Glasfryn Lake

Glasfryn Lake

Once upon a time, a wizard owned a well in the Llangybi area. The well’s lid had to always be Grasi appearing as a swan secure to prevent the spring from overflowing and flooding the homes in the surrounding area. No one was allowed to fetch water from the wizard’s well in case they forgot to secure the lid after using it. During a period of severe drought, the neighbouring farmers were concerned that there wasn’t enough water to sustain them and their livestock. Grasi’s father went to ask the wizard if he could have some water from the well. The wizard, having thought long and hard about this, decided that the farmers be allowed to use the well, on condition that Grasi protected Location of Glasfryn Lake from the slopes of the Eifl it and made sure that the well’s lid was secure after it had been used.

Grasi was a lazy girl and she wasn’t pleased with her new job. In the beginning, however, Grasi was delighted. She had time to lie on the hillside in the warm sunshine, with nothing to do except secure the lid on the well after it had been used. It was a much better deal than helping her mother to clean the house and wash the dishes.

One day, a friend came to play with Grasi, and they decided to go and pick bilberries, and Location of Glasfryn Lake from the slopes of the Eifl wander further away from the well. After Elin, her friend decided to head for home, Grasi decided to keep on picking bilberries. She started eating the bilberries and kept at it until she was exhausted. She slept soundly on the hillside in the warm sunshine. Forgetting all about the well.

She awoke with a start in the middle of the afternoon: “The well,” she thought, and she ran like the wind through the heather and gorse until she came to a sudden stop. Rubbing her eyes, and slowly filling with dread, she realized that the well was gone. In its stead was a large lake. Grasi sat on the bank in despair and cried.

Suddenly, she felt a cold, bony hand on her shoulder. The wizard had returned. ‘I shall punish you for this you lazy, useless little girl,’ said the wizard, coldly. ‘Since you have no home to go to, you’ll have to spend the rest of your days here, on the lake. Your home is somewhere beneath this lake, so it’s only logical that you should live on the lake, or in it’ he continued, grinning slyly. He raised his bony finger and thought a while: ‘I know,’ he said softly ‘Yes, I shall turn you into a swan, and you can spend the rest of your days here on the lake.’ And so it was that Grasi spent many a year on the lake, swimming alone and aimlessly for the rest of her days. Some say, that even today you can hear wailing coming from deep within Glasfryn Lake from time to time.