Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales, Part B

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- The story, Beth Gellert, is familiar and very sad. It tells of a man and his prized wolfhound, named Gellert. One day, when the man is going hunting, Gellert does not come when called. When the man returns from the hunt, he finds Gellert with blood in his teeth and around his mouth. Following the blood, he ends up in his child's room and cannot find that child. Believing that his heretofore faithful wolfhound has murdered his child, he kills the dog. Afterward, he finds his child safe under the crib, and also finds the body of a starved wolf. Gellert had protected his child from a vicious wolf, not killed him, and the man had shown his gratitude my murdering his child's protector.
- The general moral of the story seems to be that one shouldn't jump to conclusions without all of the information, and to not distrust someone that you have always trusted on limited evidence. Also, probably don't just immediately stab the dog before you even bother to look under the crib...
- Lady and the tramp had a similar thing happen. The dog is believed to have threatened the baby, when really it was saving the baby from a very large rat. Dogs always seem to suffer the most in these stories. Perhaps it is because they are so loyal, but they have been known to attack, and that dichotomy is so strange and terrifying.
- I would retell this story in a way that maybe isn't quite so sad...




Bibliography: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Web Source.