Week 13 Story: Lori, Greg, and the Devil Himself

A canyon. (Flickr)

Two travellers, Lori and Greg, once came to a massive canyon while on a lengthy expedition. It was clear that they needed to cross the canyon, but neither knew how it might be done. The two argued for some time, and Lori became annoyed with Greg before long.

She exclaimed, “Oh, just hush. Why don’t you go hunt for our dinner while I consider this predicament.”

As Greg stormed off, Lori sat at the canyon’s edge and quietly cursed her companion. He never seemed to do anything but argue and whine. He was a very poor hunter, and in truth Lori had sent him away just to get some quiet. Still, the problem of crossing the canyon remained.

Lori heard footsteps behind her and thought it must be Greg on his return. She turned around to ask why he had returned so soon, and saw instead that it was a stranger in monk’s robes. Lori was very observant, and immediately recognized that he was the devil in disguise.

He spoke, “Hello, traveller! How goes it?”

Lori figured that it didn’t hurt to be honest. “It goes well enough, but I can’t think of how I might cross this canyon.”

The devil’s eyes lit up. “As a matter of fact, I am the world’s fastest brick mason! I would love to build you a bridge, but as a fee I’ll have to claim the first creature that crosses it.”

Lori knew that the devil would try to steal her soul if she crossed the bridge, but agreed anyways. The disguised swindler set to work immediately, and the bridge was finished just as Greg returned empty-handed from his hunt.
Lori rolled her eyes at Greg, but introduced him to the bridge builder. “This kind man built us a bridge! Since you’re so light without any game to weigh you down, maybe you should try crossing first.”

Greg did so indignantly, and no sooner did he reach the other side than did the devil snatch him up and take him to hell. Lori whistled as she crossed the bridge and continued on her way.



Author’s note: This story is based on the Welsh myth of “The Devil’s Bridge”. The legend has it that there once was a woman who was separated from her cow by a river. The Devil, disguised as a monk, built her a bridge in exchange for the first living thing to cross. The Devil expected her to cross the bridge without thinking, but she tricked him by sending her dog across. In my story, the woman is a bit more mischievous and sends her travelling companion to hell in exchange for safe passage.

Bibliography. The Welsh Fairy Book by Jenkyn Thomas. Web Link.

Reading Notes: Welsh Fairy Book (Part B)

The story "The Bride from the Red Lake" followed a structure that I've seen in almost every culture's myths that we've explored. Someone is warned not to do a thing, and then they go and do it; usually out of carelessness. This time around there was a bit of humor to it, whether intentional or not. "Don't pelt your wife with clay" seems like an easy enough rule to stick to.

Something that I noticed in both Part A and Part B of this week's reading is that most of these stories focus on illusion in some way. Much of the plot is driven by things appearing as they're not, and it seems that illusion is the most common type of magic. supernatural beings appear as people, shells are made to look like money, and whole buildings are obscured from view.

Devil's Bridge, which makes an appearance in one myth. (Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography. The Welsh Fairy Book by Jenkyn Thomas. Web Link.

Reading Notes: Welsh Fairy Book (Part A)

The Flag of Wales, featuring the red dragon from one of the myths. (Wikipedia)

One thing that stuck out to me about The Welsh Fairy Book is the dry humor throughout. Examples are found in the barber looking out for his "cervical vertebrae", or the note that dancing with the devil "might not be the most direct route to Paradise." I think that these might have been flourishes of the translator.

A consistent theme in these stories was the focus on prophecy. Many of the stories come down to "There was a foretelling that something would happen, then it totally did." Another common theme was the presence of fairies. It seems from these stories that Welsh fairies are almost human, but exceedingly beautiful, wealthy, and magical.

Bibliography. The Welsh Fairy Book by Jenkyn Thomas. Web Link.

Tech Tip: Embedded Youtube Video

Below, I've (hopefully) managed to embed a Youtube video for this week's Tech Tip. I chose a video that I found recently and that made me laugh, so I hope you enjoy!