On one of my hikes I once came to a valley. In the middle of this beautiful valley flowed a narrow stream that shone silver.

There were two meadows to the left and also to the right of the stream. To the left a herd of dark sheep grazed. Brown-furred sheep with black lambs. In the meadow to the right, all the sheep were white. And in the middle of the stream, there stood a magnificent tree.

One half of the treetop — the one on the dark sheep side — was in full bloom. The other half was dead, but the bizarre shapes of the branches were so very beautiful to look at!

Tonight, I came back to this valley and there is a full moon. I hear the water rushing and see the surface glittering so wonderfully. The white petals, they are shining in the light. — I ask you in a whisper: What do you think, are there unicorns here?

***

Bibliographic note: Originally, this Celtic story comes from Wales and was written in the 12th century. Reference: Jackson, K.H. (1971): A Celtic Miscellany; Harmondsworth (Middlesex, UK): Penguin Books. There are some differences between Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson's text and my version: The great Peredur (the Sir Perceval of Arthurian Romance) originally reports the events, whereas I report from my personal ego-perspective. The sheep do not change colour when they move to a different coloured bleating sheep in my text. And I added the silver glitter and the unicorn thing. The thing with the dead half of the tree was also a little different in Jackson’s version. — This story never never left me.

© Julian Heylinck

#celtic
#sheep
#unicorn

Image reference: KCpixl on Pixabay.