By zteve t evans 27/04/2017
Folklore of the Welsh Lakes: The Bride from the Red Lake

By Adolf Echtler (1843–1914) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The Bride from the Red Lake
There was once a farmer who one day decided he would go fishing in the Red Lake. When he arrived he found the lake shrouded in mist. Then a sudden gust of wind cleared a path through the mist across the lake and to the farmer’s surprise revealed a man perched upon a ladder busily at work thatching a haystack. Stranger still, the ladder appeared to be standing on top of the surface of the water as did the haystack. The farmer was astounded but the vision quickly faded and soon all that could be seen was a gentle rippling of the water where the haystack and the thatcher had been.
After this, the farmer often visited the lake hoping for another glimpse of this strange otherworld but saw nothing out of the ordinary and he thought no more of his extraordinary vision. Then one autumn day he rode his horse up to the lake. As it was a hot day he rode his horse into the water so that it could drink easily from the cool lake. It was a lovely day and while the horse was drinking the farmer sat on its back and stared lazily at the ripples that moved gently across the surface of the Red Lake.
Then, what he saw next made him jump. Under the surface of the water a little distance from him he saw the face of the loveliest maiden he had ever seen in his life looking at him through the gently rippling water. He sat spellbound staring at her and she calmly gazed back at him. As he stared, her head and shoulders slowly emerged from the water and she looked deep into his eyes.
A sad ending, indeed! Perhaps the lesson is not to have relations with the Otherworld… Great writing of this tale, my friend.
Thanks, appreciated! Yes, it is often the case that those who have dealings with the Otherworld end up finding only sadness.