A Horse Witched
:
STORIES OF SATAN, GHOSTS, ETC.
Pedws Ffoulk, a supposed witch, was going through a field where people
were employed at work, and just as she came opposite the horse it fell
down, as if it were dead. The workmen ran to the horse to ascertain what
was the matter with it, but Pedws went along, not heeding what had
occurred. This unfeeling conduct on her part roused the suspicion of the
men, and they came to the conclusion that the old woman had witched the
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horse, and that she was the cause of its illness. They, therefore,
determined to run after the woman and bring her back to undo her own evil
work. Off they rushed after her, and forced her back to the field, where
the horse was still lying on the ground. They there compelled the old
creature to say, standing over the horse, these words--Duw arno fo
(God be with him). This she did, and then she was allowed to go on her
way. By and by the horse revived, and got upon his feet, and looked as
well as ever, but this, it was thought, would not have been the case had
not the witch undone her own curse.
In Anglesey, as I was informed by my brother, the late Rev. Elijah Owen,
Vicar of Llangoed, it was believed that witches made void their own
curses of animals by saying over them Rhad Duw ar y da (The Blessing
of God be on the cattle).