The Faeries In the Lake
Huw didn’t go to school like the other boys his age. His lessons came from the land.
Huw didn’t fight or roughhouse like the lads at the tavern. He played the harp, and beautifully so.
Nor did Huw know that faeries weren’t always meddlesome; they could also be helpful.
He eventually found out, as all country folk do.
This is his story.
***
A long time ago, a woman and her son lived in a modest cottage somewhere in the Welsh countryside. Their life wasn’t easy, but young Huw and his mother always got by. Every day, while his mother cared for the garden, Huw walked their small herd of black and white heifers up the nearby mountain.
Like always, the cows grazed in the meadow and drank from the nearby lake while Huw played his harp. However, on this day, something remarkable happened:
As the harp’s melody danced through the air and rippled across the lake, six silver cows emerged from the water. They encircled the boy, who, despite his shock, was still plucking away at the strings.
Unlike the other cows, these ones weren’t interested in eating or drinking.
They were mesmerized by the music.
Huw was flattered by the attention and happily played song after song for his new audience. He played through lunch, the remainder of the afternoon, and only as the sun began its evening descent was Huw forced to round up his cows and head home. Even though the boy had tucked away his harp for the night, the silver cows followed.
Huw’s mother was amazed when she saw the larger herd. And when she milked the silver heifers and they produced twice as much milk as the others, she was over the moon.
She warned Huw that no matter what, he was to take special care of the six silver cows.
Which was a silly thing to say because Huw loved all his animals the same. Whether they were born from this world or the faerie realm made no difference to him.
But Huw simply nodded and continued on as usual. Each day, he walked the herd up the mountainside. When they arrived in the meadow, he’d take out his harp and the silver cows would sit and listen for as long as he played.
Because (in case you haven’t noticed) music and magick go hand in hand.
Which is why, dear reader, this next part is so sad…
A few weeks after the six silver cows stepped foot on land, their udders dried up and they stopped producing milk.
And even though they’d been kindest, gentlest, most generous milkers the village had ever seen, Huw’s mother now acted like the cows were a burden.
The boy defended his herd, reminding his mother that he’d never seen the cows eat, so why not let them live with the others?
Alas, no matter how much Huw argued, his mother wouldn’t listen. She told him that by the next full moon, any cow that refused to give milk would go to slaughter.
So for the next three days, while the black and white cows grazed in the meadow, Huw plucked his harp strings, haunted by his mother’s words. The silver cows sat next to him, of course, mesmerized by his sad, melancholic tunes.
On that third evening, with the cows still refusing to give milk, Huw began to cry. His tears soaked the harp strings, and in a moment of desperation, he threw his beloved instrument into the lake.
The silver cows peered into the water, no doubt trying to locate the harp. And to his utter amazement, one by one, the silver cows dove into the water.
They never resurfaced.
When Huw returned home and told his mother what had happened, she accused him of lying. She made him take her up the mountain so she could see this mysterious lake for herself.
Not surprisingly, Huw and his mother never located the silver cows. While the woman ranted about faeries and curses, Huw stood at the lake’s edge and prayed for a sign that his darlings were alright.
In response, six flowers emerged from the watery abyss.
Today, we call them water lilies.
This retelling was adapted from the Welsh folktale “How Water Lilies Began.”
Waxing Moon Ritual // Prosperity + Abundance Kit
$ 9.50
The period of the waxing moon is the best time to perform rituals relating to prosperity and abundance, as this is the time the moon is growing from new to full. Use the increasing energy of the moon to increase… read more
