Transgendered Fairy Tales
by Kaleigh Way

In the old days, Brittany was chock-full of unbelievable happenings, and just about that time, two young men were living in the village of Lanillis. Their names were Houarn Pogamm and Belado Postik. Their mothers were great friends, and constantly in and out of each other's home. Because of this, the boys had often been laid in the same cradle, and played and fought over the same games.

No two children were ever closer, and once or twice the mothers laughed that if Belado had been born a girl, the two could marry; they made a perfect match! Now, that's as may be, but just when the boys were old enough to look for wives, the two mothers died. The lads, who had no money, went to work as servants in the same house. This was better than being parted, of course, but not as good as having a little farm of their own, where they could do as they liked. Soon they were complaining to each other about the hardness of their lots.

"If only we could manage to buy a cow and get a pig to fatten," grumbled Houarn. "I could rent a bit of ground from the master, and we could start our farm!"

"Yes," answered Belado with a deep sigh, "but we live in such hard times! At the last fair, the price of pigs went up again."

"We'll have a long time to wait. That much is clear," replied Houarn, and returned to his work.

Whenever they met, they repeated their grievances, until at last Houarn's patience was exhausted. One morning he came to Belado and told him that he was going to seek his fortune.

Belado was very unhappy to hear this. He was sorry that he'd complained so much, and hadn't made the best of things as they were. He sought to convince Houarn not to leave, but the lad would listen to nothing.

Houarn said, "The birds continue flying until they reach a field of corn, and the bees don't stop unless they find flowers that give them honey. Why should a man have less sense than the animals? Like them, I shall seek till I get what I want, and what I want is the money to buy a cow and a pig to fatten. If you're really my friend, Belado, you won't hinder a plan that will win us our farm."

Belado saw that it was useless to say any more, so he answered sadly, "Well, go then, if you must. But first let me divide with you all that my parents left me." Going to his room, he opened a small chest and took from it a bell, a knife, and a little stick.

"This bell," he said, "can be heard at any distance, however far. But it only rings to warn us that our friends are in great danger. This knife frees all it touches from the spells laid upon them. This stick can carry you wherever you want to go. I will give you the knife to guard you against enchantments of wizards, and the bell to tell me of your perils. The stick I shall keep for myself, so I can fly to you if ever you have need of me."

Houarn had little faith in the magic of these gifts, but he took them nonetheless. After all, they were his best friend's treasures, and the knife was a good knife for all of that.

After a strong embrace, Houarn started for the mountains.

In those days, there were more beggars than opportunities, and in every village he passed, they followed Houarn in crowds. "He must be a gentleman," the beggars reasoned, "because there are no holes in his clothes."

Houarn said to himself, "There is no fortune to be made in these places. Here you can only spend, but not earn. I must go farther." And so he walked on, as far as Pont-Aven, a pretty little town on the bank of a river.

He was sitting on a bench outside an inn, when he heard two men, who were loading their mules, talk about the Groac'h of the island of Lok.

"What's a Groac'h?" he asked. "I've never heard of such a thing."

The men told him that this was the name of the fairy who lived in the lake, and that she was rich — richer than all the kings of the world put together. Many had gone to the island to try to steal her treasures, but no one had ever come back.

As he listened, Houarn's mind was made up.

"I will go," he said to the muleteers, "and I will come back, too."

They stared at him in astonishment and begged him not to be so mad and throw away his life in such a foolish manner. He only laughed, and answered that if they could tell him any other way to get a cow and a pig to fatten, he would think no more about it. But since the men knew of no other work to be had, they shook their heads over his stubbornness, and left him to his fate.

Houarn went down to the sea, and found a boatman to take him to the isle of Lok.

