The Groac'h of the Isle of Lok
Encyclopedia
The Groac'h of the Isle of Lok is a Breton fairy tale
collected by Émile Souvestre
in Le Foyer Breton. Andrew Lang
included it in The Lilac Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it in A Book of Mermaids
.
He walked until he heard of the Groac'h of the island of Lok, a rich fairy
; no one had gone after her treasure and ever come back. He hired a boatman to carry him to the lake. There he found a boat like a swan, even to having its head under its wing. He stepped on it to see it more clearly, and it swam off with him. He prepared to jump off and swim, but it dived and carried him to the lake bottom, where the Groac'h had her palace. She assured him that he was welcome and told him all her wealth came from shipwrecks. She offered to share it if he would marry her, and he agreed, forgetting Bellah.
After the marriage, she summoned fish into a net, and put them in a pot. He heard cries from it, and when she served him the fish, he remembered Bellah and pulled out the knife. It turned
the fish into men. They told him that they, too, had sought their fortune here. He tried to flee, but the Groac'h caught him in her net and turned him into a frog.
The bell rang, and Bellah heard it. She took her stick, and it turned into a horse, and then into a bird that carried her to a nest, where a little black man was. He told her that he was the Groac'h's husband, and that she could free him by freeing Houarn. To do that, she must dress
as a man, go to the Groac'h, and get her net. He turned four of his own hairs into tailors to make her a suit out of a cabbage. She went to the Groac's, who soon asked her to marry her. Bellah agreed, if the Groac'h would let her use the net to catch a fish in the fishpond. When she got it, she instead turned the Groac'h into a toad with it. With the knife, she freed Houarn and all the others. The little man arrived and gave Bellah and Houarn as much treasure as they could carry. They married, but instead of the little farm, they were able to buy many acres of land, and give all the men freed from the Groac'h money enough to buy little farms of their own.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by Émile Souvestre
Émile Souvestre
Émile Souvestre was a French novelist who was a native of Morlaix, Finistère.He was the son of a civil engineer and was educated at the college of Pontivy, with the intention of following his father's career by entering the Polytechnic School...
in Le Foyer Breton. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Lilac Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
included it in A Book of Mermaids
A Book of Mermaids
A Book of Mermaids is a 1968 anthology of 16 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long and notable series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders, who was perhaps the pre-eminent collector of fairy tales in the latter half of...
.
Synopsis
Two cousins, a young man named Houarn Pogamm and a girl called Bellah Postik, grew up together, and their mothers thought they would marry, but when they came of age, their mothers died, and being penniless, they both had to become servants. They lamented their poverty, dreaming of a little farm where they could live, until Houarn decided to go seek his fortune. Bellah gave him a bell that could be heard at any distance, but only rang to warn of danger, and a knife that broke spells with its touch. She kept a stick that could carry a person anywhere, so it could carry her to him in need.He walked until he heard of the Groac'h of the island of Lok, a rich fairy
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
; no one had gone after her treasure and ever come back. He hired a boatman to carry him to the lake. There he found a boat like a swan, even to having its head under its wing. He stepped on it to see it more clearly, and it swam off with him. He prepared to jump off and swim, but it dived and carried him to the lake bottom, where the Groac'h had her palace. She assured him that he was welcome and told him all her wealth came from shipwrecks. She offered to share it if he would marry her, and he agreed, forgetting Bellah.
After the marriage, she summoned fish into a net, and put them in a pot. He heard cries from it, and when she served him the fish, he remembered Bellah and pulled out the knife. It turned
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
the fish into men. They told him that they, too, had sought their fortune here. He tried to flee, but the Groac'h caught him in her net and turned him into a frog.
The bell rang, and Bellah heard it. She took her stick, and it turned into a horse, and then into a bird that carried her to a nest, where a little black man was. He told her that he was the Groac'h's husband, and that she could free him by freeing Houarn. To do that, she must dress
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
as a man, go to the Groac'h, and get her net. He turned four of his own hairs into tailors to make her a suit out of a cabbage. She went to the Groac's, who soon asked her to marry her. Bellah agreed, if the Groac'h would let her use the net to catch a fish in the fishpond. When she got it, she instead turned the Groac'h into a toad with it. With the knife, she freed Houarn and all the others. The little man arrived and gave Bellah and Houarn as much treasure as they could carry. They married, but instead of the little farm, they were able to buy many acres of land, and give all the men freed from the Groac'h money enough to buy little farms of their own.