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Arthur said, "Now what's best of the rare and difficult things for us to seek first?" "The best is to seek the two young dogs of the Bitch of Rhymhi." Arthur said, 'Is it known where she is?" One said, "She is at Aber Deu Gleddyf [the estuary at Milford Haven]." Arthur came to the house of Tringad at Aber Cleddyf, and he asked, "Have you heard of her here? What does she look like?" He said, "She looks like a she-wolf. And she goes about with her two young dogs. She has often killed my livestock. And she's down in Aber Cleddyf in a cave." Arthur put to sea in his ship Prydwen, and the others went on land to hunt the bitch, and so they surrounded her and her two young dogs. And for Arthur's sake God transformed them back into their own shape. Arthur's army dispersed one by one, two by two. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When Kei and Bedwyr were sitting atop Mount Pumlumon, on Carn Gwylathyr, in the greatest wind in the world, they looked around them and saw a great smoke to the south, far away from them, not crossing over with the wind. And then Kei said, "By the hand of my friend, look there, the fire of a hero!" They hurried toward the smoke and came near and watched from a distance as Dillus the Bearded singed a wild boar. Yet he was the greatest hero who ever kept free of Arthur. Bedwyr said to Kei, "Do you know him?" "I know him," said Kei, "That's Dillus the Bearded. There's no leash in the world that can hold Drudwyn, the young dog of Greid son of Eri, except a leashed from the beard of the fellow you see there. And it's no good unless it's pulled live from his beard with wooden tweezers, because it will be brittle if it's dead." "What's our plan for that?" said Bedwyr. Kei said, "we'll let him eat his fill of meat, and after that, he'll go to sleep." While Dillus did that, they made wooden tweezers. When Kei knew for sure that he was asleep, he dug beneath his feet the biggest pit in the world. he hit him a blow too big to measure and forced him down into the pit till they completely plucked out his beard with the wooden tweezers. And after that they killed him altogether. And from there the two of them went to Celliwig in Cornwall with the leash from the beard of Dillus the Bearded, and Kei put it in Arthur's hand. And then Arthur sang this englyn [Traditional Welsh stanza]: Kei made a leash From the beard of Dillus son of Eurei. If he were well, he'd be your death! And because of that, Kei sulked, so that the warriors of this island barely made peace between Kei and Arthur. And still, neither when Arthur lacked resources nor his men were slaughtered would Kei go with him in his need from that time on. And then Arthur said, "Which is best of the rare and difficult things to seek now?" "It is best to seek Drudwyn, the young dog of Greid son of Eri." A little before this Creiddylad daughter of Lludd Silver-hand went with Gwythyr son of Greidawl. And before he slept with her Gwyn son of Nudd came and took her away by force. Gwythyr son of Greidawl gathered an army and came to fight with Gwyn so of Nudd. And Gwyn was the victor, and he imprisoned Greid son of Eri, and Glinneu son of Taran, and Gwrgwst the Half-naked, and Dyfnarth his son. And he imprisoned Oben son of Nethawg and Nwython and Cyledyr the Wild, his son. And he killed Nwython and took out his heart. And he forced Cyledyr to eat his father's heart, and for that reason Cyledyr went mad. Arthur heard of this and came to the north and summoned Gwyn son of Nudd to him, and released his noblemen from Gwyn's prison. And he made peace between Gwyn son of Nudd and Gwythyr son of Greidawl. And this is the peace that was made: to keep the maiden in her father's house, undisturbed by either side. And every May day from that day till Doomsday, there should be fighting between Gwyn and Gwythyr. And whichever of them won on Doomsday would take the girl. And when these noblemen were reconciled thus, Arthur got Dun-mane the horse of Gweddw, and the leash of Bog Hundred-claws. After that Arthur went to Brittany, with Mabon son of Mellt and Gware Golden-hair, to seek the two dogs of Glythfyr the Breton. And after getting them, Arthur went to the west of Ireland for Gwrgi Seferi and also Odgar son of Aedd, King of Ireland. From there Arthur went north and captured Cyledyr the Wild. then he went after Ysgithyrwyn Chief Boar. And Mabon son of Mellt went with the two dogs of Glythfyr the Breton in his hand, and Drudwyn, the young dog of Greid son of Eri. And Arthur himself went on the hunt, with his dog Cafall in his hand. And Caw of Pictland mounted Llamrei, Arthur's mare, and joined the encounter. he took a hatchet as weapon and fiercely and brilliantly went after the boar and split its head in two and took the tusk. It was not the dogs that Ysbaddaden had named to Culhwch that killed the boar, but Cafall, Arthur's own dog. [The Hunting of Twrch Trwyth] After the slaying of Ysgithyrwyn Chief Boar, Arthur and his followers went to Celliwig in Cornwall. From there he sent Menw son of Teirgwaedd to see wether the treasures were between the two ears of Twrch Trwyth. For it would be base to got fight with him if he did not have the treasures. But he was there, certainly; he had already devastated a third of Ireland. Menw went seeking the treasures, and the place where he saw them was at Esgeir Oerfel in Ireland. Menw changed himself