The Corwrion Version

: FAIRY MOTHERS AND HUMAN MIDWIVES.

One of the Fairies came to a midwife who lived at Corwrion and asked her

to come with him and attend on his wife. Off she went with him, and she

was astonished to be taken into a splendid palace. There she continued

to go night and morning to dress the baby for some time, until one day

the husband asked her to rub her eyes with a certain ointment he offered

her. She did so and found herself sitting on a tuft of rushes, and not
/>
in a palace. There was no baby, and all had disappeared. Some time

afterwards she happened to go to the town, and whom should she see busily

buying various wares but the Fairy on whose wife she had been attending.

She addressed him with the question, How are you, to-day? Instead of

answering her he asked, How do you see me? With my eyes, was the

prompt reply. Which eye? he asked. This one, said she, pointing to

it; and instantly he disappeared, never more to be seen by her.



There is yet one other variant of this story which I will give, and for

the sake of reference I will call it the Nanhwynan version. It appears

in the Brython, vol. ix., p. 251, and Professor Rhys has rendered it

into English in Y Cymmrodor, vol. ix., p. 70. I will give the tale as

related by the Professor.



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