North Wales Folk Tales for Children

by Fiona Collins

  The wizard had captured many people, from near and far, even from Gareth’s village, and he made them work for him. Whatever he told them to do, they had to do it.

  One day, poor Gareth was captured too. The wizard made him work hard every day. He hardly got any food, and he had to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. But the worst thing was that Gareth was lonely. He missed his friends, he missed his brother and sister, and most of all he missed his mum and dad.

  He was so lonely that he used to talk to himself, because there was no one else to talk to. And that was how it all started …

  One day, Gareth was working in the wizard’s garden. He felt so sad that he gave a big sigh, and said, ‘Oh, will I never get away from here?’

  The wizard was in the garden, and he heard Gareth. He jumped out from behind a tree and gave Gareth a big fright. ‘So,’ he shouted, ‘you want to leave us, do you? Well, I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll make a bargain with you. I’ll give you a task to do, and if you can do it before the sun sets, you can go free. But it won’t be easy for you to do it. Come with me …’

  The wizard led Gareth out of the garden and across a field to a small hill. The hill was covered in trees.

  ‘I need some firewood,’ said the wizard. ‘Cut down all these trees – every one – and saw them into pieces for me to burn. If you can do it before the sun sets, you can go free. But it won’t be easy for you to do it!’

  The wizard laughed a wicked wizard laugh and went away, leaving Gareth staring at the hill. There were hundreds of trees: oak trees, ash trees, beech trees, birch trees, holly trees, rowan trees, larch trees, lime trees …

  Gareth knew it would take him weeks to cut down all these trees. And he only had one day! It seemed hopeless. But however bad things are, however impossible something seems, if you don’t try, you’ll never know if you can do it or not.

  So Gareth took a deep breath, picked up his trusty, rusty saw and carried it up to the top of the hill. There, he started sawing. And sawing. And sawing.

  By the time the sun was high in the sky, he had only cut down two small trees, and there were still hundreds left. He stopped to rest. And saw someone coming up the hill. It was the wizard’s youngest daughter, Tegwedd. She had noticed Gareth before, and had seen that he was a good little worker who tried hard to do his best. So she had decided to help him.

  ‘Hallo Gareth,’ she said. ‘You’ve been working hard and you look very hot and tired. I’ve brought you a picnic. Come and sit down in the shade and have something to eat. It’ll give you strength.’

  Gareth was glad to put down his saw and have a rest. Tegwedd took the picnic out of her basket and laid it out. But before she sat down with Gareth, she took something else out of the basket. It was a silver-coloured cloth. She rubbed it gently over Gareth’s saw, where he had left it on the ground. Then she sat down. As soon as the silver cloth touched it, the saw jumped up and started cutting down the trees and sawing them up … all by itself!

  It worked so quickly that, by the time Gareth and Tegwedd had finished the picnic, the top of the hill was as bald as an egg, and every single tree had been cut into small pieces.

  Gareth was amazed – but not too amazed to remember to thank Tegwedd for her help.

  The saw started cutting down the trees.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ she said with a little smile, and she put the picnic things and the silver cloth in her basket, waved goodbye and went away down the hill.

  As Tegwedd was going down one side of the hill, the wizard was coming up the other. He wasn’t glad when he saw all the firewood – he was mad!

  He said, ‘You couldn’t have done all this work by yourself. Someone must have helped you. So I won’t set you free. Instead, I’m going to give you another task. If you can do it tomorrow before the sun sets, you can go free. But it won’t be easy for you to do it. Come with me!’

  The wizard led Gareth down the bald hill and across the fields, until they came to the very edge of his land, where there was a rushing river. On the other side of the river was a cliff, going straight up into the clouds.

  The wizard pointed at the cliff. ‘At the top of that cliff, a great big bird has its nest. In the nest is a golden egg. If you can bring me that egg before the sun sets tomorrow, you can go free. But it won’t be easy for you to do it!’

  The wizard laughed his wicked wizard laugh and went away, leaving Gareth staring at the cliff. It was smooth and steep, and he couldn’t see any way to climb it. He couldn’t see any way to get across the water, either. There were no bridges or boats, and the river was too wide to jump across, too deep to wade across and too fast to swim across.

