North Wales Folk Tales for Children E-Book

Fiona Collins

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

If you love magic and adventure, here is the book for you. In this treasure trove of tales, storyteller Fiona Collins has collected the best-loved stories from the misty, magical mountains, rushing rivers and green rolling hills of North Wales. In these stories you will meet dragons, giants, wizards, monsters and one extremely powerful witch – and of course the Tylwyth Teg, the Welsh fairies. From 'Once upon a time…' to 'Happy ever after' you will be transported to North Wales, where even the stones have stories to tell.

Leseprobe

For Amber, because you likelistening to my stories,from Fiona.

For Cousin Thelma, because youtold me stories to shorten the way,from Ed.

(I especially remember the storyabout the worms in the rain)

CONTENTS

Title

Dedication

Map: The Land of the Stories

Introduction

1    Two Dragons

2    Two Giants

3    Three Tasks

4    Three Wishes

5    The Oldest Animals in the World

6    Hen Wen the Pig

7    The Afanc

8    Another Dragon

9    Two More Giants

10    Dancing with the Fairies

11    Making Music for the Fairies

12    Six and Four are Ten

13    Bella Fawr

14    The Prince’s Wizard

15    The King of the Giants

16    King March

17    The Cloak of Kings’ Beards

18    King Arthur’s Horse

19    Branwen’s Bird

20    The Tale of Taliesin

Thanks

About the Author and Illustrator

Copyright

THE LAND OF THE STORIES

The numbers on the map are the numbers of the stories in this book. They show you where to find the places which are important in the stories. Some numbers are on the map twice, because there are two important places in that story. When place names are very different in Welsh and English, both are given.

  1

Two Dragons

Dinas Emrys

  2

Two Giants

Cadair Bronwen & Cadair Idris

  3

Three Tasks

Betws Gwerful Goch

  4

Three Wishes

Ynys Llanddwyn / Llanddwyn Island

  5

The Oldest Animals

Cwm Cowlyd

  6

Hen Wen the Pig

Maen Du / Black Stone, Aber Menai Straits

  7

The Afanc

Betws-y-Coed

  8

Another Dragon

Denbigh

  9

Two More Giants

Dinas Dinlle

10

Dancing with the Fairies

Minera

11

Making Music for the Fairies

Mynydd Hiraethog / Denbigh Moors

12

Six and Four are Ten

Henllan

13

Bella Fawr

Denbigh

14

The Prince’s Wizard

Llanrwst

15

The King of the Giants

Wrexham

16

King March

Castellmarch

17

The Cloak of King’s Beards

Yr Wyddfa / Mount Snowdon

18

King Arthur’s Horse

Moel Arthur

19

Branwen’s Bird

Harlech & Aberffraw

20    

The Tale of Taliesin

Llyˆn Tegid / Bala Lake

INTRODUCTION

Here are some of my favourite stories from North Wales. I hope you will like them too. They are folk tales and fairy tales – the kind of stories that nearly always begin ‘Once Upon a Time’ in English, ‘Amser maith yn ôl’ in Welsh.

Even though they aren’t true stories, most of them are set in real places in North Wales. If you know the places, or can visit them, I think the stories will really come alive for you.

I asked some friends aged between 5 and 11 years old to read some of the stories while I was writing this book. I wanted to be sure that young readers would like them. Here are some of the things they said:

Alex said,

‘Very exciting and strange …’

Mabel said,

‘This is a good book.’

Jonty and Llion said,

‘It wasn’t too hard to read.’

Millie and Connie said,

‘Very funny and good for children.

Well done!’

Aidan said,

‘I like how you use real places.’

William liked the first story in the book because it has a happy ending. Mia and Angel gave the same story a score of nine and a half out of ten. They said, ‘It would be good if there was a map for the locations.’

The map seemed like a really good idea, so Ed decided to make one to go with his beautiful drawings. We both hope you like his pictures and that they help you imagine the places and people in the stories.

These aren’t my stories. They are old, old tales and many people tell them. In this book I’ve told them in my own way, the way I would tell them if you and I were sitting by a campfire, or in my living room. If you like them, why don’t you tell them too? Tell them in your own way, in your own words. The great thing about these old, old stories is that no one can say to you, ‘You’re telling them wrong!’

Have fun reading this book,and don’t forget to live happily ever after.

Fiona Collins

May 2016

1

TWO DRAGONS

There are many stories about the great wizard Merlin. This is one of my favourites.

When Merlin was a boy, his full name was Myrddin ap Emrys, and he grew up in Caerfyrddin, which in English is called Carmarthen. Its Welsh name means Merlin’s Castle. But Merlin had no castle there. In fact, he had no proper home.

His mother lived in a convent, with holy women who prayed all day and were not interested in children. And he had no father. Some people said his father was an evil spirit. Some said he was a good spirit. But Merlin didn’t know, and if his mother knew she didn’t tell him.

Merlin was not an ordinary boy, nor indeed a very happy one. Unkind people sometimes bully people who seem a bit different, and Merlin was very different, so he was often lonely or sad.

Although Merlin was still only young, he already had magic powers. So on the day that something strange began to happen, he knew what to do.

