Welsh Folk Lore

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This tale is exactly like many others that may be heard related by old
people, in many a secluded abode, to their grandchildren.

A lesson constantly inculcated by Fairy tales is this--Embrace
opportunities as they occur, or they will be lost for ever. The
following stories have reference to this belief.

_The Hidden Golden Chair_.

It is a good many years since Mrs. Mary Jones, Corlanau, Llandinorwig,
Carnarvonshire, told me the following tale. The scene of the story is
the unenclosed mountain between Corlanau, a small farm, and the hamlet,
Rhiwlas. There is still current in those parts a tale of a hidden golden
chair, and Mrs. Jones said that it had once been seen by a young girl,
who might have taken possession of it, but unfortunately she did not do
so, and from that day to this it has not been discovered. The tale is
this:--

There was once a beautiful girl, the daughter of poor hardworking
parents, who held a farm on the side of the hill, and their handsome
industrious daughter took care of the sheep. At certain times of the
year she visited the sheep-walk daily, but she never went to the mountain
without her knitting needles, and when looking after the sheep she was
always knitting stockings, and she was so clever with her needles that
she could knit as she walked along. The Fairies who lived in those
mountains noticed this young woman's good qualities. One day, when she
was far from home, watching her father's sheep, she saw before her a most
beautiful golden chair. She went up to it and found that it was so
massive that she could not move it. She knew the Fairy-lore of her
neighbourhood, and she understood that the Fairies had, by revealing the
chair, intended it for her, but there she was on the wild mountain, far
away from home, without anyone near to assist her in carrying it away.
And often had she heard that such treasures were to be taken possession
of at once, or they would disappear for ever. She did not know what to
do, but all at once she thought, if she could by attaching the yarn in
her hand to the chair connect it thus with her home, the chair would be
hers for ever. Acting upon this suggestion she forthwith tied the yarn
to the foot of the chair, and commenced unrolling the ball, walking the
while homewards. But long before she could reach her home the yarn in
the ball was exhausted; she, however, tied it to the yarn in the stocking
which she had been knitting, and again started towards her home, hoping
to reach it before the yarn in the stocking would be finished, but she
was doomed to disappointment, for that gave out before she could arrive
at her father's house. She had nothing else with her to attach to the
yarn. She, however, could now see her home, and she began to shout,
hoping to gain the ear of her parents, but no one appeared. In her
distress she fastened the end of the yarn to a large stone, and ran home
as fast as she could. She told her parents what she had done, and all
three proceeded immediately towards the stone to which the yarn had been
tied, but they failed to discover it. The yarn, too, had disappeared.
They continued a futile search for the golden chair until driven away by
the approaching night. The next day they renewed their search, but all
in vain, for the girl was unable to find the spot where she had first
seen the golden chair. It was believed by everybody that the Fairies had
not only removed the golden chair, but also the yarn and stone to which
the yarn had been attached, but people thought that if the yarn had been
long enough to reach from the chair to the girl's home then the golden
chair would have been hers for ever.

Such is the tale. People believe the golden chair is still hidden away
in the mountain, and that some day or other it will be given to those for
whom it is intended. But it is, they say, no use anyone looking for it,
as it is not to be got by searching, but it will be revealed, as if by
accident, to those fated to possess it.

_Fairy treasures seen by a Man near Ogwen Lake_.

Another tale, similar to the preceding one, is told by my friend, Mr.
Hugh Derfel Hughes, in his Hynafiaethau Llandegai a Llanllechid, pp. 35,
36. The following is a translation of Mr. Hughes's story:--

It is said that a servant man penetrated into the recesses of the
mountains in the neighbourhood of Ogwen Lake, and that he there
discovered a cave within which there was a large quantity of brazen
vessels of every shape and description. In the joy of his heart at his
good fortune, he seized one of the vessels, with the intention of
carrying it away with him, as an earnest that the rest likewise were his.
But, alas, it was too heavy for any man to move. Therefore, with the
intention of returning the following morning to the cave with a friend to
assist him in carrying the vessels away, he closed its month with stones,
and thus he securely hid from view the entrance to the cave. When he had
done this it flashed upon his mind that he had heard of people who had
accidentally come across caves, just as he had, but that they, poor
things, had afterwards lost all traces of them. And lest a similar
misfortune should befall him, he determined to place a mark on the mouth
of the cave, which would enable him to come upon it again, and also he
bethought himself that it would be necessary, for further security, to
indicate by some marks the way from his house to the cave. He had
however nothing at hand to enable him to carry out this latter design,
but his walking stick. This he began to chip with his knife, and he
placed the chips at certain distances all along the way homewards. In
this way he cut up his staff, and he was satisfied with what he had done,
for he hoped to find the cave by means of the chips. Early the next
morning he and a friend started for the mountain in the fond hope of
securing the treasures, but when they arrived at the spot where the
chip-marked pathway ought to begin, they failed to discover a single
chip, because, as it was reported--"They had been gathered up by the
Fairies." And thus this vision was in vain.

