The Mabinogion Vol. 3 | Page 6

errand is unto thee, and it is to crave a boon of thee that I
come." "What boon soever thou mayest ask of me, as far as I am able,
thou shall have." "Ah," said Rhiannon, "Wherefore didst thou give that
answer?" "Has he not given it before the presence of these nobles?"
asked the youth. "My soul," said Pwyll, "what is the boon thou askest?"
"The lady whom best I love is to be thy bride this night; I come to ask
her of thee, with the feast and the banquet that are in this place." And
Pwyll was silent because of the answer which he had given. "Be silent
as long as thou wilt," said Rhiannon. "Never did man make worse use
of his wits than thou hast done." "Lady," said he, "I knew not who he
was." "Behold, this is the man to whom they would have given me
against my will," said she. "And he is Gwawl the son of Clud, a man of
great power and wealth, and because of the word thou hast spoken,
bestow me upon him lest shame befall thee." "Lady," said he, "I
understand not thine answer. Never can I do as thou sayest." "Bestow
me upon him," said she, "and I will cause that I shall never be his." "By
what means will that be?" asked Pwyll. "In thy hand will I give thee a
small bag," said she. "See that thou keep it well, and he will ask of thee
the banquet, and the feast, and the preparations which are not in thy
power. Unto the hosts and the household will I give the feast. And such
will be thy answer respecting this. And as concerns myself, I will
engage to become his bride this night twelvemonth. And at the end of
the year be thou here," said she, "and bring this bag with thee, and let
thy hundred knights be in the orchard up yonder. And when he is in the
midst of joy and feasting, come thou in by thyself, clad in ragged
garments, and holding thy bag in thy hand, and ask nothing but a
bagfull of food, and I will cause that if all the meat and liquor that are
in these seven Cantrevs were put into it, it would be no fuller than

before. And after a great deal has been put therein, he will ask thee,
whether thy bag will ever be full. Say thou then that it never will, until
a man of noble birth and of great wealth arise and press the food in the
bag, with both his feet saying, 'Enough has been put therein;' and I will
cause him to go and tread down the food in the bag, and when he does
so, turn thou the bag, so that he shall be up over his head in it, and then
slip a knot upon the thongs of the bag. Let there be also a good bugle
horn about thy neck, and as soon as thou hast bound him in the bag,
wind thy horn, and let it be a signal between thee and thy knights. And
when they hear the sound of the horn, let them come down upon the
palace." "Lord," said Gwawl, "it is meet that I have an answer to my
request." "As much of that thou hast asked as it is in my power to give,
thou shalt have," replied Pwyll. "My soul," said Rhiannon unto him, "as
for the feast and the banquet that are here, I have bestowed them upon
the men of Dyved, and the household, and the warriors that are with us.
These can I not suffer to be given to any. In a year from to-night a
banquet shall be prepared for thee in this palace, that I may become thy
bride."
So Gwawl went forth to his possessions, and Pwyll went also back to
Dyved. And they both spent that year until it was the time for the feast
at the palace of Heveydd Hen. Then Gwawl the son of Clud set out to
the feast that was prepared for him, and he came to the palace, and was
received there with rejoicing. Pwyll, also, the chief of Annwn came to
the orchard with his hundred knights, as Rhiannon had commanded
him, having the bag with him. And Pwyll was clad in coarse and
ragged garments, and wore large clumsy old shoes upon his feet. And
when he knew that the carousal after the meat had begun, he went
towards the hall, and when he came into the hall, he saluted Gwawl the
son of Clud, and his company, both men and women. "Heaven prosper
thee," said Gwawl, "and the greeting of Heaven be unto thee." "Lord,"
said he,