Folk-Lore of West and Mid-WalesDavies, Jonathan Ceredig
History
Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig
Folklore -- Wales; Wales -- Social life and customs
"Shui was a beautiful girl of seventeen, tall and fair, with a skin
like ivory, hair black and curling, and eyes of dark velvet. She was
but a poor farmer's daughter, notwithstanding her beauty, and among
her duties was that of driving up the cows for the milking. Over this
work she used to loiter sadly, to pick flowers by the way, or chase
the butterflies, or amuse herself in any agreeable manner that fortune
offered. For her loitering she was often chided, indeed, people said
Shui's mother was far too sharp with the girl, and that it was for no
good the mother had so bitter a tongue. After all the girl meant no
harm, they said. But when one night Shui never came home till bed-time,
leaving the cows to care for themselves, dame Rhys took the girl to
task as she never had done before. 'Ysgwaetheroedd, Mami,' said Shui,
'I could not help it; it was the Tylwyth Teg,' (the Fairies). The
dame was aghast at this, but she could not answer it--for well she
knew the Tylwyth Teg were often seen in the woods of Cardigan. Shui
was at first shy about talking of the Fairies, but finally confessed
they were little men in green coats, who danced around her and made
music on their little harps; and they talked to her in language too
beautiful to be repeated; indeed she couldn't understand the words,
though she knew well enough what the Fairies meant. Many a time after
that Shui was late; but now nobody chided her, for fear of offending
the Fairies. At last one night Shui did not come home at all. In
alarm the woods were searched; there was no sign of her; and never was
she seen in Cardigan again. Her mother watched in the fields on the
Tair-nos ysprydion or three nights of the year when goblins are sure
to be abroad; but Shui never returned. Once indeed there came to the
neighbourhood a wild rumour that Shui Rhys had been seen in a great
city in a foreign land--Paris, perhaps, or London, who knows? but
this tale was in no way injurious to the sad belief that the Fairies
had carried her off; they might take her to those well-known centres
of idle and sinful pleasure, as well as to any other place." [3]
FAIRIES COMING INTO THE BEDROOM OF A HOUSE NEAR ABERYSTWYTH.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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