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The Silver Cow: A Welsh Tale
From Wales comes this tale of young Huw, whose lilting harp music enchants Tylwyth Teg, the magic people of Bearded Lake.
From the depths of the black lake comes the gift of a beautiful silver cow; and the cow is magic, for its milk is three times as rich as the milk of an ordinary cow, and she gives three times as much.
Huw's father is a selfish and greedy man, and his wealth makes him greedier than ever. Huw tries to make his father see the magic, but he scoffs at Tylwyth Teg...until they seek their revenge.
Told with a rhythm that evokes the Welsh language, Susan Cooper has brought new life to this ancient tale. Warwick Hutton's evocative illustrations capture the magic of this fateful story.
From the depths of the black lake comes the gift of a beautiful silver cow; and the cow is magic, for its milk is three times as rich as the milk of an ordinary cow, and she gives three times as much.
Huw's father is a selfish and greedy man, and his wealth makes him greedier than ever. Huw tries to make his father see the magic, but he scoffs at Tylwyth Teg...until they seek their revenge.
Told with a rhythm that evokes the Welsh language, Susan Cooper has brought new life to this ancient tale. Warwick Hutton's evocative illustrations capture the magic of this fateful story.
32 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1983
About the author
Susan Cooper
135 books2,473 followersSusan Cooper's latest book is the YA novel "Ghost Hawk" (2013)
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
Susan Cooper was born in 1935, and grew up in England's Buckinghamshire, an area that was green countryside then but has since become part of Greater London. As a child, she loved to read, as did her younger brother, who also became a writer. After attending Oxford, where she became the first woman to ever edit that university's newspaper, Cooper worked as a reporter and feature writer for London's Sunday Times; her first boss was James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Cooper wrote her first book for young readers in response to a publishing house competition; "Over Sea, Under Stone" would later form the basis for her critically acclaimed five-book fantasy sequence, "The Dark Is Rising." The fourth book in the series, "The Grey King," won the Newbery Medal in 1976. By that time, Susan Cooper had been living in America for 13 years, having moved to marry her first husband, an American professor, and was stepmother to three children and the mother of two.
Cooper went on to write other well-received novels, including "The Boggart" (and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster"), "King of Shadows", and "Victory," as well as several picture books for young readers with illustrators such as Ashley Bryan and Warwick Hutton. She has also written books for adults, as well as plays and Emmy-nominated screenplays, many in collaboration with the actor Hume Cronyn, whom she married in 1996. Hume Cronyn died in 2003 and Ms. Cooper now lives in Marshfield MA. When Cooper is not working, she enjoys playing piano, gardening, and traveling.
Recent books include the collaborative project "The Exquisite Corpse Adventure" and her biography of Jack Langstaff titled "The Magic Maker." Her newest book is "Ghost Hawk."
Visit her Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SusanCooperFanPage
www.facebook.com/GhostHawkBySusanCooper
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 9, 2024
A harsh and miserly man, Gwilym Hughes was a Welsh farmer whose land lay beneath Llyn Barfog, a mountain lake known as "the bearded lake" in English. His son Huw longed to go to school like the boys in the village, but his father made him mind the cows instead, and forbade him from playing his harp. Sneaking this instrument up to the lake whenever he could, Huw would play by the waters anyway, attracting the attention of the Tylwyth Teg (fairy folk), who sent a magical silver cow in thanksgiving. The milk and cheese from this cow, and from her many children made Gwilym Hughes a wealthy man, but it didn't make him kinder or more grateful, and when he went to butcher the silver cow, she and all her children were called home to the lake, leaving him in poverty again...
One of three folktales retold by Susan Cooper in picture book form and illustrated by Warwick Hutton—the other two being The Selkie Girl and Tam Lin —this Welsh story apparently belongs to the village of Aberdyfi (AKA Aberdovey), the ancestral village of some of Cooper's family. It is a pourquoi story, explaining how the Bearded Lake came to be ringed by white lilies, and is a very melancholy tale, depicting a man whose ungenerous and unkind nature remains unchanged, even when good fortune comes to him, a man who loses that good fortune through greed and stupidity. I found it very poignant, and thought the telling was excellent—the best of all three of these Celtic folktale picture books from Cooper and Hutton. Although Hutton isn't my favorite illustrator—I find his work interesting, but can never quite take it to heart—and although I tend to find his human figures off-putting, here I thought his watercolor paintings suited the story. Perhaps because the landscape itself plays such an important role in the story, and I have no quarrel with the artist's depiction of that. However that may be, this was an excellent folktale retelling, and is one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts in general, and to readers interested in Welsh lore in particular.
One of three folktales retold by Susan Cooper in picture book form and illustrated by Warwick Hutton—the other two being The Selkie Girl and Tam Lin —this Welsh story apparently belongs to the village of Aberdyfi (AKA Aberdovey), the ancestral village of some of Cooper's family. It is a pourquoi story, explaining how the Bearded Lake came to be ringed by white lilies, and is a very melancholy tale, depicting a man whose ungenerous and unkind nature remains unchanged, even when good fortune comes to him, a man who loses that good fortune through greed and stupidity. I found it very poignant, and thought the telling was excellent—the best of all three of these Celtic folktale picture books from Cooper and Hutton. Although Hutton isn't my favorite illustrator—I find his work interesting, but can never quite take it to heart—and although I tend to find his human figures off-putting, here I thought his watercolor paintings suited the story. Perhaps because the landscape itself plays such an important role in the story, and I have no quarrel with the artist's depiction of that. However that may be, this was an excellent folktale retelling, and is one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts in general, and to readers interested in Welsh lore in particular.
