Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch facts for kids

Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch are three mysterious fictional characters from Lloyd Alexander's famous book series, The Chronicles of Prydain.

These three powerful witches live all by themselves in a spooky place called the Marshes of Morva. They are very unusual because they can even swap identities with each other! However, each witch usually has a special look:

• Orwen wears a necklace made of shiny, milky stones.
• Orddu has lots of pretty ornaments in her hair.
• Orgoch hides her face with a dark, shadowy hood.

The witches once owned a very powerful item called the Black Cauldron. They lent it to a dark lord named Arawn. He used it to create scary, zombie-like warriors known as the Cauldron-Born. Later, the witches took the Cauldron back. But they were willing to give it up again if someone paid a special magical price.

The Three Sisters, as they are often called, are very mysterious. One character in the books even says, "It's more a question of what they are, not who they are." Sometimes, they look like old, ugly hags. But then, they can suddenly change into three beautiful young maidens! They also love to play tricks on anyone who visits their home. They might joke about turning visitors into frogs, but they usually don't actually do it.

Even though they are strange, the witches say they are not evil. They just like things to be as they are. They don't like the Cauldron-Born warriors and felt that Arawn ruined their Cauldron. They also seemed happy when the hero, Taran, tricked some bad guys into falling into a bog.

The Witches in the Books

The witches appear in three books of The Chronicles of Prydain series.

In The Black Cauldron

In The Black Cauldron, Taran and his friends go to the Marshes of Morva. They are looking for the Black Cauldron to destroy it. The witches at first scare them, but then become very polite. This is because they learn that Dallben, a wise enchanter, sent Taran.

It turns out that the witches found Dallben as a baby in the marshes and raised him! They had to send him away when he accidentally drank a potion that made him as smart as they were. They said it was "too much wisdom in their house."

The witches tease Taran's group by leaving the Cauldron in plain sight. But it's enchanted, so Taran and his friends can't move it. After watching them struggle, the sisters agree to sell the Cauldron. They ask for strange prices, like memories or the North Wind. Finally, they are happy with a magical brooch that Taran has. They also warn Taran that the only way to destroy the Cauldron is for a living being to willingly climb inside it.

In Taran Wanderer

In Taran Wanderer, Taran visits the Marshes again. He is trying to find out who his parents are. Since he has no payment, the sisters don't directly answer his question. However, they tell him about the Mirror of Llunet. They also give him some wise advice: "The seeking counts more than the finding" and "every robin must scratch for his own worms."

In The High King

In The High King, the witches appear one last time near the end of the story. This time, they are in the form of beautiful maidens. They give Taran a special farewell gift: a tapestry that shows his life story, but it's not finished. They tell him they are going on their own journey. When Taran asks for one last answer, they sadly reply, "When in truth did we ever give you anything?" Then they disappear.

These witches are like the Fates from Greek mythology or the Norns from Norse mythology. They represent the idea of a triple goddess in myths.

The Witches in the Film

Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch also appear in Disney's 1985 animated movie, The Black Cauldron.

• Eda Reiss Merin voiced Orddu.
• Adele Malis-Morey voiced Orwen.
• Billie Hayes voiced Orgoch.

In the film, they are minor characters who help the heroes. However, their past connection to Dallben is not shown. Orwen, who is the kindest of the three, becomes very fond of Fflewddur Fflam, one of Taran's friends.

They first appear when Taran and his friends arrive at their house. The witches get angry when the heroes accidentally let their collection of frogs go free. Orddu threatens to turn the heroes into frogs! Taran quickly tells them they came for the Black Cauldron. Orwen and Orgoch are surprised, but Orddu decides to deal with it.

Orddu tries to calm Taran by making pots fly around the room. At the same time, Taran's magical sword starts to slice the objects. The witches are confused as Taran tries to control his sword. Seeing the sword's power, the witches decide to make a deal with Taran.

The witches teach Taran an important lesson about making choices. Taran agrees to give them his sword to get the Cauldron. But he doesn't think about what to do next. He is so focused on destroying the Cauldron alone that he doesn't ask the witches for advice. Too late, the heroes find out that the Cauldron can only be destroyed if a living thing willingly climbs inside it. Gurgi, Taran's furry friend, almost climbs in. But he loses his courage when Orddu adds that the living thing would not come out alive. So, Taran had traded his sword for nothing, and the Cauldron would have stayed safe with the witches forever. The witches then disappear, laughing.

After the evil Horned King is defeated, the witches are seen again. They are getting ready to take away the now powerless Cauldron. Orddu even tells Taran he is a hero. But Taran is sad and says Gurgi was the real hero. He no longer dreams of being a warrior and gives up the sword. He agrees to give the Cauldron back if the witches bring Gurgi back to life. The witches are not happy about this and say it's impossible. Fflewddur Fflam then tells them they have no real power. This makes the witches angry, but they still bring Gurgi back. Then they disappear in a powerful tornado. Gurgi wakes up, and the heroes finish their quest and go home.

Even though they seem like bad guys sometimes, the witches can be seen as neutral characters. They give the heroes helpful information and usually grant their wishes, even if they don't want to. They were insulted by Fflewddur's remark, but they still brought Gurgi back. They don't want power or to rule the world like the Horned King. They never truly pick a side between the heroes and the Horned King.