Some boys were playing with a ball, on the grass outside the city gate. Merlin wanted to join in, but the others wouldn’t let him. They shouted, ‘Go away, Merlin! You can’t play. You haven’t even got a father. Go away!’

Merlin knew it was no use arguing with them. He turned and went back through the city gate, back towards the convent where he lived with his mother and the silent sisters. But he hadn’t walked far when he realised he was not alone. Someone was following him, staying in the shadows; keeping him in sight, but keeping out of his sight.

Merlin knew, by his magic, that this was a king’s messenger, and that the king had sent the messenger to find a boy who never had a father. He knew why the king wanted such a boy, and he knew that he was the boy the king needed. So he wasn’t afraid. He let the messenger follow him to the gate of the convent. When the gatekeeper saw Merlin’s face through the bars on her window, she opened a little door in the gate and let him in, but she stopped the man who followed him, as Merlin knew she would.

‘Strangers may not enter this house,’ she said.

‘Lady, I am on a king’s quest and I carry a king’s ring to prove it.’

The messenger held up a ring with a large jewel set in it, and showed it to the gatekeeper through the bars on the window. ‘I have been sent to find a certain boy, and I believe that the boy who just went in is the one I am looking for.’

The old woman looked at the ring for a long time. Slowly, as though she did not really want to, she opened the little door just wide enough for the messenger to squeeze inside.

‘Wait here, please,’ she said. ‘I will fetch the people you need to speak to.’

Merlin did not hear their conversation, but he knew how it would end. The nuns and his mother would agree to let him go to the king, waiting in the mountains of Snowdonia.

Sure enough, when the messenger rode out of the city and turned north, Merlin was sitting behind him on his great horse’s back. They rode through Wales until they came to the high mountains: Snowdonia, which in Welsh is called The Place of Eagles, Eryri.

The king was standing at the top of a hill. All around him were the ruins of a tower: tools that were scattered, stones that were shattered, wood that had clattered to the ground. Behind him stood seven wise men. They looked frightened. Day after day, the king had asked them, ‘Why does my tower keep falling down?’ The wise men did not know. But if you are a king’s wise man, you cannot tell him ‘I don’t know’. He won’t be very pleased! So the seven not-very-wise men had made up an answer to his question.

Merlin rode behind the messenger.

‘Your Majesty, you must find a boy who never had a father. You must kill him and bury his bones where you want to build your tower. Then your tower will stay strong. It will not fall down.’

They didn’t know if this was the right answer to his question. They didn’t care if it was the right answer. They thought it would be impossible for the king to find a boy who never had a father, so he would never know whether they were right or wrong.

But here was the messenger, and with him was a boy who never had a father … no wonder they looked frightened.

One person who didn’t look frightened was Merlin. He walked right up to the king. He looked straight at him. Then he said, ‘Your Majesty, I know why you have brought me here. But if you kill me and bury my bones, you will never find out why your tower keeps falling down. Ask your wise men what is under the ground here, and if they do not know, ask me, because I do.’

So the king turned to his wise men and asked them, ‘What is under the ground here?’

They looked at the king, they looked at each other, they looked at the ground. They didn’t know the answer, so they tried to guess, ‘Earth, Your Majesty? Stones? Worms?’

The king looked at Merlin. Merlin shook his head.

‘Your Majesty,’ he said, ‘just where you want to build your tower, there is an underground lake. If you don’t believe me, tell your workers to dig there. You will see if I am right.’

The king’s workers started to dig. It wasn’t long until their spades broke through the roof of a cave. In it there was an underground lake.

Merlin spoke to the king, ‘Your Majesty, ask your wise men what is under the lake, and if they do not know, ask me, because I do.’

So the king turned to his wise men and asked them, ‘What is under the lake?’

They looked at the king, they looked at each other, they looked at the water. They didn’t know the answer, so they tried to guess, ‘Mud, your Majesty? Weed? Fish?’

The king looked at Merlin. Merlin shook his head.

‘Your Majesty,’ he said, ‘under the lake, there is a great flat stone. If you don’t believe me, tell your workers to drain the water out of the lake. You will see if I am right.’

The king’s workers started to drain the water from the lake. Before long, the water was gone, and in the middle of the mud they all saw a great grey stone.

Merlin spoke to the king, ‘Your Majesty, ask your wise men what is under the stone, and if they do not know, ask me, because I do.’

So the king turned to his wise men and asked them, ‘What is under the stone?’

They looked at the king, they looked at each other, they looked at the stone. They didn’t know the answer. They just shook their heads.

The king turned to Merlin.

‘Your Majesty,’ he said, ‘under the stone, two dragons are curled up, fast asleep. All day they sleep, but at night they wake, and then they fight. Their battle destroys your tower each night. If you don’t believe me, tell your workers to lift the stone. You will see if I am right.’

They lifted the stone out of the mud, and found two small sleeping dragons, curled up like piglets. One was red, the other was white. When the stone was moved and the light shone on them, they woke up. They opened their eyes, turned their heads, and saw each other. Then their eyes flashed, their teeth gnashed and their claws crashed. They spread their wings and rose up out of the hole in the ground. As they flew, they grew, until they were huge fiery shapes above the heads of the king, his wise men and his workers. They all crouched down in fear.