The author adds to the tale these words:--"But, reader, things are not
always to be so. There is a tradition in the Nant, that a Gwyddel is to
have these treasures and this is how it will come to pass. A Gwyddel
Shepherd will come to live in the neighbourhood, and on one of his
journeys to the mountain to shepherd his sheep, when fate shall see fit
to bring it about, there will run before him into the cave a black sheep
with a speckled head, and the Gwyddel shepherd will follow it into the
cave to catch it, and on entering, to his great astonishment, he will
discover the treasures and take possession of them. And in this way it
will come to pass, in some future age, that the property of the Gwyddelod
will return to them."

_The Fairies giving Money to a Man for joining them in their Dance_.

The following story came to me through the Rev. Owen Jones, Vicar of
Pentrevoelas. The occurrence is said to have taken place near
Pentrevoelas. The following are the particulars:--

Tomas Moris, Ty'n-y-Pant, returning home one delightful summer night from
Llanrwst fair, came suddenly upon a company of Fairies dancing in a ring.
In the centre of the circle were a number of speckled dogs, small in
size, and they too were dancing with all their might. After the dance
came to an end, the Fairies persuaded Tomas to accompany them to Hafod
Bryn Mullt, and there the dance was resumed, and did not terminate until
the break of day. Ere the Fairies departed they requested their visitor
to join them the following night at the same place, and they promised, if
he would do so, to enrich him with gifts of money, but they made him
promise that he would not reveal to any one the place where they held
their revels. This Tomas did, and night after night was spent pleasantly
by him in the company of his merry newly-made friends. True to their
word, he nightly parted company with them, laden with money, and thus he
had no need to spend his days as heretofore, in manual labour. This went
on as long as Tomas Moris kept his word, but alas, one day, he divulged
to a neighbour the secret of his riches. That night, as usual, he went
to Hafod Bryn Mullt, but his generous friends were not there, and he
noticed that in the place where they were wont to dance there was nothing
but cockle shells.

In certain parts of Wales it was believed that Fairy money, on close
inspection, would be found to be cockle shells. Mrs. Hugh Jones,
Corlanau, who has already been mentioned, told the writer that a man
found a crock filled, as he thought when he first saw it, with gold, but
on taking it home he discovered that he had carried home from the
mountain nothing but cockle shells. This Mrs. Jones told me was Fairy
money.

_The Fairies rewarding a Woman for taking care of their Dog_.

Mention has already been made of Fairy Dogs. It would appear that now
and again these dogs, just like any other dogs, strayed from home; but
the Fairies were fond of their pets, and when lost, sought for them, and
rewarded those mortals who had shown kindness to the animals. For the
following tale I am indebted to the Rev. Owen Jones.

One day when going home from Pentrevoelas Church, the wife of Hafod y
Gareg found on the ground in an exhausted state a Fairy dog. She took it
up tenderly, and carried it home in her apron. She showed this kindness
to the poor little thing from fear, for she remembered what had happened
to the wife of Bryn Heilyn, who had found one of the Fairy dogs, but had
behaved cruelly towards it, and consequently had fallen down dead. The
wife of Hafod y Gareg therefore made a nice soft bed for the Fairy dog in
the pantry, and placed over it a brass pot. In the night succeeding the
day that she had found the dog, a company of Fairies came to Hafod y
Gareg to make inquiries after it. The woman told them that it was safe
and sound, and that they were welcome to take it away with them. She
willingly gave it up to its masters. Her conduct pleased the Fairies
greatly, and so, before departing with the dog, they asked her which she
would prefer, a clean or a dirty cow? Her answer was, "A dirty one."
And so it came to pass that from that time forward to the end of her
life, her cows gave more milk than the very best cows in the very best
farms in her neighbourhood. In this way was she rewarded for her
kindness to the dog, by the Fairies.

FAIRY MONEY TURNED TO DROSS.

Fairies' treasure was of uncertain value, and depended for its very
existence on Fairy intentions. Often and again, when they had lavishly
bestowed money on this or that person, it was discovered to be only
leaves or some equally worthless substance; but people said that the
recipients of the money richly deserved the deception that had been
played upon them by the Fairies.

