A Cruel Man And A Fairy Dog
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FAIRY MONEY TURNEN TO DROSS.
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Welsh Folk-lore
The person from whom the following tale was derived was David Roberts,
Tycerrig, Clocaenog, near Ruthin.
A Fairy dog lost its master and wandered about here and there seeking
him. A farmer saw the dog, and took it home with him, but he behaved
very unkindly towards the wee thing, and gave it little to eat, and
shouted at it, and altogether he showed a hard heart. One evening a
little old man called at t
is farmer's house, and inquired if any stray
dog was there. He gave a few particulars respecting the dog, and
mentioned the day that it had been lost. The farmer answered in the
affirmative, and the stranger said that the dog was his, and asked the
farmer to give it up to him. This the farmer willingly did, for he
placed no value on the dog. The little man was very glad to get
possession of his lost dog, and on departing he placed a well filled
purse in the farmer's hand. Some time afterwards the farmer looked into
the purse, intending to take a coin out of it, when to his surprise and
annoyance he found therein nothing but leaves.
Roberts told the writer that the farmer got what he deserved, for he had
been very cruel to the wee dog.
Another tale much like the preceding one, I have heard, but I have
forgotten the source of the information. A person discovered a lost
Fairy dog wandering about, and took it home, but he did not nurse the
half-starved animal, nor did he nourish it. After a while some of the
Fairy folk called on this person to inquire after their lost dog, and he
gave it to them. They rewarded this man for his kindness with a pot
filled with money and then departed. On further inspection, the money
was found to be cockle shells.
Such lessons as these taught by the Fairies were not without their effect
on people who lived in days gone by.