“Many a lovely child they’ve taken,
When long and bitter was the pain;
From their parents, loving, dear,
To the Fairies’ dread domain.”
Another popular mode of treatment resorted to in order to reclaim children from the Fairies, and to get rid of ugly changelings was as follows:—The mother was to carry the changeling to a river, and when at the brink, the wizard who accompanied her was to cry out:—
“Crap ar y wrach”—
(A grip on the hag.)
and the mother was to respond:—
“Rhy hwyr gyfraglach”—
(Too late decrepit one);