merve/folk-mythology-tales · Datasets at Hugging Face

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servants at the castle, and you shall get a sight of the king's son and
all the company."

And when the gentles saw the pretty woman that was here they took her
to the wedding-room, and they filled for her a glass of wine. When she
was going to drink what is in it, a flame went up out of the glass, and
a golden pigeon and a silver pigeon sprang out of it. They were flying
about when three grains of barley fell on the floor. The silver pigeon
sprung, and ate that up.

Said the golden pigeon to him, "If you remembered when I cleared the
byre, you would not eat that without giving me a share."

Again there fell three other grains of barley, and the silver pigeon
sprung, and ate that up as before.

"If you remembered when I thatched the byre, you would not eat that
without giving me my share," says the golden pigeon.

Three other grains fall, and the silver pigeon sprung, and ate that up.

"If you remembered when I harried the magpie's nest, you would not eat
that without giving me my share," says the golden pigeon; "I lost my
little finger bringing it down, and I want it still."

The king's son minded, and he knew who it was that was before him.

"Well," said the king's son to the guests at the feast, "when I was a
little younger than I am now, I lost the key of a casket that I had. I
had a new key made, but after it was brought to me I found the old one.
Now, I'll leave it to any one here to tell me what I am to do. Which of
the keys should I keep?"

"My advice to you," said one of the guests, "is to keep the old key,
for it fits the lock better and you're more used to it."

Then the king's son stood up and said: "I thank you for a wise advice
and an honest word. This is my bride the daughter of the giant who
saved my life at the risk of her own. I'll have her and no other woman."

So the king's son married Auburn Mary and the wedding lasted long and
all were happy. But all I got was butter on a live coal, porridge in a
basket, and they sent me for water to the stream, and the paper shoes
came to an end.




BREWERY OF EGGSHELLS

In Treneglwys there is a certain shepherd's cot known by the name of
Twt y Cymrws because of the strange strife that occurred there. There
once lived there a man and his wife, and they had twins whom the woman
nursed tenderly. One day she was called away to the house of a
neighbour at some distance. She did not much like going and leaving her
little ones all alone in a solitary house, especially as she had heard
tell of the good folk haunting the neighbourhood.

Well, she went and came back as soon as she could, but on her way back
she was frightened to see some old elves of the blue petticoat crossing
her path though it was midday. She rushed home, but found her two
little ones in the cradle and everything seemed as it was before.

But after a time the good people began to suspect that something was
wrong, for the twins didn't grow at all.

The man said: "They're not ours."

The woman said: "Whose else should they be?"

And so arose the great strife so that the neighbours named the cottage
after it. It made the woman very sad, so one evening she made up her
mind to go and see the Wise Man of Llanidloes, for he knew everything
and would advise her what to do.

So she went to Llanidloes and told the case to the Wise Man. Now there
was soon to be a harvest of rye and oats, so the Wise Man said to her,
"When you are getting dinner for the reapers, clear out the shell of a
hen's egg and boil some potage in it, and then take it to the door as
if you meant it as a dinner for the reapers. Then listen if the twins
say anything. If you hear them speaking of things beyond the
understanding of children, go back and take them up and throw them into
the waters of Lake Elvyn. But if you don't hear anything remarkable, do
them no injury."

So when the day of the reap came the woman did all that the Wise Man
ordered, and put the eggshell on the fire and took it off and carried
it to the door, and there she stood and listened. Then she heard one of
the children say to the other:

Acorn before oak I knew,
An egg before a hen,
But I never heard of an eggshell brew
A dinner for harvest men.

So she went back into the house, seized the children and threw them
into the Llyn, and the goblins in their blue trousers came and saved
their dwarfs and the mother had her own children back and so the great
strife ended.

servants at the castle, and you shall get a sight of the king's son and

all the company."

And when the gentles saw the pretty woman that was here they took her

to the wedding-room, and they filled for her a glass of wine. When she

was going to drink what is in it, a flame went up out of the glass, and

a golden pigeon and a silver pigeon sprang out of it. They were flying

about when three grains of barley fell on the floor. The silver pigeon

sprung, and ate that up.

Said the golden pigeon to him, "If you remembered when I cleared the

byre, you would not eat that without giving me a share."

Again there fell three other grains of barley, and the silver pigeon

sprung, and ate that up as before.

"If you remembered when I thatched the byre, you would not eat that

without giving me my share," says the golden pigeon.

Three other grains fall, and the silver pigeon sprung, and ate that up.

"If you remembered when I harried the magpie's nest, you would not eat

that without giving me my share," says the golden pigeon; "I lost my

little finger bringing it down, and I want it still."

The king's son minded, and he knew who it was that was before him.

"Well," said the king's son to the guests at the feast, "when I was a

little younger than I am now, I lost the key of a casket that I had. I

had a new key made, but after it was brought to me I found the old one.

Now, I'll leave it to any one here to tell me what I am to do. Which of

the keys should I keep?"

"My advice to you," said one of the guests, "is to keep the old key,

for it fits the lock better and you're more used to it."

Then the king's son stood up and said: "I thank you for a wise advice

and an honest word. This is my bride the daughter of the giant who

saved my life at the risk of her own. I'll have her and no other woman."

So the king's son married Auburn Mary and the wedding lasted long and

all were happy. But all I got was butter on a live coal, porridge in a

basket, and they sent me for water to the stream, and the paper shoes

came to an end.

BREWERY OF EGGSHELLS

In Treneglwys there is a certain shepherd's cot known by the name of

Twt y Cymrws because of the strange strife that occurred there. There

once lived there a man and his wife, and they had twins whom the woman

nursed tenderly. One day she was called away to the house of a

neighbour at some distance. She did not much like going and leaving her

little ones all alone in a solitary house, especially as she had heard

tell of the good folk haunting the neighbourhood.

Well, she went and came back as soon as she could, but on her way back

she was frightened to see some old elves of the blue petticoat crossing

her path though it was midday. She rushed home, but found her two

little ones in the cradle and everything seemed as it was before.

But after a time the good people began to suspect that something was

wrong, for the twins didn't grow at all.

The man said: "They're not ours."

The woman said: "Whose else should they be?"

And so arose the great strife so that the neighbours named the cottage

after it. It made the woman very sad, so one evening she made up her

mind to go and see the Wise Man of Llanidloes, for he knew everything

and would advise her what to do.

So she went to Llanidloes and told the case to the Wise Man. Now there

was soon to be a harvest of rye and oats, so the Wise Man said to her,

"When you are getting dinner for the reapers, clear out the shell of a

hen's egg and boil some potage in it, and then take it to the door as

if you meant it as a dinner for the reapers. Then listen if the twins

say anything. If you hear them speaking of things beyond the

understanding of children, go back and take them up and throw them into

the waters of Lake Elvyn. But if you don't hear anything remarkable, do

them no injury."

So when the day of the reap came the woman did all that the Wise Man

ordered, and put the eggshell on the fire and took it off and carried

it to the door, and there she stood and listened. Then she heard one of

the children say to the other:

Acorn before oak I knew,

An egg before a hen,

But I never heard of an eggshell brew

A dinner for harvest men.

So she went back into the house, seized the children and threw them

into the Llyn, and the goblins in their blue trousers came and saved

their dwarfs and the mother had her own children back and so the great

strife ended.