The island was large, and most of it was the lake itself, with a narrow opening to the sea. Houarn paid the boatman and sent him away, and then he began to walk around the lake. At one end he saw a small skiff, painted blue and shaped like a swan, lying under a clump of yellow broom. Houarn had never seen such a likeness — it even had the swan's head tucked under its wing. He quickly stepped on board, so he could examine it better. No sooner had he steadied himself, than the swan awoke — for it was a swan that looked like a boat, not a boat that looked like a swan. Pulling its head from under its wing, the swan began to paddle, and in a thrice they were in the middle of the lake.

As soon as he recovered from his surprise, the young man prepared to jump out and swim to shore. But the bird guessed his intentions, and before the lad could act, the swan plunged beneath the water, carrying Houarn to the palace of the Groac'h.

Unless you have been under the sea and beheld all the wonders that lie there, you can never have an idea of what the Groac'h's palace was like. It was all made of shells, blue and green and pink and lilac and white, blending into each other so you could not tell where one color ended and the other began. The staircases were made of crystal, and every separate stair sang like a woodland bird when you set your foot on it. Around the palace were great gardens full of undersea plants, with rows of diamonds marking off the beds.

In a large hall, the Groac'h was lying on a couch of gold. The pink and white of her face were like the shells of her palace. Her long black hair was intertwined with strings of coral, and her dress of green silk seemed formed from the sea itself. At the sight of her, Houarn stopped, dazzled by her beauty.

"Come in," said the Groac'h, rising to her feet. "Strangers and handsome young men are always welcome here. Don't be shy! Tell me how you found your way here, and what it is you want."

Houarn was a simple lad, so he answered with an open heart. "My name is Houarn. Lanillis is my home, and I am trying to earn enough money to buy a little cow and a pig to fatten."

"Oh, you can easily get that!" she replied. "It's nothing to worry about. Come in now, and refresh yourself." She beckoned, and he followed. They went into a second hall whose floors and walls were formed of pearls. On every side were tables laden with fruit and wines of every kind. As he ate and drank, the Groac'h talked to him and explained him how everything he saw came from shipwrecked vessels. "Their treasures are brought to my palace by a magic current of water," she explained.

"I'm not surprised," Houarn exclaimed, for he now felt quite at home, "I'm not surprised that people have so much to say about you."

She shrugged. "The rich are always envied."

"Well, I'm not greedy," he said with a laugh. "I'd be quite happy with a tiny handful of what you have."

"You could have all of it, if you want it, Houarn," the fairy answered.

"What do you mean?" he cried.

"My husband, Korandon, is dead. If you will have me, I will marry you."

The young man gazed at her in surprise. Could one so rich and beautiful really wish to be his wife? He looked at her again, and utterly forgot his dream of a farm, a cow, and a pig to fatten.

He declared with all his heart, "A man would be mad to refuse such an offer. I can only accept with joy!"

"The sooner we wed, the better," said the Groac'h, and gave orders to her servants. As soon as she was done, she brought Houarn to a fishpond at the bottom of her garden.

"Come lawyer, come miller, come farmer, come tailor," she sang as she held out a steel net. At each summons a little fish appeared and jumped into the net. She carried the fish to a large kitchen and threw them all into a golden pot, but above the bubbling of the water, Houarn seemed to hear the whispering of little voices.

"Who is whispering in the golden pot, Groac'h?" he asked at last.

"That's nothing but the noise of the wood sparking," she answered, but it didn't sound the least like that to Houarn.

"There is again," he said, after a bit.

"The water's getting hot — it makes the fish jump," she replied, but soon the noise got louder and sounded more like cries of pain.

"What is it really?" asked Houarn, beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"It must be the crickets on the hearth," said she, and broke into a song that drowned out the cries from the pot.

Though Houarn held his peace, he was not as happy as before. Something seemed to have gone quite wrong, and he suddenly remembered his friend Belado. "How could I forget why I came? I only wanted a simple farm, not riches under the sea! What a fool I've been!" And he stood by in silence as the Groac'h set the fish on a plate, and bade him eat his dinner while she fetched some wine from her cellar in a cave.

