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The
Fairy Harp
From "The Welsh Fairy Book"
by W.
Jenkyn Thomas [1908]
A
COMPANY of fairies who lived in the recesses of
Cader Idris were in the habit of going about from
cottage to cottage in that part of the country
to test the dispositions of the cottagers. Those
who gave the fairies an ungracious welcome were
subject to bad luck during the rest of their lives;
but those who were good to the little folk who
visited them in disguise received substantial
favours from them.
Old Morgan ap Rhys was sitting one night by himself
in his own chimney corner, solacing his loneliness
with his pipe and some Llangollen ale. The generous
liquor made Morgan very light-hearted, and he
began to sing--at least he was under the impression
that he was singing. His voice, however, was anything
but sweet, and a bard whom he had offended--it
is a very dangerous thing to fall foul of the
bards in Wales, because they often have such bitter
tongues--had likened his singing to the lowing
of an old cow or the yelping of a blind dog which
has lost its way to the cowyard. His singing,
however, gave Morgan himself much satisfaction,
and this particular evening he was especially
pleased with the harmony he was producing. The
only thing which marred his sense of contentment
was the absence of an audience. Just as he was
coming to the climax of his song, he heard a knock
at the door. Delighted with the thought that there
was someone to listen to him, Morgan sang with
all the fervour he was capable of, and his top
note was, in his opinion, a thing of beauty and
a joy for ever. When he had quite finished, he
again heard a knock at the door, and shouted out,
"What is the door for but to come in by? Come
in, whoever you are." Morgan's manners, you will
see, were not very polished.
The door opened and in came three travellers,
travel-stained and weary-looking. Now these were
fairies from Cader Idris disguised in this manner
to see how Morgan treated strangers, but he never
suspected they were other than they appeared.
"Good sir," said one of the travellers, "we are
worn and tired, but all we seek is a bite of food
to put in our wallets, and then we will go on
our way."
"Brensiach,"
said Morgan, "is that all you want? Welt, there,
look you, is the loaf and the cheese, and the
knife lies by them, and you cut what you like.
Eat your heartiest and fill your wallets, for
never shall it be said that Morgan ap Rhys denied
bread and cheese to strangers that came into his
house." The travellers proceeded to help themselves,
and Morgan, determined not to fail in hospitality,
sang to them while they ate, moistening his throat
occasionally with Llangollen ale when it became
dry.
The fairy travellers, after they had regaled themselves
sufficiently, got up to go and said, "Good sir,
we thank you for our entertainment. Since you
have been so generous we will show that we are
grateful. It is in our power to grant you any
one wish you may have: tell us what that wish
may be."
"Well,
indeed," said Morgan, "the wish of my heart is
to have a harp that will play under my fingers,
no matter how ill I strike it: a harp that will
play lively tunes, look you--no melancholy music
for me. But surely it's making fun of me you are."
But that was not the case: he had hardly finished
speaking when, to his astonishment, there on the
hearth before him stood a splendid harp. He looked
round and found his guests had vanished. "That's
the most extraordinary thing I have ever seen
in my life," said Morgan, "they must have been
fairies," and he was so flabbergasted that he
felt constrained to drink some more ale. This
allayed to some extent his bewilderment, and he
proceeded to try the instrument he had been so
mysteriously presented with. As soon as his fingers
touched the strings, the harp began to play a
mad and capering tune. Just then there was a sound
of footsteps, and in came his wife with some friends.
No sooner did they hear the strains of the harp
than they began dancing, and as long as Morgan's
fingers were on the strings, they kept footing
it like mad creatures.
The news that Morgan had come into possession
of a harp with some mysterious power spread like
wildfire over the whole country, and many were
the visitors who came to see him and it. Every
time he played it everyone felt irresistibly impelled
to dance, and could not leave off until Morgan
stopped. Even lame people capered away, and a
one legged man who visited him danced as merrily
as any biped.
One day, among the company who had come to see
if the stories about the harp were true, was the
bard who had made such unpleasant remarks about
Morgan's singing. Morgan determined to pay him
out, and instead of stopping as usual after the
dance had been going on for a few minutes, he
kept on playing. He played on and on until the
dancers were exhausted and shouted to him to stop.
But Morgan was finding the scene much too amusing
to want to stop. He laughed until his sides ached
and the tears rolled down his cheeks at the antics
of his visitors, and especially at those of the
bard. The longer he played the madder became the
dance: the dancers spun round and round, wildly
knocking over the furniture, and some of them
bounded up against the roof of the cottage till
their heads cracked again. Morgan did not stop
until the bard had broken his legs and the rest
had been jolted almost to pieces. By that time
his revenge was satisfied, and his sides and jaws
were so tired with laughing that he had to take
his fingers away from the strings.
But this was the last time he was to have the
chance of venting his spite on his enemies. By
next morning the harp had disappeared, and was
never seen again. The fairies, evidently displeased
with the evil use to which their gift had been
put, must have taken it away in the night. And
this is a warning to all who abuse the gifts of
the fairies.
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The
Fairy Harp- From "The Welsh Fairy Book"
© W. Jenkyn Thomas [1908] |
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