Putting Bees In Mourning
: BIRDS AND BEASTS.This is done after a death in a family, and the bees are put into
mourning by tying a piece of black ribbon on a bit of wood, and inserting
it into the hole at the top of the hive.
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Moles
Moles are said to have no eyes. If mole hills move there will be a thaw. By the moving of mole hills is meant bits of earth tumbling off the mound. A labourer in Llanmerewig parish, Montgomeryshire, called my attention to this fact. It was a fr... Music And Bird Singing Heard Before Death
The writer, both in Denbighshire and Carnarvonshire, was told that the dying have stated that they heard sweet voices singing in the air, and they called the attention of the watchers to the angelic sounds, and requested perfect stillness, so as n... Mysterious Removal Of Churches
I. LLANLLECHID CHURCH. There was a tradition extant in the parish of Llanllechid, near Bangor, Carnarvonshire, that it was intended to build a church in a field called Cae'r Capel, not far from Plasuchaf Farm, but it was found the next morni... Names Given To The Fairies
The Fairies have, in Wales, at least three common and distinctive names, as well as others that are not nowadays used. The first and most general name given to the Fairies is Y Tylwyth Teg, or, the Fair Tribe, an expressive and descriptive term. ... Names Of Things Attributed To The Fairies
Many small stone utensils found in the ground, the use, or the origin, of which was unknown to the finders, were formerly attributed to the Fairies. Thus, flint arrow-heads were called elf shots, from the belief that they once belonged to Elves o... Origin Of The Fairies
The Fairy tales that abound in the Principality have much in common with like legends in other countries. This points to a common origin of all such tales. There is a real and unreal, a mythical and a material aspect to Fairy Folk-Lore. The preva... Peacock
The peacock's shrill note is a sign of rain. Its call is supposed to resemble the word gwlaw, the Welsh for rain. ... Pentrevoelas Squire Griffith's Ghost
A couple of workmen engaged at Foelas, the seat of the late Squire Griffiths, thought they would steal a few apples from the orchard for their children, and for this purpose one evening, just before leaving off work, they climbed up a tree, but ha... Pigeon
If the sick asks for a pigeon pie, or the flesh of a pigeon, it is a sign that his death is near. If the feathers of a pigeon be in a bed, the sick cannot die on it. ... Pigs
Pigs used to be credited with the power of seeing the wind. Devils were fond of assuming the form of, or entering into, pigs. Pigs littered in February could not be reared. This I was told by a native of Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire. ... Pont-y-glyn Ghost
There is a picturesque glen between Corwen and Cerrig-y-Drudion, down which rushes a mountain stream, and over this stream is a bridge, called Pont-y-Glyn. On the left hand side, a few yards from the bridge, on the Corwen side, is a yawning chasm... Pullet's Egg Divination
Mr. J. Roberts, Plas Einion, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, told me the following:--When he was a young man, he, his sister, and the servant man, formed a company to find out by divination their future life partners. They procured a pullet's egg, it was ... Putting Bees In Mourning
This is done after a death in a family, and the bees are put into mourning by tying a piece of black ribbon on a bit of wood, and inserting it into the hole at the top of the hive. ... Putting Hens To Sit
Placing the eggs in the nest for hens, geese, and ducks to sit on was considered an important undertaking. This was always done by the lucky member of the family. It was usual to put fowl to sit so as to get the chick out of the egg at the waxin... Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg Or The Ropes Of The Fairies
Professor Rhys, in his Welsh Fairy Tales--Y Cymmrodor vol. v., p. 75--says, that gossamer, which is generally called in North Wales edafedd gwawn, or gwawn yarn, used to be called, according to an informant, Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg, that is to say, ... Rhamanta Or Omen Seeking
Rhamanta was a kind of divination that could be resorted to without the intervention of any outside party, by anyone wishful to ascertain the future with reference to herself or himself. It differed, therefore, from the preceding tales of conjurors... Robin Redbreast
Ill luck is thought to follow the killer of dear Robin Redbreast, the children's winter friend. No one ever shoots Robin, nor do children rob its nest, nor throw stones at it. Bad luck to anyone who does so. The little bird with its wee body en... Rosemary Charm For Toothache
Llosg ei bren (Rhosmari) hyd oni bo yn lo du, ac yna dyro ef mewn cadach lliain cry, ac ira dy ddanedd ag ef; ac fo ladd y pryfed, ac a'u ceidw rhag pob clefyd.--Y Brython, p. 339. Burn a Rosemary bough until it becomes black, and then place it ... Satan And Bell Ringing
Durand, according to Bourne, in his Antiquities of the Common People, ed. 1725, p. 17, was of opinion that Devils were much afraid of bells, and fled away at the sound of them. Formerly, in all parts of Wales, the passing bell was tolled for the ... Satan And Churches
The traditional stories that are still extant respecting the determined opposition to the erection of certain churches in particular spots, and the removal of the materials during the night to some other site, where ultimately the new edifice was ... Satan Appearing As A Lovely Maiden
The following story I received from the Rev. Owen Jones, Pentrevoelas. As regards details it is a fragment. A young man who was walking from Dyserth to Rhyl was overtaken by a lovely young lady dressed in white. She invited conversation, and th... Satan Appearing In Many Forms To A Man Who Travelled On Sunday
I received the following tale from my deceased friend, the Rev. J. L. Davies, late Rector of Llangynog, near Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, and he obtained it from William Davies, the man who figures in the story. As a preface to the tale, it shou... Satan Appearing To A Collier
John Roberts of Colliers' Row, Cyfartha, Merthyr, was once going to Aberdare over the mountain. On the top of the hill he was met by a handsome gentleman, who wore a three-cocked hat, a red waistcoat, and a blue coat. The appearance of this well... Satan Appearing To A Young Man
A young man, who had left Pentrevoelas to live in a farm house called Hafod Elwy, had to go over the hills to Denbigh on business. He started very early, before the cock crew, and as it was winter, his journey over the bleak moorlands was dismal ...