  He sighed, and thought, ‘This is hopeless.’ But then he remembered how Tegwedd had helped him with the first task, and he had hope in his heart once more.

  ‘She helped me today. Perhaps she will help me tomorrow,’ he thought, and he went off to the cupboard under the stairs, to get a good night’s sleep.

  Early the next morning, Gareth was back on the riverbank, walking up and down, trying to find a safe place to cross. It seemed impossible.

  Then he saw someone walking along the riverbank towards him. It was Tegwedd. She came close and smiled at him. Then she bent down and took off her shoe. She held it up, and said to Gareth, ‘Wish that my shoe was a boat.’ So he did.

  In the twinkle of an eye it became a little boat, just big enough for two, bobbing in the water.

  Gareth and Tegwedd jumped in and easily rowed across the river. But when they climbed out on the other side, the cliff stretched up right in front of their noses. Smooth and steep, without a single handhold, it looked quite impossible to climb.

  But Tegwedd smiled at Gareth. She held up her hand and said to him, ‘Wish that my fingers were a ladder.’ So he did.

  In the twinkle of an eye, her fingers stretched up and up, until there was a ladder of skin and bone reaching up through the clouds towards the very top of the cliff.

  Tegwedd said, ‘When you get to the top of the cliff, you must be careful of the bird. It’s always hungry. Take this piece of meat with you, and when you see the bird, throw the meat as far as you can. The bird will fly after the meat. You must find the golden egg in the nest and climb down before the bird comes back.’

  She gave him a lump of meat. Gareth stuffed it into his pocket and thanked her. Then he began to climb the finger ladder.

  Up and up and up he went. He climbed through the clouds. At last he could see the top of the cliff above him, with sticks and twigs from the untidy nest poking out over the edge.

  Suddenly there was something else poking out too. A huge yellow beak like a pair of giant scissors was opening and shutting over his head, and two enormous round orange eyes were glaring at him. It was the biggest bird he had ever seen!

  Gareth knew it could gobble him up in one gulp, and he was afraid, but he remembered the meat that Tegwedd had given him. He pulled it out of his pocket and threw it as far as he could.

  The bird looked at the boy. It looked at the meat. Which one would it eat? Luckily, it chose the meat! Opening its huge wings, it swooped down and away. Its wings made so much wind that Gareth thought he would be blown away. He held on tight to the ladder while it rocked in the wind. He felt it bend under his weight, and he thought he would fall. But he didn’t. The ladder bent, but it didn’t break.

  When the air was calm once more, Gareth reached up and put his hand in the nest. He felt scratchy twigs. He felt soft moss. And then he felt the cool curve of a giant egg. He lifted it up. It sparkled and shone. It was the golden egg. He carefully put it into his pocket and began to climb down, before the great bird came back.

  Down and down and down he went, until at last he was standing next to Tegwedd once more. He showed her the golden egg.

  She smiled at him and said, ‘Wish that the ladder was my fingers again.’

  So he did, and her hand looked just the way it had before … at first. Then, Gareth saw that her little finger
was a bit crooked, and he remembered how the ladder had bent when he leaned on it in the wind.

  ‘Oh, I’ve hurt you!’ he said. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t worry, it’s fine,’ said Tegwedd. ‘Now, come on, we must go back across the river.’

  So they got into their little boat and crossed the river once more. When they were standing on the other bank, Tegwedd smiled and said, ‘Wish that the boat was my shoe again.’

  So he did.

  Tegwedd took her shoe out of the water, shook out a few drops, and put it on. She smiled at Gareth once more and walked away.

  As Tegwedd went away in one direction, the wizard was coming from the other. When he saw Gareth on the wrong side of the river, and no sign that he had been across, he was glad. But when Gareth showed him the egg, he was mad!

  ‘You couldn’t have got the egg by yourself,’ he said. ‘Someone must have helped you. So I won’t set you free. Instead, I’m going to give you another task, and this time, no one will be able to help you, because I’ll be there to watch you. Meet me tomorrow morning by the castle wall. If you can do the task I give you, you can go free. But it won’t be easy for you to do it!’

