Reading Notes: More Celtic Fairy Tales, Part A

My two favorite stories from this reading were "The Fate of the Children of Lir" and "Dream of Owen O'Mulready." The first story was a bit longer and told the story of the four children of King Lir who were turned into swans because his second wife was jealous of them. The children were to remain as swans for 90 years until two specific people were married. This story sort of reminded me of Swan Lake, because, you know, swans. I think it could be an interesting story to retell. Maybe with an ending where the children don't have to wait 90 years to turn human, just to die immediately.

(The Four Swans, Waltham Cross, Hertforshire by Christine Matthews on geograph.org.uk)

The second story was about a man who had never had a dream. His master gave him instructions on how to have a dream, which Owen O'Mulready followed. He did have a dream, but it was the sort where you sleep walk...or sleep climb? And he ended up dropping his shoe on his wife's face, waking her up. She woke him up and Owen decided he didn't want to have any more dreams. As someone who used to sleepwalk, I would always go to bed afraid I would get up in the night and get myself hurt. Maybe I could re-tell this story with a difference circumstance to O'Mulready's dreaming/sleepwalking. 

Bibliography: "The Fate of the Children of Lir" and "Dream of Owen O'Mulready" from More Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1895).