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The Foundling and Other Tales from Prydain is a collection of, originally, six short stories by Lloyd Alexander. Although first published in 1973, after the five novels that compriseThe Chronicles of Prydain, these short stories take place before the events of the books that preceded them. The stories were written by Alexander due to the overwhelming demand for more stories from fans of the books at the time.[1]
[edit] Stories within The Foundling
- "The Foundling". This is the story of how the enchanter Dallben was discovered as a baby by the three enchantresses, Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch. It also relates how he acquired his vast wisdom, as well as The Book of Three.
- "The Stone". This story centers on a farmer named Maibon, who meets Doli of the Fair Folk and is given a stone that keeps everything on his farm, including his family, from aging.
- "The True Enchanter". In this story, Eilonwy's mother Angharad is faced with the choice of whom she will marry. According to law, she must marry a man who was born a magician, however she falls in love with a man who is incapable of actual magic, using only sleight of hand to impress the queen.
- "The Rascal Crow". Similar in tone to Aesop's fables, Kadwyr, the father of the talking crow Kaw, stars in this tale. In it, he and a number of other animals resist capture or death at the hands of Arawn's chief huntsman.
- "The Sword". The darkest of all Prydain stories, "The Sword" relates the origins of the sword Dyrnwyn, the most powerful weapon in Prydain; how its scabbard was blackened, and how it disappeared while in the possession of King Rhitta.
- "The Smith, the Weaver, and the Harper". This story tells of how Arawn stole some of the magical implements used by Prydain's greatest craftsmen.
- "Coll and His White Pig". Alluded to in The Book of Three, this is the story of when Coll first became a farmer, lost his white pig Hen Wen, and rescued her from Arawn's fortress in Annuvin.
- "The Truthful Harp". This is the story of how Fflewddur Fflam obtained his harp, whose strings would break whenever he "colored the facts" a little.
"Coll and His White Pig" and "The Truthful Harp" were originally published separately as picture books illustrated by Evaline Ness, but after going out of print the stories were included in subsequent editions of The Foundling.
[edit] References
- Tymn, Marshall B.; Kenneth J. Zahorski and Robert H. Boyer (1979). Fantasy Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide. New York: R.R. Bowker Co., 44. ISBN 0-8352-1431-1.
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