The Mabinogion Vol. 3 by Sir Owen Morgan Edwards and Lady Charlotte Schreiber (classic fiction TXT) 📕

And then he went to the Gorsedd of Narberth, p. 75taking the mouse with him.  And he set up two forks on the highest part of the Gorsedd.  And while he was doing this, behold he saw a scholar coming towards him, in old and poor and tattered garments.  And it was now seven years since he had seen in that place either man or beast, except those four persons who had remained together until two of them were lost.

“My lord,” said the scholar, “good day to thee.”  “Heaven prosper thee, and my greeting be unto thee.  And whence dost thou come, scholar?” asked he.  “I come, lord, from singing in England; and wherefore dost thou enquire?”  “Because for the last seven years,” answered he, “I have seen no man here save four secluded persons, and thyself this moment.”  “Truly, lord,” said he, “I go through this land unto mine own.  And what work art thou upon, lord?”  “I am hanging a thief that I caught robbing me,” said he.  “What manner of thief is that?” asked the scholar.  “I see a creature in thy hand like unto a mouse, and ill does it become a man of rank equal to thine, to touch a reptile such as this.  Let it go forth free.”  “I will not let it go free, by Heaven,” said he; “I caught it robbing me, and the doom of a thief will I inflict upon it and I will hang it.”  “Lord,” said he, “rather than see a man of rank equal to thine at such a work as this, I would give thee a pound which I have received as alms, to let the reptile go forth free.”  “I will not let it go free,” said he, “by Heaven, neither will I sell it.”  “As thou wilt, lord,” he answered, “except that I would not see a man of rank equal to thine touching such a reptile, I care nought.”  And the scholar went his way.

p. 76And as he was placing the cross-beam upon the two forks, behold a priest came towards him upon a horse covered with trappings.  “Good day to thee, lord,” said he.  “Heaven prosper thee,” said Manawyddan; “thy blessing.”  “The blessing of Heaven be upon thee.  And what, lord, art thou doing?”  “I am hanging a thief that I caught robbing me,” said he.  “What manner of thief, lord?” asked he.  “A creature,” he answered, “in form of a mouse.  It has been robbing me, and I am inflicting upon it the doom of a thief.”  “Lord,” said he, “rather than see thee touch this reptile, I would purchase its freedom.”  “By my confession to Heaven, neither will I sell it nor set it free.”  “It is true, lord, that it is worth nothing to buy; but rather than see thee defile thyself by touching such a reptile as this, I will give thee three pounds to let it go.”  “I will not, by Heaven,” said he, “take any price for it.  As it ought, so shall it be hanged.”  “Willingly, lord, do thy good pleasure.”  And the priest went his way.

Then he noosed the string around the mouse’s neck, and as he was about to draw it up, behold, he saw a bishop’s retinue, with his sumpter-horses, and his attendants.  And the bishop himself came towards him.  And he stayed his work.  “Lord bishop,” said he, “thy blessing.”  “Heaven’s blessing be unto thee,” said he, “What work art thou upon?”  “Hanging a thief that I caught robbing me,” said he.  “Is not that a mouse that I see in thy hand?”  “Yes,” answered he.  “And she has robbed me.”  “Aye,” said he, “since I have come at the doom of this reptile I will ransom it of thee.  I will give thee seven pounds for it, and that rather than see a man of rank equal to thine destroying so p. 77vile a reptile as this.  Let it loose and thou shall have the money.”  “I declare to Heaven that I will not set it loose.”  “If thou wilt not loose it for this, I will give thee four and twenty pounds of ready money to set it free.”  “I will not set it free, by Heaven, for as much again,” said he.  “If thou wilt not set it free for this, I will give thee all the horses that thou seest in this plain, and the seven loads of baggage, and the seven horses that they are upon.”  “By Heaven, I will not,” he replied.  “Since for this thou wilt not, do so at what price soever thou wilt.”  “I will do so,” said he.  “I will that Rhiannon and Pryderi be free,” said he.  “That thou shall have,” he answered.  “Not yet will I loose the mouse, by Heaven.”  “What then wouldst thou?”  “That the charm and the illusion be removed from the seven Cantrevs of Dyved.”  “This shall thou have also, set therefore the mouse free.”  “I will not set it free, by Heaven,” said he.  “I will know who the mouse may be.”  “She is my wife.”  “Even though she be, I will not set her free.  Wherefore came she to me?”  “To despoil thee,” he answered.  “I am Llwyd the son of Kilcoed, and I cast the charm over the seven Cantrevs of Dyved.  And it was to avenge Gwawl the son of Clud, from the friendship I had towards him, that I cast the charm.  And upon Pryderi did I revenge Gwawl the son of Clud, for the game of Badger in the Bag, that Pwyll Pen Annwn played upon him, which he did unadvisedly in the court of Heveydd Hên.  And when it was known that thou wast come to dwell in the land, my household came and besought me to transform them into mice, that they might destroy thy corn.  And it was my own household that went p. 78the first night.  And the second night also they went, and they destroyed thy two crofts.  And the third night came unto me my wife and the ladies of the court, and besought me to transform them.  And I transformed them.  Now she is pregnant.  And had she not been pregnant thou wouldst not have been able to overtake her, but since this has taken place and she has been caught, I will restore thee Pryderi and Rhiannon; and I will take the charm and illusion from off Dyved.  I have now told thee who she is.  Set her therefore free.”  “I will not set her free, by Heaven,” said he.  “What wilt thou more?” he asked.  “I will that there be no more charm upon the seven Cantrevs of Dyved, and that none shall be put upon it henceforth.”  “This thou shalt have,” said he.  “Now set her free.”  “I will not by my faith,” he answered.  “What wilt thou furthermore,” asked he.  “Behold,” said he, “this will I have; that vengeance be never taken for this, either upon Pryderi or Rhiannon, or upon me.”  “All this shalt thou have.  And truly thou hast done wisely in asking this.  Upon thy head would have lit all this trouble.”  “Yea,” said he, “for fear thereof was it, that I required this.”  “Set now my wife at liberty.”  “I will not, by Heaven,” said he, “until I see Pryderi and Rhiannon with me free.”  “Behold, here they come,” he answered.