  The wizard laughed his wicked wizard laugh and went away.

  Gareth sighed and thought, ‘This is hopeless. How can Tegwedd help me this time? It’s impossible.’ He went off to the cupboard under the stairs, but he couldn’t sleep. All night long he was worrying.

  In the morning he went to meet the wizard. What else could he do?

  The wizard was standing under the high wall of the castle. He laughed his wicked wizard laugh when he saw Gareth coming, and pointed up to the top of the castle wall.

  ‘I have three daughters,’ he told Gareth. ‘I have changed them into three seagulls. If you can tell which one is Tegwedd, my youngest daughter, you can go free. But it won’t be easy for you to do it!’

  Gareth looked up and saw three seagulls perched on the wall. When the wizard snapped his fingers, they all flew down, and landed in a line on the grass in front of Gareth.

  ‘Well,’ said the wizard, ‘which one is Tegwedd?’

  Gareth looked at the first seagull. He looked at the second seagull. He looked at the third seagull. They all looked exactly the same. He sighed. He didn’t know what to say. He was going to be the wizard’s prisoner for ever.

  Then one of the seagulls moved its foot. Only a tiny bit, but Gareth saw, and it made him look at the bird more carefully. He saw that it had pushed one foot in front of the other. He saw that the smallest claw on its foot was a bit crooked. Then he remembered how Tegwedd’s finger had been bent when he leaned on the ladder.

  ‘That one!’ he shouted, pointing at the bird with the crooked claw. ‘That one is Tegwedd!’

  The seagulls all looked exactly the same.

  Of course, he was right. The wizard did not laugh this time. He knew that his magic was broken. The three birds changed back into three girls, and the one Gareth had chosen was Tegwedd.

  The wizard was so angry that he shook his fist and stamped his foot. When he stamped, a great hole opened in the ground under him and he fell down, down, down.

  He was never seen again. Were they sad? No, they were glad. Now all his prisoners were free and they could go back to their own homes.

  Gareth went home to his own village. Tegwedd went with him. Whenever Gareth needed help, Tegwedd was always there to help him. They lived happily ever after.

  4

  THREE WISHES

  There was once a beautiful princess who didn’t like being a princess. Her name was Dwynwen and she was one of twenty-four sisters. Their father was Prince Brychan and they lived on the lovely island of Anglesey.

  Dwynwen didn’t enjoy feasts and hunting and fine clothes: the thing she really liked was the beauty of nature, and she loved saying prayers and praising God. She wanted to be a hermit and find a quiet place to live all alone near the sea.

  But Dwynwen’s father didn’t like this idea at all. He wanted her to marry someone grand, someone with land and money and power, so that their family would become even more important.

  One day, he said to her, ‘Dwynwen, it’s time you got married. I’ve found you a nice boy. He’s very rich. His name is Maelon. I think you are going to like him.’

  But Dwynwen didn’t like him. Well, she didn’t mind him, he was quite nice, but she didn’t want to marry him. She didn’t want to marry anyone at all.

  She told her father, ‘I don’t want to get married. I want to be a hermit and live quietly by the sea.’

  He didn’t like that.

  He said, ‘You should do what I tell you. I know what is best for you.’

  But Dwynwen didn’t think so. She ran away. She ran and she ran until she was so tired that she lay down under an old oak tree, and she fell asleep.

  In her sleep she had a dream. She dreamed that an angel came to her with a sweet drink.

  ‘Drink this, Dwynwen,’ said the angel in the dream, ‘and you will forget all about Maelon and be able to live peacefully here near the sea. In fact, after you drink this, Maelon will never trouble you again. God will change him into a block of ice.’

  In her dream, Dwynwen took the cup from the angel and drank it down to the last drop. Soon afterwards, she woke up. But she hadn’t forgotten Maelon. Instead, she felt really sad that he had been changed into a block of ice.

  She thought, ‘I shouldn’t have let that happen. None of this is his fault.’

