Here is another haunting tale of Gwillym Pen Pwyll’s that tells of the death of a farmer and how he longs to join his dead wife in the otherworld of Celtic belief.

Death comes to us all. That is the one thing that is guaranteed in life. The spirit is tired, but never forgotten for the land remembers all that is in the past and what is to come in the future. A bu had appeared before the old farmer many times over the previous month. With his watery eyes, he watched it on many occasions, for he believed he had mistaken the white body and the red ears of the bu. The spectral animal came from the edge of Hu’s Gadarn’s vision and he forewarned the old farmer of his impending death. The stiffness in his arms became unbearable. He had wasted away since the death of his wife these past two years. Solitude did not frighten him for he always had his memories. During the night, he would dream and see his girl. She appeared as when she was younger and her eyes shone with the brightness of the sun. “You can hear the words of the song,” she whispered. He did hear the plangent tone of a girl’s voice, remembering the words sang to him as he slept in his cradle. The tree should not be there, he thought, as he watched the aged oak, covered in strange faces; break through the three worlds that were ever hidden. The blackbirds sang for them and he now needed to sleep. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he knew the dream would not be his last remembrance.

“The world died when man was born,” Hu Gadarn whispered. “This paradise is only for those who believe.”

The farmer forgot the rest of Hu’s words. He did not believe that Hu Gadarn was mischievous. The staff he held in his hand begun to wither as he sat, resting by the side of the tumulus that had been on this land since the beginning of time. No thoughts were unbidden as he closed his eyes, tears running down his cheeks. Ever since his last dream, the stone foundations would rise again and the waters would rush over his feet. Hunger would be no more and he would eat and drink a plenty. Then, when he awakened, he would feel her touch and never be without her company.