Dino Kids
The Afanc
A huge creature in a river pool keeps flooding the valley, until a song and two mighty oxen help it move to a new home in the mountains.
Long ago in Wales, in the River Conwy near Betws-y-Coed, there was a deep pool called Llyn yr Afanc. In the pool lived an enormous creature called the Afanc. Some people said it looked like a giant beaver, and some said it looked like a crocodile. Nobody could agree, because nobody had ever dared to look at it for very long!
The Afanc was not exactly wicked, but it was very big and very splashy. Whenever it rolled over in the water, great waves spilled out of the pool. The water rushed across the fields, into the farmyards, and right through people’s kitchens. The farmers were tired of mopping their floors and chasing their floating buckets.
“We must move the Afanc to a lake far away,” said the people, “where its splashing will not hurt anyone.” But the Afanc was too big and too strong to push or pull. How could anyone get it out of the water?
Then a brave young woman stepped forward. “Perhaps it will come to me if I sing,” she said. She sat down on the shore and began to sing a soft, sleepy song. The water rippled, and slowly, slowly, the Afanc swam up to the bank. It laid its great head in her lap, closed its eyes, and fell fast asleep.
Quietly, the people wrapped strong chains around the sleeping Afanc. Then they brought the two strongest oxen in all of Wales. The chains were tied to the oxen, and the oxen began to pull.
Just then, the Afanc woke up with a snort and tried to slide back into the pool. But the oxen dug in their hooves and pulled, and pulled, and pulled. At last, with a great slither and a squelch, the Afanc came out onto the grass.
The oxen dragged it over hills and through valleys, all the way up to Glaslyn, a cold lake high on the side of Snowdon. There, among the rocks, the water was deep and quiet. The people took off the chains, and the Afanc slid happily into its new home. The lake was so deep, and the rocks around it were so high, that its splashing could never flood anyone again.
Back home, the farmers dried their kitchens and planted their fields once more. And some people say that if you sit by that mountain lake on a still day, you may see big ripples where the Afanc is rolling over in its sleep.
A traditional tale, retold for young children by Dino Kids (CC0).
Hear this story read aloud
In the Dino Kids app, “The Afanc” is read aloud, the sentence being read lights up, and there are three reading speeds for little ears. Parents can also record it in their own voice. Free, no ads, no in-app purchases.
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