THE GROAC'H OF LOK ISLAND
The horse of saint Vouga
Source
The bell that Houarn wore around his neck rang of its own accord, and Bellah heard it at Lanillis, where she was busy skimming yesterday's milk.
It was like a blow to the heart for her. She cried out, saying:
"Houarn is in danger!"
And without waiting for anything else, without asking anyone's advice, she ran to put on her high-mass clothes, her shoes, and her silver cross and left the farm with her magic staff.
Arriving at the crossroads, she planted it in the ground, murmuring:
Remember Saint Vouga!
Apple tree stick, lead me
On the ground, in the air, on the water,
Anywhere I need to go!
The stick immediately changed into a red horse from Saint-Thégonec, combed, saddled, bridled, with a ribbon on each ear and a blue feather on the forehead.
Bellah rode him without swinging. He set off first at a walk, then at a trot, then at a gallop, and he went so fast that the ditches, the trees, the houses, and the bell towers passed before the young girl's eyes like the arms of a hose reel. But she did not complain, knowing that each step brought her closer to her dear Houarn; on the contrary, she excited the bidet by repeating:
"The horse goes slower than the swallow, the swallow goes slower than the wind, the wind goes slower than lightning; but you, my horse, if you love me, you must go faster than them all; because I have a part of my heart that is suffering, the better half of my heart that is in danger."
The horse heard her and ran like a straw carried away by the whirlwind, so much so that he finally arrived in the Arhez, at the foot of the rock that we call the ''Deer's Leap''.
But there he stopped because no horse or mare had ever climbed this rock. Bellah, who understood why he remained still, began to say again:
Remember Saint Vouga!
Horse from Léon, lead me
On the ground, in the air, on the water,
Anywhere I need to go!
As soon as she had finished, wings emerged from the sides of her mount, which became a large bird, and which carried her to the top of the rock.
Source: La Groac’h de l’Île du Lok from the French book Contes et légendes de Basse-Bretagne published in 1891.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
The stick of Saint Vouga is really versatile. First, it became a very fast horse, then the horse grew wings.
This allowed Bellah to come very fast to the rescue of Houarn.
What will she discover on the top of the rock?
When I was a French Navy officer, in 1979 I was sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, as a NATO exchange officer with the Canadian Navy.
I spent three years in Halifax. There I meant a group of French-speaking Canadians, from Quebec, Ontario, or New Brunswick. One of them was a Navy officer named François Delisle. He was also an amateur painter of some talent. I bought two of his paintings that are now in our bedroom in Coquitlam.
The first one is a watercolor:
The second one is an oil painting.
When I bought my house in Harrison Hot Springs in 2006, I decided to buy some paintings on eBay. I don't think that I spent more than CAD$100 for each of these paintings.
One of the eBay paintings is also in our bedroom in Coquitlam.
I did not buy these paintings as an investment. I bought them because I liked them. And I still do.
-- Vincent Celier