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The Lady of the Lake

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Your bread is too hard

 There was once a young man who lived on a farm with his mother. He asked his mother if it was time for him to find a wife, but he had no one in mind. One day while he was sitting by Llyn y Fan, a beautiful young maiden appeared from the water, combing her long blonde hair with a gold comb.

He tried to entice her to the shore by offering her a piece of his bread, but she replied by saying

‘Too hard is your bread,
Not with that I’ll be fed’
He returned to the farmhouse, telling his mother about the meeting with the beautiful maiden.


His mother prepared more bread, but this time it was very soft.

When he offered this to the beautiful maiden her reply was

‘Too soft is your bread,
Not by that I’ll be led’

This bread is softer
Perfect bread Mum busied herself, baking more bread, and this time it was perfect.

The young man offered the bread to the Lady of the Lake, and this time her answer was:

‘True baked is your bread,
And with that I’ll be wed’
She told the young man to remain where he was, and plunged beneath the lake once again. The first to re-appear was the father followed by two ladies that looked exactly alike.

‘Make your choice’ demanded the father, and fortunately, the young man chose the right one.

‘Remember’ said the father ‘that should you strike her three times, then she will return to the lake’.

Make your choice
The animals of the Lake The beautiful maiden left the lake, bringing with her a number of healthy animals. They were soon married and had three strong, good looking sons.

One day they were invited to a Christening but she was taking a long time to get ready. Her husband pushed her in a friendly manner, telling her to hurry.

‘Be careful’ she said, ‘ for you have now struck me once’.
On another occasion they were invited to a wedding.

She cried and cried during the ceremony, and her husband tapped her lightly on the shoulder telling her that this was a happy occasion.

‘You have now struck me twice’ she said.

The funeral
A few months later, they were at a funeral, and she burst out laughing in the middle of the service. He tapped her lightly on her arm to remind her that this was a sad occasion and that she shouldn’t be laughing.

‘I must now return to my family in the lake’ she said, ‘because you have now struck me three times.’
The lady returns to the lake She called all her animals together, and disappeared into the lake.

Her husband was a very sad person, and decided to follow her into the depths of Llyn y Fan.

The Lady of the lake did return once to visit her sons.

She had a satchel full of secret prescriptions, and using these prescriptions, the three brothers became the best and most famous healers in Wales.

The Lady of Llyn y Fan and her husband were never seen again.