In this chapter a few tales shall be given of this trait of Fairy
mythology.

1. _A Cruel Man and a Fairy Dog_.

The person from whom the following tale was derived was David Roberts,
Tycerrig, Clocaenog, near Ruthin.

A Fairy dog lost its master and wandered about here and there seeking
him. A farmer saw the dog, and took it home with him, but he behaved
very unkindly towards the wee thing, and gave it little to eat, and
shouted at it, and altogether he showed a hard heart. One evening a
little old man called at this farmer's house, and inquired if any stray
dog was there. He gave a few particulars respecting the dog, and
mentioned the day that it had been lost. The farmer answered in the
affirmative, and the stranger said that the dog was his, and asked the
farmer to give it up to him. This the farmer willingly did, for he
placed no value on the dog. The little man was very glad to get
possession of his lost dog, and on departing he placed a well filled
purse in the farmer's hand. Some time afterwards the farmer looked into
the purse, intending to take a coin out of it, when to his surprise and
annoyance he found therein nothing but leaves.

Roberts told the writer that the farmer got what he deserved, for he had
been very cruel to the wee dog.

Another tale much like the preceding one, I have heard, but I have
forgotten the source of the information. A person discovered a lost
Fairy dog wandering about, and took it home, but he did not nurse the
half-starved animal, nor did he nourish it. After a while some of the
Fairy folk called on this person to inquire after their lost dog, and he
gave it to them. They rewarded this man for his kindness with a pot
filled with money and then departed. On further inspection, the money
was found to be cockle shells.

Such lessons as these taught by the Fairies were not without their effect
on people who lived in days gone by.

2. _Dick the Fiddler and the Fairy Crown-Piece_.

For the following story I am indebted to my friend, Mr Hamer, who records
it in his "Parochial account of Llanidloes," published in the
_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. x., pp. 252-3-4. Mr Hamer states
that the tale was related to him by Mr. Nicholas Bennett, Glanrafon,
Trefeglwys.

"Dick the Fiddler was in the habit of going about the country to play at
merry-makings, fairs, etc. This worthy, after a week's _fuddle_ at
Darowen, wending his way homeward, had to walk down 'Fairy Green Lane,'
just above the farmstead of Cefn Cloddiau, and to banish fear, which he
felt was gradually obtaining the mastery over him, instead of whistling,
drew out from the skirt pocket of his long-tailed great coat his
favourite instrument. After tuning it, be commenced elbowing his way
through his favourite air, _Aden Ddu'r Fran_ (the Crow's Black Wing).
When he passed over the green sward where the _Tylwyth Teg_, or Fairies,
held their merry meetings, he heard something rattle in his fiddle, and
this something continued rattling and tinkling until he reached Llwybr
Scriw Riw, his home, almost out of his senses at the fright caused by
that everlasting 'tink, rink, jink,' which was ever sounding in his ears.
Having entered the cottage he soon heard music of a different kind, in
the harsh angry voice of his better half, who justly incensed at his
absence, began lecturing him in a style, which, unfortunately, Dick, from
habit, could not wholly appreciate. He was called a worthless fool, a
regular drunkard and idler. 'How is it possible for me to beg enough for
myself and half a house-full of children nearly naked, while you go about
the country and bring me nothing home.' 'Hush, hush, my good woman,'
said Dick, 'see what's in the blessed old fiddle.' She obeyed, shook it,
and out tumbled, to their great surprise, a five-shilling piece. The
wife looked up into the husband's face, saw that it was 'as pale as a
sheet' with fright: and also noting that he had such an unusually large
sum in his possession, she came to the conclusion that he could not live
long, and accordingly changed her style saying, 'Good man go to
Llanidloes to-morrow, it is market-day and buy some shirting for
yourself, for it may never be your good fortune to have such a sum of
money again.' The following day, according to his wife's wishes, Dick
wended his way to Llanidloes, musing, as he went along, upon his
extraordinary luck, and unable to account for it. Arrived in the town,
he entered Richard Evans's shop, and called for shirting linen to the
value of five shillings, for which he gave the shopkeeper the crown piece
taken out of the fiddle. Mr. Evans placed it in the till, and our worthy
Dick betook himself to Betty Brunt's public-house (now known as the
Unicorn) in high glee with the capital piece of linen in the skirt pocket
of his long-tailed top coat. He had not, however, been long seated
before Mr. Evans came in, and made sharp enquiries as to how and where he
obtained possession of the crown piece with which he had paid for the
linen. Dick assumed a solemn look, and then briefly related where and
how he had received the coin. 'Say you so,' said Evans, 'I thought as
much, for when I looked into the till, shortly after you left the shop,
to my great surprise it was changed into a heap of musty horse dung.'"

