Llyn Barfog
THE LEGEND OF THE LAKE (Llyn Barfog)
Once, a poor farmer and his family lived at a farm not far from the lake. One day, a very old lady called at the farm begging for food and although the cupboard was practically bare the farmer’s wife offered to share what they had with her. On leaving, the old woman thanked them for the meal and promised from that day forward the farm would prosper. That evening, the farmer found a milk-white cow grazing with the others. The white cow followed the farmer’s herd to the milking shed and was milked with the others. Her milk was rich and foamy and she yielded as much in one day as all the others in a week. Things began to improve for the farmer and before long he was a rich man.
The farmer, however, became greedy. When he realised that the white cow was growing old he decided to fatten her up for the butcher. The day of the slaughter arrived and all the neighbours gathered to see the kill. The farmer raised his axe to strike the fatal blow but, suddenly, his arm was paralysed. There followed a terrible cry and lo, on a rock above the lake stood a woman dressed in green with her arms raised. It was one of the Elfin dames come to reclaim her white cow.
As soon as the cow heard the cry she ran towards the lake, plunged in and disappeared for ever. The farmer never prospered again and soon he was as poor as he had been before.
