
the sparrow and the salt, with a small piece of bread, upon the table,
ready for the fifteen men's support while mowing Cae Mawr. So when the
fairies beheld the scanty provision made for so many men, they said
"Let us quickly depart from this place, for alas! the means of our
hosts are exhausted. Who before this was ever so reduced in
circumstances as to serve up a sparrow for the day's food of fifteen
men?" So they departed upon that very night. And Dewi Dal and his
family lived, ever afterwards, in comfort and peace.'[36]
FOOTNOTE:
[36] Rev. T. R. Lloyd (Estyn), in 'The Principality.'
V.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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