The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain facts for kids
Cover of the first edition with Zemach artwork
|
|
| Author | Lloyd Alexander |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Margot Zemach (first) |
| Cover artist | Sasha Meret (expanded) Margot Zemach |
| Country | United States |
| Series | The Chronicles of Prydain |
| Genre | Children's fantasy collection |
| Publisher | Henry Holt (expanded) Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
|
Publication date
|
1999 (expanded) 1973 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | xi+98 (expanded) vii+87 |
| ISBN | 0-8050-6130-4 (expanded) ISBN: 0-03-007431-2 |
| OCLC | 614293 |
| LC Class | PZ7.A3774 Fno 1999 PZ8.A37 Fo |
The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain is a collection of exciting fantasy stories for young readers. Written by Lloyd Alexander and illustrated by Margot Zemach, these tales take you back in time. They are like "before stories" or prequels to Alexander's famous book series, The Chronicles of Prydain. That series won awards and was published between 1964 and 1968.
The first edition of The Foundling came out in 1973 and had six stories. A later edition in 1999 added two more stories, making a total of eight.
Contents
What's Inside the Book?
This collection includes several interesting parts:
- Author's Note (from 1973)
- Map (a map of Prydain from 1968)
- The Foundling
- The Stone
- The True Enchanter
- The Rascal Crow
- The Sword
- The Smith, the Weaver, and the Harper
- Coll and His White Pig
- The Truthful Harp
- Prydain Pronunciation Guide (from 1999)
- About the Author (from 1973)
Two of these stories, Coll and His White Pig (1965) and The Truthful Harp (1967), were first published as separate picture books. They featured younger versions of characters who later appear in The Chronicles of Prydain. The other six stories were new for the 1973 Foundling collection. Lloyd Alexander wrote them because many readers wanted more stories about Prydain. He explained that all these tales happen before the main character, Taran Assistant Pig-Keeper, was even born.
Exciting Stories from Prydain
Let's explore some of the adventures you'll find in this book.
The Foundling
This story tells how the wise enchanter Dallben became who he is. Three mysterious hags, Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch, discover a baby boy in a basket near a marsh. They name him Dallben and raise him. He helps them happily, not knowing much about the world outside. One day, a boiling potion splashes his fingers. When he puts them in his mouth, he suddenly gains a lot of knowledge.
Because he now knows too much, he must leave. The hags offer him a choice of gifts. He turns down a magic sword and a magic harp. Instead, he chooses a huge book called "The Book of Three." This book holds all knowledge from the past, present, and future. Reading it at first brings him great joy. But as he reads about war, cruelty, and death, he feels deep sadness. However, the last pages speak of new beginnings and hope. By the time he finishes his journey and the book, he has aged into a wise old man.
The Stone
Maibon, a farmer, meets Dallben and suddenly worries about getting old. Luckily, he saves Doli of the Fair Folk from a fallen tree. Doli owes him a favor. Maibon asks for a special stone that stops its owner from aging, even though Doli warns him.
But the stone causes problems. His chickens' eggs don't hatch, his cow doesn't have a calf, and his crops don't grow. Even his baby doesn't grow teeth. He tries to throw the stone away, but it always comes back. He tries to destroy it, but he can't. When he meets Doli again, Doli explains that Maibon's attempts failed because he didn't truly want to get rid of the stone. This time, Maibon throws it away for real. He rushes home and is overjoyed to see everything back to normal. As he grows older, his children grow up and have their own kids. He jokes to a grandchild, "stones are all right in their way; the trouble is, they don't grow."
The True Enchanter
Queen Regat wants the best enchanters to try and win the hand of Princess Angharad in marriage. Two enchanters show off their powerful magic, but the Queen is not impressed. Then, a man speaks to her in simple, quiet words. He admits he only helped her imagine things to be more than they were. The Queen falls in love with him. They run away together, and the spells of the other sorcerers cannot touch them.
The Rascal Crow
Long ago, Medwyn built a ship and saved the animals of Prydain from a great flood. Now, he calls them to a meeting. He warns them about a new danger: Arawn, who plans to make them his slaves. Each animal explains how their kind will help fight back. But Kadwyr the crow makes fun of them all. He thinks he is the safest and most capable. He boasts about his strong nest, fast flight, sharp eyes, and beak.
When a hunter arrives, Kadwyr plays with him. But he carelessly breaks a wing and has to escape on foot. He is saved by tiny gnats, then by spiders, and finally by a slow turtle. This teaches him a lesson about working together.
The Sword
The magical sword of the Kings of Prydain, Dyrnwyn, passes to King Rhitta when he is crowned. One day, while hunting, the king's group accidentally ruins a sheepfold. The king promises the shepherd, Amrys, that it will be fixed. But when he returns later, the sheep have escaped. Amrys reminds the king of his promise, which makes the king angry.
The king gets busy with other things and forgets his word. When Amrys confronts him again in court, the king becomes furious and kills the shepherd. The king announces that Amrys's family will be paid. But a dark bloodstain appears on Dyrnwyn's scabbard. No family members can be found, so a fight over Amrys's land turns into a rebellion and war. Rhitta becomes a cruel ruler by day and is haunted by night. The stain on the sword spreads, and he can no longer pull it out. He builds many secret rooms underground, sleeps with guards, and moves to a new room every night. Finally, he grabs the sword to strike the ghost of Amrys. Flames shoot from the hilt, killing everyone in the room. Their bodies are never found.
The Smith, the Weaver, and the Harper
Arawn, the evil lord from Annuvin, disguises himself as a human. He tries to steal the magical tools of Prydain's best craftsmen. He tricks Iscovan the smith into trading his hammer. He also tricks Follin the weaver into trading his shuttle. But Menwy the bard sees through Arawn's disguise. He refuses to trade his harp. Arawn strikes the harp and shatters it. But Menwy laughs bravely. He says the music of life is everywhere, in the forest and its animals. Arawn becomes scared and runs away.
Coll and His White Pig
The warrior Coll has stopped fighting and now lives as a farmer. Horsemen steal his special white pig, Hen Wen. Coll follows them on foot. He rests under a hazelnut tree and eats its nuts. He then rescues a baby owl. The owl's father tells him that each nut he ate gives him the power to understand animals for one day.
The owl joins Coll's quest. A stag and a mole, whom Coll also rescues, join too. They find Hen Wen trapped in a pit in Annuvin. The owl and stag distract Arawn's hunting birds and horsemen. Coll jumps into the pit and escapes with his pig through a tunnel dug by thousands of moles. When he gets home, his fields and gardens are thriving. This is because the enchanter Dallben moved in while he was gone.
The Truthful Harp
Fflewddur Fflam is a king of a small kingdom, but he acts more like a friend than a ruler. He studies to become a bard. He brags about his skills, but he fails his test and drops his harp, which breaks. He leaves with a new, magical harp and "much to learn." As he travels, he gives his cloak to a poor man. He saves a child from a flooding river. He also rescues a lord who had previously beaten him.
The magical harp has a special quality: a string snaps whenever Fflewddur stretches the truth. This happens most often when he tries to make his own good deeds seem less important.
Sources
