THE GROAC'H OF LOK ISLAND
The Swan
Source
Houarn uttered an exclamation of fear, but the swan moved faster towards the middle of the pond. Houarn wanted to swim; then the bird stuck its beak into the waters and dove, taking him with it.
The young Léonard (inhabitant of Léon), who could not shout without drinking the bad water from the pond, was forced to remain silent and thus reached the home of the Groac'h.
It was a palace made of shells that surpassed anything one could imagine. You reached it by a crystal staircase made in such a way that, when you set foot on it, each step sang like a bird of the woods! All around, you saw immense gardens where forests of marine plants grew and lawns of green algae all dotted with diamonds instead of flowers.
The Groac’h was lying in the first room, on a bed of gold. She was dressed in sea green cloth, fine and supple like a wave; her black hair, intertwined with coral, fell to her feet, and her white and pink face resembled, in brightness, the inside of a shell.
Houarn stopped, completely dazzled to see such a beautiful creature; but the Groac’h got up, smiling, and walked towards him.
Her gait was so supple that it looked like one of the white waves running on the sea. She greeted the young Léonard.
“You are welcome, she said, beckoning him to enter; there is always room here for foreigners and pretty boys."
The reassured young man entered.
"Who are you, where are you from and what are you looking for?", added the Groac’h.
“My name is me Houarn,” replied the Léonard. I come from Lannilis and am looking for money to buy a small cow and a lean pig."
"Well! Come, Houarn, replied the fairy, and worry no more about anything, for you will have everything that can delight you."
She took him into a second room lined with pearls, where she served him eight kinds of wine, in eight carved silver goblets. Houarn first drank from the eight wines, then he found them so good that he drank eight times from each, and, with each drink, he found the Groac'h more beautiful.
She encouraged him by telling him that he should not be afraid of ruining her since the pond on the island of Lok communicated with the sea and that all the riches swallowed up by the shipwrecks were brought there by a magical current.
"On my soul, said Houarn, whom the wine had made cheerful, I am no longer surprised if the people of the coast speak badly of you; people who are so rich always make other people jealous. As for me, I would only ask for half your fortune.
“You will have it if you want, Houarn,” said the fairy.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
“I am the widow of my husband, a korandon (a Breton gnome), she continued, and if you find me to your liking, I will become your wife."
The Léonard was completely struck by what he heard. Him, to marry the Groac'h who seemed so beautiful to him, whose palace was so rich, and who had eight kinds of wine that she allowed to drink at his discretion!... He had, in truth, promised Bellah to marry her; but men easily forget these kinds of promises: they are, in this matter, like women.
He therefore politely replied to the fairy that he was not made to be refused, and that there was joy and honor in becoming her husband.
La Groa’ch cried out as she wanted to prepare the engagement’s meal immediately. She set up a table which she covered with all the best that the Léonard knew (besides many things he did not know); then she went to a small pond which was at the bottom of the garden, and she began to call:
"Hey! the prosecutor! hey! the miller! hey! the tailor! hey! the cantor!"
Source: La Groac’h de l’Île du Lok from the French book Contes et légendes de Basse-Bretagne published in 1891.
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
Houarn arrives at the palace of the Groac'h who received him with enthusiasm.
He is dazzled by the fairy who seduces him and makes him drunk. And Houarn falls into her trap and agrees to marry the Groac'h. This is not good.
I like this sentence: "Men easily forget these kinds of promises: they are, in this matter, like women."
I usually read as many novels as non-fiction books, but currently, I am reading two non-fiction English books
The first one is The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber and David Wengrow, published in 2021.
David Graeber was an anthropologist (he died in 2020) and David Wengrow is an archaeologist.
Their book is about revising the accepted wisdom about early humans, before written history, using the research old and new. I have read 20% of the book, and I find it very interesting.
The second book is The Measure of All Things, by Ken Alder, published in 2002.
This is the story of the expedition during the French Revolution to measure as precisely as possible the circumference of the earth. The result of this expedition was the definition of the meter and the creation of the metric system. The expedition was led by two scientists: Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre Méchain.
The book is written like a novel, as the story is so fascinating and improbable in France at this time (1992-1999). I have just started to read it and I know I will enjoy it very much.
-- Vincent Celier