For this weeks extra reading I read the second half of the Welsh (Emerson) Unit. It was boring at first, but picked up nicely. Most of the stories had no point or meaning, but was just a quick story, but there were a couple that I liked.
Billy Duffy and the Devil
In Billy Duffy and the Devil, Billy is a local blacksmith who seems to be the town drunk. One day when he had ran out of money for a drink, Billy said that he would sell his soul for more drink. Of course, a devil showed up and said he would pay for his soul and would come collect in seven years. Billy was always partying and people would show up at his house randomly. One day a hermit showed up and visited a few times so he gave Billy three wishes. Billy wished for his hammer to keep hammering when used, his purse to never let anything go, and his armchair to hold whoever sat in it. After the first seven years, Billy tricked the devil with the hammer. The second seven years, Billy tricked the devil with the purse. The third seven years, Billy tricked the devil with the chair and bargained for the rest of his life in exchange for the devil to be let go. When Billy died, he went to hell and they wanted no part of him. He then went to heaven but they wouldn't let him in because he was a bad man, so he went back to earth and turned into a will-o-the-wisp.
Mermen. Russian lubok. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The Fishermen of Shetland
This story is almost like a bad joke. A merman, a witch, and a dwarf walk into a bar... In the story two fisherman brothers are trying to date the rich girls in town. The merman got a belt from a fairy queen to help him, help the fishermen to know where to fish. The witch and dwarf were in cahoots to steal the belt, kidnap the merman, and starve all the fishermen. The dwarf stole the belt, then the fairy queen sent one of the brothers to kill him. He killed him and then she sent him back to kill the witch. After all was done they found the merman and the boys got the girls and all lived happily ever after.
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