FAIRIES WORKING FOR MEN.

It was once thought that kind Fairies took compassion on good folk, who
were unable to accomplish in due time their undertakings, and finished in
the night these works for them; and it was always observed that the Fairy
workman excelled as a tradesman the mortal whom he assisted. Many an
industrious shoemaker, it is said, has ere this found in the morning that
the Fairies had finished in the night the pair of shoes which he had only
commenced the evening before. Farmers too, who had in part ploughed a
field, have in the morning been surprised to find it finished. These
kind offices, it was firmly believed, were accomplished by Fairy friends.

Milton in _L'Allegro_ alludes to this belief in the following lines:--

Tells how the drudging Goblin swet,
To earn his cream-bowl duly set,
When in one night, ere glimpse of morn,
His shadowy flail hath thresh'd the corn,
That ten day-labourers could not end.

MILTON, _L'Allegro_, lines 105-9.

In Scotland the sprite, or Fairy, called Browny, haunted family abodes,
and did all manner of work in the night for those who treated him kindly.
In England, Robin Goodfellow was supposed to perform like functions.
Thus sings Robin:--

Yet now and then, the maids to please,
At midnight I card up their wooll;
And while they sleepe, and take their ease,
With wheel to threads their flax I pull.
I grind at mill
Their malt up still;
I dress their hemp, I spin their tow.
If any 'wake.
And would me take,
I wend me, laughing, ho, ho, ho!

_Percy's Reliques_, vol. iii., p. 169.

Welsh Fairies are not described as ordinarily inclined to lessen men's
labours by themselves undertaking them; but there are a few tales current
of their having assisted worthy persons in their manual works. Professor
Rhys records one of these stories in _Y Cymmrodor_, vol. iv. 210. He
writes thus:--

"One day Guto, the Farmer of Corwrion, complained to his wife that he was
in need of men to mow his hay, and she answered, 'Why fret about it? look
yonder! there you have a field full of them at it, and stripped to their
shirt sleeves.' When he went to the spot the sham workmen of the Fairy
family had disappeared. This same Guto, or somebody else, happened
another time to be ploughing, when he heard some person he could not see
calling out to him, 'I have got the _bins_ (that is the _vice_) of my
plough broken.' 'Bring it to me,' said the driver of Guto's team, 'that
I may mend it.' When they brought the furrow to an end, there they found
the broken vice, and a barrel of beer placed near it. One of the men sat
down and mended it. Then they made another furrow, and when they
returned to the spot they found there a two-eared dish, filled to the
brim with _bara a chwrw_, or bread and beer."

FAIRY DANCES.

The one occupation of the Fairy folk celebrated in song and prose was
dancing. Their green rings, circular or ovoidal in form, abounded in all
parts of the country, and it was in these circles they were said to dance
through the livelong night. In "_Can y Tylwyth Teg_," or the Fairies'
Song, thus they chant:--

O'r glaswellt glen a'r rhedyn man,
Gyfeillion dyddan, dewch,
E ddarfu'r nawn--mae'r lloer yu llawn,
Y nos yn gyflawn gewch;
O'r chwarau sydd ar dwyn y dydd,
I'r Dolydd awn ar daith.
Nyni sydd lon, ni chaiff gerbron,
Farwolion ran o'n gwaith.

_Yr Hynafion Cymraeg_, p. 153.

From grasses bright, and bracken light,
Come, sweet companions, come,
The full moon shines, the sun declines,
We'll spend the night in fun;
With playful mirth, we'll trip the earth,
To meadows green let's go,
We're full of joy, without alloy,
Which mortals may not know.

The spots where the Fairies held their nightly revels were preserved from
intrusion by traditional superstitions. The farmer dared not plough the
land where Fairy circles were, lest misfortune should overtake him. Thus
were these mythical beings left in undisturbed possession of many fertile
plots of ground, and here they were believed to dance merrily through
many a summer night.

Canu, canu, drwy y nos,
Dawnsio, dawnsio, ar waen y rhos,
Yn ngoleuni'r lleuad dlos;
Hapus ydym ni!

Pawb o honom sydd yn llon,
Heb un gofid dan ei fron:
Canu, dawnsio, ar y ton--
Dedwydd ydym ni!

Singing, singing, through the night,
Dancing, dancing, with our might,
Where the moon the moor doth light:
Happy ever we!