Houarn sat down and took out the knife that Belado had given him, but as soon as the blade touched the fish, the enchantment ceased, and four men stood before him.

"Houarn, save us, we beg you, and save yourself as well!" they whispered, not daring to raise their voices.

"So it was you who were crying out in the pot just now!" Houarn exclaimed.

"Yes, it was us," they answered. "Like you, we came to the isle of Lok to seek our fortunes, and like you we consented to marry the Groac'h. No sooner was the ceremony over than she turned us into fishes, just as she did to all who came before us, who are in the fishpond still. And shortly you will join them."

On hearing this, Houarn jumped up, as if he were already boiling in the golden pot. He rushed to the door, hoping to escape that way, but the Groac'h, who had heard everything, met him on the threshold. Instantly she threw her steel net over his head, and he turned into a small green frog, so small that she could hold him in the palm of her hand.

"Oh, my! What a cute little froggy-woggy!" she said, smiling. "You can go play with the other little froggies!" And she carried him off to the fishpond.

At that very moment, Belado, who was skimming milk in the farm dairy, heard the fairy bell tinkle violently.

At the sound he grew pale, for he knew it meant that Houarn was in danger. Hastily, he left the farm with the magic stick in his hand.

His legs trembled, but he ran as fast as he could to the crossroads, where he drove the stick into the ground, mumuring as he did so a verse his mother taught him:

Little stick of apple tree
O'er the earth and o'er the sea
In the air, be guide to me
Everywhere, to wander free.

Immediately the little stick became a smart little horse, who stood quite still until Belado scrambled up. Then he started off, his pace growing quicker and quicker, until the lad could hardly see the trees and houses as they flashed past. But rapid as the pace was, it was not rapid enough for Belado, who leaned to the horse's ear and said, "The swallow is less swift than the wind, the wind less swift than lightning. But you, my horse, if you love me, must be swifter than them all, for part of my heart suffers — my best friend on earth is in danger."

The horse heard, and he galloped like a straw before a hurricane, until they reached the foot of a rock called Deer's Leap. There he stopped, for no horse ever born could climb that rock, and Belado knew it, so he murmured another verse:

Horse of Leon, given me,
O'er the earth and o'er the sea
In the air, be guide to me
Everywhere, to wander free.

Immediately the horse became a great bird, who carried him to the summit of the rock. There he found a nest made of clay and lined with dried moss. In the center of the nest was a tiny man, black and wrinkled, who gave a cry of surprise at the sight of Belado.

"Ah! You're the fellow who's come to save me!"

"To save you?" repeated Belado. "But who are you, my little friend?"

"I am Korandon, husband of the Groac'h of the isle of Lok, and it is her doing that I am here."

"What are you doing in this nest?"

"Sitting on six stone eggs, and I shall not be set free until they hatch."

On hearing this, Belado began to laugh. "Poor fellow!" he said. "And how am I to free you?"

"By freeing Houarn, who is in the power of the Groac'h."

"If you tell me how, I'll do it, even if I have to cross the whole of Brittany upon my knees!"

"First you must disguise yourself as a maiden," says the little man, "and then go seek the Groac'h. When you've found her, you must get hold of the steel net that hangs from her waist, and shut her up in it forever."

"A maiden?" replied Belado. "And why is that?"

"The Groac'h bewitches every man who sees her, and yet she longs for company. No woman has crossed her threshold for nigh a thousand years."

"How shall I manage to disguise myself?" asked the lad. "Wherever shall I find a woman's clothes?"

"I will show you," the little man replied. "It's easily done." As he spoke, he pulled four black hairs from the left side of his head and blew them away, muttering something the while. In the twinkling of an eye, the four hairs turned into four tailors, one of whom carried a cabbage, the second a pair of scissors, the third a needle, and the fourth an iron. Without waiting for orders, they sat down in the nest and, crossing their legs comfortably, began to prepare the clothes for Belado. With one of the leaves of the cabbage they made a short coat, and another served for a bodice. But it took two for the full skirts which were the fashion at the time. They cut a hat from the heart of the cabbage, and a pair of boots from the thick stem. From the white inner leaves they cut petticoats, frills, and gloves.

