“The tulips in the vase have unfortunately withered,” said the philologist’s wife to her husband. “I’ll go down to the flower woman and buy something new.”
“To the flower woman?” At the sound of his voice, she realized that once again a word in him had evoked associations. Of course he knew that the lady was meant to run a small flower shop downstairs. His thoughts, however, stray …
“What does THIS word remind you of?” His wife asked curiously. “Maybe Eliza from My Fair Lady?”
“To the one, too,” he nodded. “But in the world of fairy tales and mythology, the word flower woman has another meaning: a woman who has been turned into a flower or made of flowers. I especially think of Blodeuwedd. Do you know her story? “
“No, not even the name. Which language does he come from? “
“From the Welsh. Blodeuwedd is a female figure of Welsh mythology. Her name means flower face. It was created by the magicians Math and Gwydion from oak, broom and meadowsweet, so that she became the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who was not allowed to marry a human wife. Later, Blodeuwedd became unfaithful to her husband and planned his assassination. As a punishment she was turned into an owl by Gwydion. “
“Why in an owl, of all places?” Wondered the wife of the scientist.
“She should be hated by all birds and therefore never venture out into the light of day. By the way, it’s actually true that other birds hate the owl as their predator. “
“A strange story. How did we get that? “
“By the word flower woman,” smiled the philologist.
“Oh yes! I am in a hurry. The shopkeeper always closes at 5 pm and opens it very early. A real lark. It should really turn someone into an owl … “