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
Mu wlfrech,
Mu olfrech, gwynfrech,
Pedair cae tonn-frech,
Yr hen wynebwen.
A'r las Geigen,
Gyda'r Tarw gwyn
O lys y Brenin;
A'r llo du bach,
Sydd ar y bach,
Dere dithe, yn iach adre!
Brindled cow, white speckled,
Spotted cow, bold freckled,
The four field sward mottled,
The old white-faced,
And the grey Geigen,
With the white Bull,
From the court of the King;
And the little black calf
Tho' suspended on the hook,
Come thou also, quite well home."
They all immediately obeyed the summons of their mistress. The
'little black calf,' although it had been slaughtered, became alive
again, and walked off with the rest of the stock at the command of
the lady. This happened in the spring of the year, and there were
from four oxen ploughing in one of the fields; to these she cried:--
"Pedwar eidion glas sydd ar y maes,
Deuwch chwithau yn iach adre!
The four grey oxen, that are on the field,
Come you also quite well home!"
Away the whole of the live stock went with the Lady across Myddfai
Mountain, towards the lake from whence they came, a distance of above
six miles, where they disappeared beneath its waters, leaving no trace
behind except a well-marked furrow, which was made by the plough the
oxen drew after them into the lake, and which remains to this day as
a testimony to the truth of this story.
"What became of the affrighted ploughman--whether he was left on the
field when the oxen set off, or whether he followed them to the lake,
has not been handed down to tradition; neither has the fate of the
disconsolate and half-ruined husband been kept in remembrance. But of
the sons it is stated that they often wandered about the lake and its
vicinity, hoping that their mother might be permitted to visit the face
of the earth once more, as they had been apprised of her mysterious
origin, her first appearance to their father, and the untoward
circumstances which so unhappily deprived them of her maternal care.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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