One and all of merry mien,
Without sorrow are we seen,
Singing, dancing on the green:
Gladsome ever we!

_Professor Rhys's Fairy Tales_.

These words correctly describe the popular opinion of Fairy dance and
song, an opinion which reached the early part of the present century.

Since so much has reached our days of Fairy song and dance, it is not
surprising that we are told that the beautiful Welsh melody, _Toriad y
Dydd_, or the Dawn of Day, is the work of a Fairy minstrel, and that this
song was chanted by the Fairy company just as the pale light in the east
announced the approach of returning day.

Chaucer (1340 c. to 1400 c.), alluding to the Fairies and their dances,
in his 'Wife of Bath's Tale,' writes:--

In olde dayes of King Artour,
Of which the Bretons speken gret honour,
All was this lond ful-filled of Faerie;
The elf-quene with hire joly compagnie
Danced ful oft in many a grene mede.
This was the old opinion as I rede;
I speke of many hundred yeres ago;
But now can no man see non elves mo.

Tyrwhitt's Chaucer i., p. 256.

In the days of the Father of English poets, the elves had disappeared,
and he speaks of "many hundred yeres ago," when he says that the Fairy
Queen and her jolly company danced full often in many a green meadow.

Number 419 of the Spectator, published July 1st, 1712, states that
formerly "every large common had a circle of Fairies belonging to it."
Here again the past is spoken of, but in Wales it would seem that up to
quite modern days some one, or other, was said to have seen the Fairies
at their dance, or had heard of some one who had witnessed their gambols.
Robert Roberts, Tycerrig, Clocaenog, enumerated several places, such as
Nantddu, Clocaenog, Craig-fron-Bannog, on Mynydd Hiraethog, and
Fron-y-Go, Llanfwrog, where the Fairies used to hold their revels, and
other places, such as Moel Fammau, have been mentioned as being Fairy
dancing ground. Many an aged person in Wales will give the name of spots
dedicated to Fairy sports. Information of this kind is interesting, for
it shows how long lived traditions are, and in a manner, places
associated with the Fair Tribe bring these mysterious beings right to our
doors.

I will now relate a few tales of mortals witnessing or joining in Fairy
dances.

The first was related to me by David Roberts. The scene of the dance was
the hill side by Pont Petrual between Ruthin and Cerrig-y-Drudion.

1. _A Man who found himself on a Heap of Ferns after joining in a Fairy
Dance_.

A man who went to witness a Fairy dance was invited to join them. He did
so, and all night long he greatly enjoyed himself. At the break of day
the company broke up, and the Fairies took their companion with them.
The man found himself in a beautiful hall with everything he could desire
at his command, and here he pleasantly passed the time ere he retired to
rest. In the morning when he awoke, instead of finding himself on a
couch in Fairy Hall, be found himself lying on a heap of fern on the wild
mountain side.

Although somewhat unfortunate, this man fared better than most men who
joined the Fairy dances.

2. _The Fairies threw dust into a Man's Eyes who Saw them Dance_.

This tale is taken from _Cymru Fu_, p. 176, and is from the pen of
_Glasynys_. I give it in English.

William Ellis, of Cilwern, was once fishing in Llyn Cwm Silin on a dark
cloudy day, when he observed close by, in the rushes, a great number of
men, or beings in the form of men, about a foot high, jumping and
singing.

He watched them for hours, and he never heard in all his life such
singing. But William went too near them, and they threw some kind of
dust into his eyes, and whilst he was rubbing his eyes, the little family
disappeared and fled somewhere out of sight and never afterwards was
Ellis able to get a sight of them.

The next tale _Glasynys_ shall relate in his own words. It appears in
_Cymru Fu_ immediately after the one just related.

3. _A Man Dancing with the Fairies for Three Days_.

"Y mae chwedl go debyg am le o'r enw Llyn-y-Ffynonau. Yr oedd yno rasio
a dawnsio, a thelynio a ffidlo enbydus, a gwas o Gelli Ffrydau a'i ddau
gi yn eu canol yn neidio ac yn prancio mor sionc a neb. Buont wrthi hi
felly am dridiau a theirnos, yn ddi-dor-derfyn; ac oni bai bod ryw wr
cyfarwydd yn byw heb fod yn neppell, ac i hwnw gael gwybod pa sut yr oedd
pethau yn myned yn mlaen, y mae'n ddiddadl y buasai i'r creadur gwirion
ddawnsio 'i hun i farwolaeth. Ond gwaredwyd of y tro hwn." This in
English is as follows:--

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