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
THE FARMER WHO CONSULTED THE CONJUROR; OR THE FAMILIAR SPIRITS AND
THE LOST COWS.
A farmer who lived in the Southern part of Carmarthenshire, lost three
cows. Having searched in vain for them everywhere, he at last went to
Cwrt-y-Cadno, though he had a very long journey to go. When he arrived
there and consulted Dr. Harries, the worthy wizard told him that he
could not give him any information concerning his lost cows till next
day, as he wanted time to consult his magic books. The farmer was a
little disappointed, as he wanted to go home that evening; but under
the circumstances there was nothing to be done but try and get a bed
for the night at some farm in the neighbourhood. So he left the wizard
for the night with the intention of returning to him again in the
morning, when he hoped to hear something of his lost cows. But after
going out of the house, he noticed a barn close by, which he entered,
and found in a corner a heap of straw where he thought he could lie
down and sleep comfortably till next morning. This he did unknown to
the wizard, who took for granted that the farmer had gone to stay for
the night at some house in the neighbourhood. He slept comfortably
in the barn for a while, but about one o'clock in the morning, he was
awakened by the sound of the wizard's footsteps entering the place at
that untimely hour, with a lantern in his hand. The disturbed farmer
could not imagine what he wanted in the barn at this time of the night,
and he was afraid of being discovered. Presently, however, he noticed
the conjurer drawing a circle around himself in the middle of the room;
that is the well-known Wizard's Circle. Then he stood right in the
middle of this circle, and having opened a book, he summoned seven
demons or familiar spirits to appear, and in an instant they came
one after another and stood outside the circle. Then he addressed or
called out to the first spirit something as follows:--"Tell me where
are the farmer's lost cows"? But the demon answered not. He repeated
the question two or three times, but the Familiar was quite dumb. At
last, however, it shouted out, 'A pig in the straw' but this was no
reply to the wizard's question.
Having failed with the first spirit, the wizard addressed the second
one, and then the third, and so on till he had given the question
to each one of the familiars except one, without any result; the
spirits seemed very stupid on this occasion, and would not give the
information required. Fortunately, however, when the question was given
to the seventh and last of the demons, it shouted out, 'The farmer's
cows will be on Carmarthen Bridge at 12 o'clock to-morrow.' Then the
wizard left the barn and went to bed well pleased.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account