Saint Melangell and the Hare

Long ago, a young princess named Melangell sailed across the sea to Wales. Her father wanted her to marry a man she did not love, and she longed for a quiet life of prayer instead. She walked through the mountains until she found a green valley with a bright little river. The valley was called Pennant, and it was so peaceful that Melangell decided to stay.

For many years, she lived there all alone. Every day she prayed under the trees, and the wild animals grew to know her. The birds sang near her, the deer grazed beside her, and the hares hopped around her feet.

One morning, a prince named Brochwel came riding into the valley with his hunting dogs. The dogs were chasing a little brown hare, and they barked so loudly that the hills rang. The hare ran as fast as its legs could go. It dashed through a bramble bush, and there was Melangell, kneeling on the grass. The hare dived under the edge of her long cloak and lay very still.

The dogs came racing up, but when they saw Melangell, they stopped. They did not bark, and they did not growl. Instead, they turned around and trotted back to the prince with their tails low. The huntsman lifted his horn to call them on, but not one note came out of it.

Prince Brochwel rode closer, and he saw a calm young woman with a small brown nose peeking out from under her cloak. “Who are you, and why do my dogs not dare to come near you?” he asked. Melangell told him her story, in a soft and steady voice. The prince listened, and his heart grew gentle.

“This valley shall be yours,” he said. “From today, it is a safe place for any person or any creature who needs one.” And so it was.

Melangell built a little church in the valley, and the hares followed her everywhere, just like lambs. That is why the people of that valley call hares “Melangell’s lambs.” For hundreds of years, nobody would chase a hare there. Her little church still stands in the green valley today, and the hares still hop through the grass.