Gwion Bach
In ancient Welsh romance and myth, son of Gwreang. Assigned
to stir the magic brew in the cauldron of science and inspiration
intended for Ceridwins son, Gwion tasted the liquid
and became gifted with supernatural sight.
He fled, pursued by Ceridwin, and the pair were changed
successively into a hare and a greyhound, a fish and an otter,
a bird and a hawk, and a grain of wheat and a black hen, which
ultimately swallowed the wheat. (Compare the metamorphoses
of Ceridwen and Gwion Bach with that of the Queen of Beauty
and the Djinn in the Arabian Nights Tale of the Second Calendar).
This pursuit and magical metamorphosis is a recurrent
theme in folklore in the Indo-European tradition and survives
also in the Scottish ballad The Two Magicians (Child No. 44).
Later, Gwion was placed in a bag and flung into the sea by
Ceridwin. He was drawn out by Elphin, son of Cwyddus, and