When they were done, Belado saw that the clothes were made for a slightly smaller person than he. At that, the little man pulled out four red hairs from the right side of his head, and blew them at Belado where he stood. As the hairs fluttered down around him, he felt himself shrink and change, and soon he was the perfect size and shape for the newly tailored clothes.

When Belado — or Bellah, as we must needs call her now — put on all the clothes, you would have taken her for a maiden dressed in green velvet lined with white satin.

Bellah thanked the little men gratefully, and after a few more instructions, she jumped on the back of her great bird and was borne away to the isle of Lok. Once there, she transformed the bird back to a stick, and with it in her hand, she stepped aboard the blue swan, which conducted her to the palace of shells.

The Groac'h seemed overjoyed to see her, and told her that never before had she beheld such a lovely young lady. Very soon she led her visitor into the great hall, where wine and fruit were always waiting, and on the table lay the magic knife, left there by Houarn. Unseen by the Groac'h, Bellah hid it in a pocket of her green coat, and then followed her hostess into the garden, to the pond which contained the fish. The sides of the little fish shone with a thousand different colors.

"Oh, what beautiful, beautiful creatures!" she cried. "I'm sure I would never tire of watching them." And she sat down on the bank, with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, her eyes fixed on the fish as they flashed past. She made a pretty picture herself, and the Groac'h was quite taken with her lovely visitor.

"Would you like to stay here always?" asked the Groac'h, and Bellah answered that she desired nothing better.

"Then do!" the Groac'h cried. "We can be as sisters and pass the time in a thousand pleasant ways!"

"I won't say no," laughed Bellah, "but you'll have to let me catch one of those pretty fish with your net."

"It's not as easy as it looks," the Groac'h said, smiling, "but go ahead and try your luck!"

Bellah took the net that the Groac'h held out, and turning rapidly, flung it over the fairy's head. "Become in body what you are in soul!" she shouted, and in an instant, the lovely sea fairy became a loathsome toad, horrible to look upon. She struggled hard to tear the net, but it was no use. Bellah drew it in as tight as she could, and flung the sorceress into a pit. Then she piled the heaviest stones she could manage on top of it, and left her there.

As she drew near the pond, she saw a great procession of fishes advancing to meet her, crying in hoarse tones: "This is our lady, who saved us from the net of steel and the pot of gold!"

"And who will restore you to your proper shapes," added Bellah, drawing the knife from her pocket. But just before she touched the foremost fish, her eyes fell on a green frog on his knees beside her, his little paws crossed over his little heart. The creature croaked, "Belado? Belado?"

Bellah felt as if fingers were tightening round her throat, but she managed to cry, "Is this you, Houarn? Is this you?"

"Yes, yes," croaked the little frog, and as the knife touched him he was a man again. Springing up, he clasped her in his arms.

"We must not forget the others," she said at last, and began to transform the fish to their proper shapes. There were so many that it took quite a long time. Just as she finished, Korandon, the little man from Deer's Leap, arrived in a car drawn by six monstrous cockroaches, which had once been the six stone eggs.

"Here I am!" he exclaimed. "You have broken the spell that held me, and now you must have your reward." Dismounting from his chariot, he led the two into caves filled with gold and jewels, and bade Bellah and Houarn to take as much as they wanted. They each filled two sacks, and Korandon filled a third sack for each. Then they carried the bags to the car, which bore them, their jewels, and the rescued men back to Lanillis.

Houarn and Bellah were married the very next day, but instead of setting up the little farm that they'd wished for so long, with the cow and pig to fatten, they were able to buy miles of land for themselves. They also gave each man who had been delivered from the Groac'h a small farm, and everyone lived happily to the end of their days.

© 2007 by Kaleigh Way