Owen, a servant in the castle of St. Fagans, was granted his free
day for the month on a beautiful, spring day. He knew exactly what he was going
to do. His love, a milkmaid in Dol Y Clochydd was waiting for his arrival. They
planned to spend the afternoon and evening together.
As Owen set out towards his lover’s
village through the woods, he noticed a small bird lying limp at the edge of
the Llyn Cynnwch lake. Owen walked up to the bird to see what was wrong. He
knew he could take the bird to his love, Siwsi. He knew she loved to care for
small animals. He reached down to examine the bird more closely. As he reached
his hands down to hold the bird, it unfolded its wings and flew off. This action
surprised Owen and he stumbled back, tripped on a boulder and fell into the
lake. Owen splashed around trying to swim up to the light, but felt heavier
and heavier as he sunk lower and lower.
 |
| The Lake in the Forest |
Eventually, his lack of breath turned into a crisp deep inhalation of
Wales's finest air. He inhaled deep down into his lungs, although he was surrounded
by crystal clear water. He had never felt more at peace. He opened his eyes
wider to see a light illuminating the bottom of the lake. What he saw, he could
never describe again. At the bottom of a quiet lake, lay a beautiful village
with plentiful green fields and flower patches of lavender and sunflowers.
"Why, hello there Owen. I see you've
taken a slight fall. You are welcome. Our village is beautiful and it is rare
to have visitors," said the man.
Owen wanted to stay here forever, but he
could hear Siwsi calling his name. He was ready to leave such beauty to be in
the arms of his one true beauty.
"Sir, this is a lovely village and I
wish I could stay longer, but my love is at her home in Dol y Clochydd. Could
you point me in the right direction?" Owen asked the Man.
The short man gave his directions and Owen
went on his way. He was running a little late, due to the slight detour, but
would make it in time for dinner. He came upon the hearthstone of Dol y
Clochchydd and walked a few more paces to Siwsi's house. He opened the door and
playfully whispered her name. He did not hear a reply, so he walked further
into the house and saw Siwsi next to the fireplace weeping.
 |
| Siwsi's House |
"Siwsi, why are you crying? Please tell me what is wrong so that I may fix it," Owen pleaded with her.
Siwsi jumped, examined his seemingly
unfamiliar face and embraced him in the most comforting huge he had ever
experienced.
"Oh, Owen. I thought I would never see you again!" Siwsi said as she kissed his face all over.
Owen explained what had happened to him
and the underwater village, which was why he was late. Apparently, late didn't
even touch on how long Owen had been away. To Owen it had felt like he had been
gone a few hours, but to Siwsi and the rest of the village, it had been two
months.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really love reading the stories from the Welsh
Fairy Tale Unit. My family history is grounded in Wales and that is
something that I wanted to explore more this week. I wanted to keep the story
relatively similar because I love the magic and mystery within the tale. I add a
few more descriptions here and there. I kept the traditional Welsh names as
well as the location because I think they are very descriptive and incorporate
a very “Welsh-like” tone. I knew I wanted to strengthen the love and
relationship between Owen and Siwsi because he must love her if he leaves the
lush paradise of the underwater village. I’ve certainty built a more romantic
relationship between Owen and Siwsi. I think that adds a little more emotion to
the story, as well as elevate the sadness of the time they actually spent
apart.
I really liked writing this story! I was so easy to write and I
really enjoyed creating a more backstory to the characters. I believe the more
description you have, the more interesting the story becomes. This helps
capture your audience and keep them reading until the end! I hope you like this
wonderful Welsh Tale!
I hope you enjoyed read! I enjoyed writing this story!
Bibliography: Welsh Fairy Book by W. Jenkyn Thomas (Illustrations by Willy Pogány) 1908
Web Source.
I read the same story you did earlier in the semester as an extra reading and I loved the original story so I liked how you kept the same general idea but added some detail. The flow to your story was great but I noticed I kept rushing forward because i knew how the story ended and I was wondering if you kept it the same. That was my fault though :) I went back and read it slower a second time :)
ReplyDeleteHey Colleen!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed you story. It was really entertaining and interesting. It kind of reminded me of the city of Atlantis. Like the village that was on the bottom of the ocean, the city of Atlantis was on the bottom of the ocean. The only thing I noticed about your story was that in the third paragraph you used "piece" when I think you meant "peace."
Hello Colleen,
ReplyDeleteYou have a great week 12 story! The story kept my attention because it was very entertaining. You had a few words that were misspelled. The paragraph spacing seemed to be a little off. I could be wrong because you did it on purpose. Anyways, great story here!
Hey Colleen!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have already commented on your introduction, so here I am. This story caught my attention from the beginning because of the title. I thought to myself, "Who is own? What is his trip about?" Nice job on that. I thought that your sentences really flowed nicely and your paragraphs were organized well. I liked that you chose to include dialogue in the story because it helped me get to know the characters. Nice. Good job overall.