Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
Elfin Milk-White Cow
The Llyn Barfog cow brings a poor farmer remarkable milk, butter, cheese and calves. Her prosperity-giving presence remains tied to the fairy women and their lake rather than becoming fully detached from its origin. A related version quoted by Sikes has a travelling milk-white cow whose supply never fails, however many people milk her. When people plan to eat her she vanishes from their hands.
Also known as Y Fuwch Laethwen Lefrith
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalThe Llyn Barfog cow brings a poor farmer remarkable milk, butter, cheese and calves. Her prosperity-giving presence remains tied to the fairy women and their lake rather than becoming fully detached from its origin.
Further detail
TraditionalA related version quoted by Sikes has a travelling milk-white cow whose supply never fails, however many people milk her. When people plan to eat her she vanishes from their hands.
Context & interpretation
This entry places two related cow legends beside one another: the Llyn Barfog herd story and the version from the Iolo manuscripts. Their different details remain attributed; the miraculous milk is not a nutritional or healing claim.
Original passages
Source 1
British Goblins
Such calves, such milk, such butter and cheeseOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880), active reader leaf 51
Exact passage checked against active scan text and its original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0044-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0044-E001-P0051
- Original scan leaf
- 52
- Recorded leaf number
- 52
- Current Reader position
- 50
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
British Goblins
she was never found deficientOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880), active reader leaf 53
Exact passage checked against active scan text and its original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0044-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0044-E001-P0053
- Original scan leaf
- 54
- Recorded leaf number
- 54
- Current Reader position
- 52
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Continue exploring
Llyn Barfog
The lake of green-clad fairy women and extraordinary white cattle.
Shared source pageLlyn y Fan Fach
The mountain lake from which the fairy wife of the Myddfai legend appears.
Shared source pageMeddygon Myddfai
The physicians whose legend derives their knowledge from a mother of the lake realm.
Same subject and traditionBirds of Rhiannon
Three birds whose song holds the surviving companions of Branwen’s story in an enchanted interval.