More E-texts

More E-texts The Welsh Fairy Book • Preface - The Welsh Fairy Book • Notes on Welsh Prounciation • The Lady of the Lake • Arthur in the Cave • The Curse of Pantannas • The Drowning of the Bottom Hundred • Elidyr's Sojurn in Fairy-Land • Lowri Dafydd Earns a Purse of Gold • The Llanfabon Changeling • Why the Red Dragon is the Emblem of Wales • Llyn Cwm Llwch • The Adventures of Three Farmers • Cadwaladr and His Goat • The Fairy Wife • Einion and the Lady of the Greenwood • The Green Isles of the Ocean • March's Ears • The Fairy Harp • Guto Bach and the Fairies • Ianto's Chase • The Stray Cow • Bala Lake • The Forbidden Fountain • Tudor Ap Einion • Fairy Walking Stick • Dick the Fiddler's Money • A Strange Otter • Fairy Ointment • Pergrin and the Mermaiden • The Cave of the Young Men of Snowdonia • Einion and the Fair Family • St Collen and the King of the Fairy • Helig's Hollow • Owen Goes A-Wooing • The Fairy Reward • Why Deunant has the Front Door in the Back • Getting Rid of the Fairies • The Mantle of Kings' Beards • Pedws Ffowk and St Elian's Well • Magic Music • Sili go Dwt • Another Changeling • A Fairy Borrowing • Treasure Seeking • The Richest Man • St Beuno and the Curlew • The Cat Witches • The Swallowed Court • What Marged Rolant Saw • Ned Puw's Farewell • Pennard Castle • The Man with the Green Weeds • Goronwy Tudor and the Witches of Llanddona • Robin's Return • The Harper's Gratuity • Six and Four are Ten • Envy Burns Itself • The Bride from the Red Lake • A Fairy Dog • Grace's Well • The Fairy Password • St Winifred's Well • Ancients of the World • Nansi Llywd and the Dog of Darkness • An Adventure in the Big Bog • The Pwca of the Trwyn • John Gethin and the Candle • Fetching a Halter • Dai Sion's Homecoming • Melangell's Lambs • Syfaddon Lake • The Power of St Tegla's Well • The Men of Ardudwy • The Parti-Coloured Cow • Striking a Corpse Candle • Hu Gadarn • The Devil's Bridge • The Martyred Hound • Twm of the Fair Lies • Black Robin • Llyn Llech Owen • A Ghostly Rehersal • A Phantom Funeral • Why the Robin's Breast is Red   Join the Discussion "What is your favorite scary tale?" Join the Forum Discussion...     Related Resources • Edgar Allan Poe • Book Reviews

A Strange Otter

ONE day two friends went to hunt otters on the banks of the Pennant, in Merionethshire. When they were yet some distance from the river they saw some small creature of a red colour, running fast across the meadows in the direction of the stream. Off they ran after it, but before they could catch it the little animal hid itself beneath the roots of a tree, on the brink of a river. The two men thought it was an otter, but at the same time they could not understand why it was red. They thought they would like to catch such an extraordinary specimen alive, and one of them said to the other, "You go home to get a sack, while I watch." Now, there were two hole under the roots of the tree, and while one held the sack with its mouth open over one of them, the other pushed his stick into the other hole. Presently the creature went into the sack, and the two men set out for home, thinking they had achieved a great feat. Before they had proceeded the width of one field the inmate of the sack spoke in a sad voice, and said: "My mother is calling for me: oh, my mother is calling for me!" This gave the two hunters a great fright, and they at once threw down the sack. Great was their surprise when they saw a little man in a red dress running out of the sack towards the water. He disappeared from their sight in the bushes by the river. The two men were greatly terrified, and felt that it was more prudent to go home than meddle any further with the Fair Family.