Men looked with envy at Madoc of Hendy, a squire of great wealth, owning rich pastures. He gave much to the poor, but men still envied him. “He gives a little but keeps much,” said one to another. “He could give much more. Madoc will be rich always. Nia, his wife, is a fairy.” Madoc heard their words although he pretended not to. He walked alone in his pastures and thought of Nia, his wife. He remembered how he has first seen her in the moonlight near the brook running through the meadows of Hendy. “She is a good fairy,” Madoc had cried. “See how the stars shine in her crown.” He ran after her. Over bog and wasteland he ran. At length he caught her on a high crag. “My beautiful fairy,” cried Madoc, “return with me to Hendy-return and be my wife.” The fairy looked at him, and then she placed her hand in his and said: “I will come, I will be your wife.” Madoc often blessed the day he had brought Nia home. He had grown rich and prosperous, and though he knew of the envy of his jealous neighbours, he was happy. Now as he walked the meadows Madoc was no longer content. “Perhaps I have become too prosperous,” he muttered. “besides, I have grown tired of Nia. She is still beautiful, I know, but when I first saw her she was a fairy- now she is but a woman.” When he had finished speaking he heard sweet bells ringing. Turning, he saw a fair maiden travelling in a golden coach. Her retainers were dressed in green and gold, and each was armed with a tiny sword. The little procession passed close to the place where Madoc was standing. He could not remove his gaze from the beautiful fairy. “Oh! “ he cried, “I wish I had married that fair lady instead of Nia.” His heart was filled with bitterness. He followed the coach as quickly as he could. To his joy the horses were halted at a hillock near by. The fairy alighted. Madoc called, and she waved her hand in greeting. He ran to her, but to his dismay she fan from him. Madoc hastened after her. Down a dingle and across a dell he hurried, but the fairy fled before him. Over a brook and up a ravine she led the way. Madoc clambered after her. “Wherever she goes I will follow,” he declared. “I will catch her. This beautiful fairy shall be my wife.” When he had reached the top of the ravine Madoc quickened his footsteps. He knew his way over this part of the land, and at times he almost caught up with the fairy. Onward he hastened. He was now but a few paces from her. The fairy ran into a farmhouse. Madoc followed. He saw the fairy seat herself in an armchair at the fireside. He ran forward and touched her on the shoulder. She looked up. Madoc bowed his head in shame. “Forgive me, my dear wife,” he said. “I had to travel far to see that my wife Nia and the good fairy are one.” After this Madoc lived happily at Hendy until in later years Nia took her leave of him and returned to fairyland. Madoc spent his time alone.. He grew unhappy and morose. The farm was neglected, and he could get no one to help him in his work. “I am plagued by a troll,” cried Madoc bitterly, “a wicked fairy haunts me, and nothing but evil comes to Hendy now.” He walked over his farm. “Behold,” he cried, “my ricks have been set on fire, my barns are unroofed, my cattle are destroyed, and a disease attacks my crops. Surely a troll has cast a spell over my possessions. I will lie in wait for it and I will destroy it.” He wandered in search of the troll’s home. “I am sure that the troll lives in the ravine beyond Hendy,” Madoc cried. “Tonight I will hide myself there, and when the troll appears I will attack.” So Madoc hid himself in the deep ravine. The night was dark, but Madoc saw the troll. With a fierce cry he rushed forward: “I have got you! I will destroy you!” He gripped the troll around the waist. It turned on him, grasping both his shoulders. They wrestled together, their shadows reflecting in the waters of the small lake beneath as they reeled and staggered together. Madoc took a deep breath for a final effort. “I will overthrow you,” he declared to the troll. With a mighty effort he overthrew it, hurling it to the ground. Madoc stood over it, then knelt upon its chest and grasped it by the throat, He drew his sharp knife to kill it. The moon shone through the clouds and Madoc paused. With a cry he threw the knife into the lake, for the face of the troll was his own. Sorrowfully he made his way back to Hendy. Someone opened the door. “Nia! Cried Madoc. “You have returned!” Nia smiled and welcomed him. “You have destroyed your passions, Madoc,” she said. “When you killed the troll you extinguished your pride and your hate. Now it is possible for us to be truly happy as man and wife.” And the years that followed at Hendy showed that Nia was right.
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