Mythology and Folklore MLLL 3046

Image on  Public Domain Pictures When Anwyn was a little girl in the Welsh countryside, she was often bullied at school for being small. Most nights, she went home at night and cried alone in her bed. One night, she heard what sounded like faint footsteps next to her. When she looked at the ground, she saw a number of little fairies dancing in a circle. When Anwyn spotted them, the queen fairy flew up to her and wiped a tear off of her cheek. “Now, why are you crying, love? We were out in the garden dancing among the mushrooms and we heard your wailing.” Anwyn had heard tales of fairies, but was s urprised that they would bother coming to comfort her. “Well, ma’am, I’ve been picked on a lot at school. The other girls say I’m small, and sometimes they push me down for fun because I’m weak.” The queen fairy’s eyes gleamed. “Ah, I see. Well, you won’t need to worry about that anymore. I’m sure that you will grow into a big, strong girl...

Image on  Flickr For this week, I read the Welsh (Emerson) unit. I chose this unit because I have always wanted to travel Europe, and I know that I have some Celtic ancestry. Many of these tales were about fairies, and I realized that fairies were much more vengeful mythological creatures than I had thought. In the tale The Fairies of Caragonan , the main character is the queen fairy, although there are many important characters. Something that I liked about this tale was that it displays how fairies can use their powers for good or for revenge. Also, the story was very detailed. For example, we learn a little about the lives of two men that the fairies have helped, as well as one of their sons. The rest of the story then becomes about how this son helps the fairies kill an evil witch (who they casually chuck into a ditch and burn) and how the son is then rewarded with a beautiful wife. It’s a “happily ever after” tale. I also liked Three Sho...