September 1, 2023
Huw's father is a small-hearted, greedy man. Though Huw loved playing his harp, his father wouldn't allow him to take it out to the pasture while caring for the cows. When his father wasn't looking however, Huw would take it with him to play and pass the time. One day while playing, a silver cow emerges that won't leave Huw's side. The milk it produces is three times as much and three times as rich. As this leads to greater profitability for Huw's greedy father, what will happen?
April 25, 2018
Picture Book - This is a nice legend about how silver cows turned into lilies. It's definitely a unique tale that I hadn't heard. Basically, silver cows give the best milk and so the owner becomes rich. He is a jerk though and doesn't let his son go to school and he doesn't give his wife anything. The moral: don't be selfish.
August 26, 2018
His art saves the writer when the adaptation is lacking.
July 16, 2021
Since it was Susan Cooper who first made me fall in love with Wales all those years ago, I thought I should read this other Welsh tale she published, even if it is for very young readers.
March 4, 2017
Retells an old Welsh tale about a silver cow that comes out of the lake when a young boy plays his harp.
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June 29, 2016Title: The Silver Cow: A Welsh Tale
Author: Susan Cooper
Illustrator: Warwick Hutton
Genre: Folklore
Theme(s): Greed vs Giving, Thankfulness, Folklore,
Opening line/sentence: “Once upon a time, high in the green hills of Wales, there lived a farmer named Gwilym Hughes.”
Brief Book Summary: A young Welsh boy, named Huw, is ordered by his father to take care of his cattle instead of playing his harp. Huw sneaks his harp up the mountain. His playing is rewarded with a silver cow from the magical people of Llyn Barfog lake. The silver cow makes the family rich until the father becomes greedy and the magic people take their revenge.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Silver as a new coin the cow was, from head to tail, glinting in the sun and she came to Huw, a young harpist, while he was looking after his father's cattle up on the mountain. Clear blues and greens predominate in watercolor paintings illustrating a rhythmically recounted story of magic and avarice.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Silver as a new coin the cow was, from head to tail, glinting in the sun and she came to Huw, a young harpist, while he was looking after his father's cattle up on the mountain. Clear blues and greens predominate in watercolor paintings illustrating a rhythmically recounted story of magic and avarice.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I believe both reviews are correct when saying that the watercolor illustrations help make the reading more magical. The illustrations are very simple but have such depth because of the combination of colors and small details in the pictures.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: This story is full of similes. The similes add to the story by making it very enjoyable for young readers. It makes young readers able to visualize certain aspects that are important to the learning process of these definitions, like simile.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This story could be used to introduce similes. Similes were very popular throughout this text. You could give a few students a simile and have them each draw a picture of their depiction of the simile they were given.
Author: Susan Cooper
Illustrator: Warwick Hutton
Genre: Folklore
Theme(s): Greed vs Giving, Thankfulness, Folklore,
Opening line/sentence: “Once upon a time, high in the green hills of Wales, there lived a farmer named Gwilym Hughes.”
Brief Book Summary: A young Welsh boy, named Huw, is ordered by his father to take care of his cattle instead of playing his harp. Huw sneaks his harp up the mountain. His playing is rewarded with a silver cow from the magical people of Llyn Barfog lake. The silver cow makes the family rich until the father becomes greedy and the magic people take their revenge.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Silver as a new coin the cow was, from head to tail, glinting in the sun and she came to Huw, a young harpist, while he was looking after his father's cattle up on the mountain. Clear blues and greens predominate in watercolor paintings illustrating a rhythmically recounted story of magic and avarice.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Silver as a new coin the cow was, from head to tail, glinting in the sun and she came to Huw, a young harpist, while he was looking after his father's cattle up on the mountain. Clear blues and greens predominate in watercolor paintings illustrating a rhythmically recounted story of magic and avarice.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I believe both reviews are correct when saying that the watercolor illustrations help make the reading more magical. The illustrations are very simple but have such depth because of the combination of colors and small details in the pictures.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: This story is full of similes. The similes add to the story by making it very enjoyable for young readers. It makes young readers able to visualize certain aspects that are important to the learning process of these definitions, like simile.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This story could be used to introduce similes. Similes were very popular throughout this text. You could give a few students a simile and have them each draw a picture of their depiction of the simile they were given.
August 10, 2013
I love this book. Of course, it helps that it is by Susan Cooper, whose works I adore. But I love this one on many levels. It is a fairy tale with a beautiful message about the dangers of greed. It is also Welsh and that is my ancestry and the imagery is gorgeous. I hope to one day see the bearded lake for myself! This is a perfect read aloud book for parents and children.
January 3, 2010
A story of a boy and his cow, and the harp that brought them together. A wonderful Welsh folktale. I especially liked the drawings of the white cows. Somehow they seemed so sad and knowing. I would love to have a color copy of some of the pages with the white cows framed in a childs room. Very enjoyable.
November 14, 2010
For the third time as the review gets deleted: This is a Welsh fairy tale where a young man who wants only to play his harp is forced to mind his father's cows. One day his music conjures a silver cow that makes the father very rich, yet he refused to let his son move on with his life. Ultimately, the cow disappears, the father becomes poor and the son is free to leave home and play his harp.
February 16, 2016
This is not a Fathers Day title. The man in the story is greedy and heartless, and yet his son stays with him until he is grown. It is more of a morality tale than a childrens story as real folk tales often are. It is beautifully told and wonderfully illustrated.
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July 2, 2009JAR4OS-Coo Welsh Folk Tale
May 14, 2016
A boy with a mean father takes his harp while watching the cows. The people of the lake give him a silver cow for his music. Will his dad let him keep it?
June 27, 2016
Young Huw works hard tending the cows and playing the harp to keep him company. When the fairies of the lake gift him with a silver cow, the greed of his father becomes their undoing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews