> From: dai berry [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
> The problem is I do not know the reasons why they quarrelled. A similar
> story exists in Wales where a brother and sister change into various
> animals
> during a chase, before the sister finally devours her brother who turned
> into a grain of wheat and it goes on from there.
>
Are you referring to the story of Gwion Bach and Cerridwen? They are
not actually brother and sister. He is her servant, and she is brewing a
powerful potion that will give her misshapen son access to the wisdom of the
Otherworld. Gwion Bach accidentally imbibes the potion and receives the
wisdom. He thenj tries to escape the wrath of Cerridwen by changing form,
but she keeps changing to forms that are superior to his. When he turns into
a grain of wheat, she becomes a hen, eats him, and gives birth to him as a
baby. She then sews him into a sack and throws it into the water. But some
tales say that he is rescued and grows up to be the great poet, Taliesin.
> Another thing I forgot to add was that the wells are in an area that was
> dominated by mining. The commencement of excavation may have upset the
> geological and minerological balance and polluted/discoloured the old
> wells
> etc.
>
But did the residents of the villages/towns see that connection?
Francine Nicholson
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