Prince Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, was a great huntsman and had a beautiful hound. The dog’s name was Gelert and he was a fine hunting-dog as well as a good-natured animal who endeared himself to Llewellyn and his family.
One day, the Prince decided to go hunting and gathered dogs and huntsmen together. The hunting-horn was blown, but Gelert was missing and didn’t appear. As time was getting on, the Prince gave the permission to lead the hunt away and left Gelert behind.
Now Gelert was actually inside the castle, lying at the side of Llewellyn’s son who was asleep in the cradle. Although he heard the hunting horn, he decided to stay and watch the baby. It was perhaps half an hour later that Gelert heard an unfamiliar sound. He rose to his feet and placed himself protectively in front of the cradle. Suddenly the half-shut door moved a little and a ugly and brutal-looking wolf appeared. The wolf was twice as big as Gelert and obviously hungry because it had been a hard winter.
He leapt towards the cradle, deciding that the baby indeed was a tasty meal for him. But Gelert leapt too, and a long and bloody struggle began between the good dog and the dangerous Wolf. The cradle was overturned but the baby lay under it and therefore was protected for the present. At last, it seemed that Gelert had no more strength left, he made one final effort to kill the wolf and actually succeeded before he might have been killed himself.
The wolf’s dead and huge body now lay behind the cradle and Gelert collapsed, lying weakly in pools of blood. At that moment Prince Llewellyn, who had returned from the hunt, entered the room and saw in a horror that his child’s cradle was overturned and that there was blood everywhere - even his hound Gelert was covered with blood.
‘Wicked and evil animal’, he thundered, ‘you have killed and devoured my only Child.’ Prince Llewellyn drew his sword in vain and plunged it straight through the dog’s heart. Gelert died instantly and then, for the first time, the baby began to cry.
Llewellyn rushed to the cradle and turned it right side up. There lay his son, screaming heartily, and behind the cradle he discovered the dead body of the biggest wolf he had ever seen.
Eventually the Prince realised that he had drawn a wrong conclusion and that the excellent and innocent hound had saved the life of his only son. After that he was full of guilt and remorse and gave an appropriate burial to his faithful grey hound Gelert.