Saturday, June 21, 2014

MIDSUMMER CORGI MAGIC


 
The Fairy Saddle

Long, long ago in the days of yore,
It might've been sooner, or not before,
Along a mountain track there came,
A gallant Corgi of quite some fame.
And there beside the track he spied
A maiden fair, who to him cried,
"Oh kindly Corgi, here my plea;
I've fallen off my horse you see.
And so before you further roam
Would you, please sir, take me home?"
So said the Corgi, "I do confess;
How could I leave you in distress?
So climb upon my back fair maid
I'll take you home as you have bade."
And so the Corgi started forth;
"My home's a castle to the north."
They journeyed there, and at her door
She cried, "I should have said before,
I'm a fairy princess sir, you see,
And for you kindness to me,
I'll leave upon your back
All traces of the fairy tack."
And till this day you still can find
The fairy's saddle to remind,
How the Corgi helped the princess fair,
And just as well for You will care.
~Anonymous
 
The Corgi Legend
By Anne Biddlecombe
Would you know where corgis came from?
How they came to live with mortals?
On the mountains of the Welsh-land in its green and pleasant valleys, Lived the peasant folk of old times,
Lived our fathers and grandfathers;
And they toiled and laboured greatly with their cattle and their Ploughing, that their women might have plenty.
And their children journeyed daily with the kine upon the mountain, Seeing that they did not wander,
Did not come to any mischief,
While their fathers ploughed the valley and their mothers made the cheeses.

'Til one day they found two puppies
Found them playing in a hollow, playing like a pair of fox-cubs.
Burnished gold their coat and colour,
Shining like a piece of satin -
Short and straight and thick their fore-legs, and their heads like a fox's
But their eyes were kind and gentle;
Long of body these dwarf-dogs and without a tail behind them.

Now the children stayed all day there,
And they learned to love the dwarf-dogs, shared their bread and water with them, took them home with them even.
Made a cosy basket for them,
Made them welcome in the kitchen,
Made them welcome in the homestead.

When the men came home at sunset, saw them lying in the basket,
Heard the tale the children told them, how they found them on the mountain, found them playing in the hollow -
They were filled with joy and wonder and said it was a fairy present,
Was a present from the wee folk, for their fathers told a legend
How the fairies kept some dwarf-dogs.
Called them Corgis - Fairy heelers:
Made them work the fairy cattle, Made them pull the fairy coaches,
Made them steends for fairy riders,
Made them fairy children's playmates;
Kept them hidden in the mountains,
Kept them hidden in the mountains shadow,
Lest the eye of mortal see one.

Now the Corgis grew and prospered,
And the fairies' life was in them, in the lightness of their movement,
In the quickness of their turning,
In their badness and their goodness.
And they learnt to work for mortals,
Learnt to love their mortal masters,
Learnt to work their masters' cattle,
Learnt to play with mortal children.

Now in every vale and hamlet, in the valleys and the mountains,
From the little town of Tenby, by the Port of Milford Haven,
To St. David's Head and Fishguard, in the valley of the Cleddau,
On the mountains of Preselly,
Lives the Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgi,
Lives the Corgi with his master.

Should you doubt this ancient story,
Laugh and scoff and call it nonsense, look and see the saddle markings where the fairy warriors rode them (As they ride them still at midnight, on Midsummer's Eve at midnight,
When the mortals are all sleeping! )
 
 
 
 
(Note:  Images used in this post came from the internet without specific credits there.  Namasté respectfully honors those who produced the images and will certainly credit the artists if anyone can identify them for us.)
 
 
If one has lived with corgis, then he/she recognizes a very magical quality about them. Incredibly intelligent, they are loyal to family and home, and their voices project in the mind of those humans they love as if they were speaking aloud.  I'm sure that could be said of any dog, but I do believe the corgis' protective nature and playful spirit comes from their connection with and love of the fairies.  One only need watch MerryBelle in the woods as she ventures from tree to tree and stands quietly at each, as if in conversation with the Little Ones. She's always in sentry mode, aware of anything that encroaches. She is the guardian of our home, of the fields, and of the woods - anywhere the fairies dwell. 
 
 
 
   Mac's fairy saddle changes color with the seasons - in summer, it sheds to white while in the winter, it takes on a deep reddish-brown hue. He reaches deep relaxation when I massage his shoulders / upper back, for it is there where the fairies saddle him for a ride around the woods.
I'd imagine his stockiness and soft coat lend for a comfy ride for the fairy folk.  Whether or not he takes to the reins is up for speculation! He's famous for going in the direction he chooses regardless of commands.
 
 
 
Appropriately, at 6:35 AM this morning, Mac woke me and insisted I get up and go out doors with him.  The magic of the Midsummer moment stirred him to greet the day. MerryBelle followed close behind and stopped at the base of the side yard chestnut trees to greet the little folk.  Both paying homage to their ancestry...both feeling the energy of Summer Solstice....both ready to hang with the fairies.
 






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