And thereupon behold Pryderi and Rhiannon.  And he rose up to meet them, and greeted them, and sat down beside them.  “Ah chieftain, set now my wife at liberty,” said the bishop.  “Hast thou not received all thou didst ask?”  “I will release her gladly,” said he.  And thereupon he set her free.

Then he struck her with a magic wand, and she p. 79was changed back into a young woman, the fairest ever seen.

“Look around upon thy land,” said he, “and then thou wilt see it all tilled and peopled, as it was in its best state.”  And he rose up and looked forth.  And when he looked he saw all the lands tilled, and full of herds and dwellings.  “What bondage,” he enquired, “has there been upon Pryderi and Rhiannon?”  “Pryderi has had the knockers of the gate of my palace about his neck, and Rhiannon has had the collars of the asses, after they have been carrying hay, about her neck.”

And such had been their bondage.

And by reason of this bondage is this story called the Mabinogi of Mynnweir and Mynord. [79]

And thus ends this portion of the Mabinogi.

Math the son of Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd, and Pryderi the son of Pwyll was lord over the one and twenty Cantrevs of the South; and these were the seven Cantrevs of Dyved, and the seven Cantrevs p. 81of Morganwc, the four Cantrevs of Ceredigiawn, and the three of Ystrad Tywi.

At that time, Math the son of Mathonwy could not exist unless his feet were in the lap of a maiden, except only when he was prevented by the tumult of war.  Now the maiden who was with him was Goewin, the daughter of Pebin of Dôl Pebin, in Arvon, and she was the fairest maiden of her time who was known there.

And Math dwelt always at Caer Dathyl, in Arvon, and was not able to go the circuit of the land, but Gilvaethwy the son of Don, and Eneyd [81] the son of Don, his nephews, the sons of his sister, with his household, went the circuit of the land in his stead.

Now the maiden was with Math continually, and Gilvaethwy the son of Don set his affections upon her, and loved her so that he knew not what he should do because of her, and therefrom behold his hue, and his aspect, and his spirits changed for love of her, so that it was not easy to know him.

One day his brother Gwydion gazed steadfastly upon him.  “Youth,” said he, “what aileth thee?”  “Why,” replied he, “what seest thou in me?”  “I see,” said he, “that thou hast lost thy aspect and thy hue; what, therefore, aileth thee?”  “My lord, brother,” he answered, “that which aileth me, it will not profit me that I should own to any.”  “What may it be, my soul?” said he.  “Thou knowest,” he said, “that Math the son of Mathonwy has this property, that if men whisper together, in a tone how low soever, if the wind meet it, it becomes known unto him.”  “Yes,” said Gwydyon, “hold now thy peace, I know thy intent, thou lovest Goewin.”

p. 82When he found that his brother knew his intent, he gave the heaviest sigh in the world.  “Be silent, my soul, and sigh not,” he said.  “It is not thereby that thou wilt succeed.  I will cause,” said he, “if it cannot be otherwise, the rising of Gwynedd, and Powys, and Deheubarth, to seek the maiden.  Be thou of glad cheer therefore, and I will compass it.”

So they went unto Math the son of Mathonwy.  “Lord,” said Gwydion, “I have heard that there have come to the South some beasts, such as were never known in this island before.”  “What are they called?” he asked.  “Pigs, lord.”  “And what kind of animals are they?”  “They are small animals, and their flesh is better than the flesh of oxen.”  “They are small then?”  “And they change their names.  Swine are they now called.”  “Who owneth them?”  “Pryderi the son of Pwyll; they were sent him from Annwn, by Arawn the king of Annwn, and still they keep that name, half hog, half pig.”  “Verily,” asked he, “and by what means may they be obtained from him?”  “I will go, lord, as one of twelve in the guise of bards, to seek the swine.”  “But it may