  She worried and worried about Maelon. Then she saw the angel from her dream. Only this time, she was awake. The angel came up to her and smiled.

  ‘Dwynwen,’ said the angel, ‘you haven’t forgotten Maelon. Why do you keep thinking about him?’

  ‘I shouldn’t have let him be changed into a block of ice. It isn’t fair. Please can you change him back?’ she asked.

  The angel smiled. ‘If you really want that to happen, Dwynwen, you can do it yourself. I have come back to give you three wishes. You only have three, but whatever you wish for will come true. Choose your wishes well.’

  ‘Oh, I will! Thank you,’ said Dwynwen.

  Then just as suddenly as she had appeared, the angel disappeared. Dwynwen was alone again. But she knew she had a chance now, with her wishes, to make everything all right.

  She thought carefully for a minute or two, then she spoke.

  ‘I wish that Maelon be changed back from a block of ice into a man,’ she said. ‘That is my first wish.

  ‘I wish that I will never have to get married. That is my second wish.

  ‘And I wish that God will let me look after all the people who are truly in love, and make their wishes come true. That is my last wish.’

  Dwynwen’s wishes all came true.

  Maelon was changed back from a block of ice.

  Dwynwen lived quietly by the seashore of Anglesey for the rest of her life, and the place where she lived was named Llanddwyn after her. She built a little church there, with a well for fresh water.

  People who are in love still go to Llanddwyn to see the church and to look for Dwynwen’s well.

  They say that there is a magic fish in the well. If you see it swimming around inside the well, it means that Dwynwen has heard your wish to live happily ever after. And she will make your wish come true.

  There is a magic fish in the well.

  5

  THE OLDEST ANIMALS

  IN THE WORLD

  Once upon a time there was an Eagle who was very old and very lonely. His wife had died long ago and his chicks had all grown up and left the nest.

  In the sadness of his heart, he thought it would help to get married again, but he didn’t want to marry a young bird who would make him feel old and tired. He wanted to find a bird who was old. Really old, like him, so that the two of them could sit together quietly and keep each other company.

  He had heard of an old Owl living in Cwm Cowlyd, and he thought perhaps she would be a good bird to ask.

  �
�But is she as old as me?’ he wondered. ‘I don’t want to marry a young bird …’

  It didn’t seem very polite to ask the Owl how old she was, so the Eagle thought he would ask a friend about her.

  ‘I’ll ask the Stag,’ he thought to himself. ‘He’s older than me. He will know if the Owl is old.’

  So the Eagle went to see his friend, the Stag of Rhedynfre, and asked, ‘Do you know if the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd is old?’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said the Stag. ‘I am old. Can you see this tree stump by me? I can remember when it was just an acorn at the top of a tree. I can remember when it fell down and started to grow. It took three hundred years to grow. For three hundred more years it was a tall and strong tree, and then it took another three hundred years to die. All that is left now is this stump, with no leaves and no branches. I have been here all that time, and I am old, and the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd was already old when I first met her. But I do have a friend who is older than me. Perhaps she will know. She is the Salmon of Llyn Llifon.’

  So the Eagle went to see the Stag’s friend, the Salmon of Llyn Llifon, and asked, ‘Do you know if the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd is old?’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said the Salmon. ‘I am old. I have lived as many years as there are scales on my body and as many years as there are eggs in my belly. I have been here all that time, and I am old, and the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd was already old when I first met her. But I do have a friend who is older than me. Perhaps he will know. He is the Blackbird of Cilgwri.’

  The Stag of Rhedynfre.

  So the Eagle went to see the Salmon’s friend, the Blackbird of Cilgwri, and asked, ‘Do you know if the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd is old?’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said the Blackbird. ‘I am old. Can you see this stone next to me? I can remember when it was so big that you would have needed three hundred oxen to move it, and now it is as small as a nut. All that has happened to wear it away is that every night I wipe my beak on it before I go to sleep, and every morning I tap it with my wing when I wake up. I have been here all that time, and I am old, and the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd was already old when I first met her. But I do have a friend who is older than me. Perhaps he will know. He is the Toad of Cors Fochno.’