into a bird and alighted above Twrch's lair. He tried to pluck one of the treasures from him. But he didn't get a thing except one of his bristles. The boar got up very fiercely and shook himself so that so that some of his poison got onto him; from then on, Menw was never without a sore. After that Arthur sent a message to Odgar son of Aedd, king of Ireland, to ask for the cauldron of Diwrnach of Ireland, his Steward. Odgar asked him for it. Diwrnach said, "God knows, though he should be better for getting one glimpse of it, he won't have it." and Arthur's messenger came back from Ireland with a "no." Arthur set out with a light force with him and boarded Prydwen his ship and went to Ireland. They went to the house of Diwrnach the Irishman. The troops of Odgar saw their number. After they ate and drank their portion, Arthur asked for the cauldron. Diwrnach answered that if he were to give it to anyone, he would give it at the word of Odgar, King of Ireland. After he said no to them, Bedwyr got up and took hold of the cauldron and put it on the back of Hygwydd, Arthur's servant. He was brother by the same mother to Cacamwri, Arthur's servant, and his regular function was to carry Arthur's cauldron and to start a fire under it. Llenlleawg the Irishman seized Caledfwlch [Arthur's sword] and swung it in a circle and killed Diwrnach the Irishman and all his band. The hosts of Ireland came and fought with them. And when the hosts fled utterly, Arthur and his men went in their presence into his ship, and with them was the cauldron full of the treasure of Ireland. And they disembarked at the house of Llwydeu son of Cel Coed at port Cerddin in Dyfed. and [a place called] "Cauldron's Measure" is there. And then Arthur assembled the soldiers to be found in the Three Realms of Britain and its Three Adjacent Islands, and those in France and Brittany and the Land of Summer; and the available choice hounds and celebrated horses. And he went with all these forces to Ireland. And there was great fear and trembling in Ireland because of him. And after Arthur landed, the saints of Ireland came to him to ask his protection. And he gave them protection, and they in turn gave him their blessing. The men of Ireland came to Arthur and gave him a tribute of food. Arthur came to Esgeir Oerfel in Ireland, to the place where Twrch Trwyth was, and his seven young pigs with him. Dogs were unleashed at him on every side. That day till evening the Irish fought with Twrch Trwyth. despite that, one-fifth of Ireland was laid waste. The next day Arthur's warband fought with Twrch Trwyth; apart from what they got of evil from him, they got nothing good. The third day Arthur himself fought with him-- for nine nights and nine days. he killed only one youngling of his pigs. the men asked Arthur what was the explanation for that pig [Twrch Trwyth]. He answered, "He was a king, and for his sins God turned him into a pig." Arthur sent Gwrhyr, Interpreter of Languages, to try to talk to him. Gwrhyr went in the form of a bird and alight above the lair of him and his seven young pigs. And Gwrhyr, the Interpreter of Languages, asked him, "For His sake who made you in this shape? If you can speak I implore one of you to come and talk with Arthur. Grugyn Silver-bristle gave a response. Like wings of silver were all his bristles; the path he took through wood and meadow could be seen by how his bristles shone. This is the answer Grugyn gave: "By Him who made us in this shape, we will not do it, and we will say nothing to Arthur. It was enough evil that God did to us, who made us in this shape, without you, too, coming to fight with us." "I tell you that Arthur will fight for the comb and razor and the scissors that are between the two ears of Twrch Trwyth." Grugyn said, "Until his life is first taken, those treasures will not be taken. And tomorrow morning we shall set out from here and go to Arthur's land and do the greatest damage there that we can." They set out by sea for Wales. And Arthur came with his armies and his horses and his dogs aboard Prydwen. And a sharp eye they kept on them. Twrch Trwyth landed at Port Clais in Dyfed [to the south of St. David's]. That night Arthur came as far as Mynyw [St. David's]. The next day Arthur was told they had gone by. And he overtook Twrch Trwyth killing the cattle of Cynwas Cwryfagyl, after killing the men and beasts that were in Gleddyf [the region about the estuary of Milford Haven] before Arthur's coming. From the time Arthur came Twrch Trwyth headed from there toward Presseleu [the Preseli mountain range in north Pembrokeshire]. Arthur came there with the world's armies. He sent his men to the hunt: Eli and Trachmyr and Drudwyn, the young dog of Greid son of Eri, in his own hand; and Gwarthegydd son of Caw on the other flank, with the two dogs of Glythfyr the Breton in his hand; and Bedwyr with Cafall, Arthur's dog, in his hand. And he grouped all the soldiers on either side of the Nyfer [a stream in north Pembrokeshire]. the three sons of Cleddyf Difwlch came, men who had won great fame at the killing of Ysgithyrwyn Chief Boar. And the Twrch Trwyth set out from Glyn Nyfer and came to Cwm Cerwyn, and there he stood at bay. And he killed four of Arthur's champions: Gwarthegydd son of Caw, and Tarawg of Allt Clwyd, and Rheiddwn son of Eli Adfer, and Isgofan the Generous. And he killed Gwydre son of Arthur, and Garselid the Irishman, and Glew son of Ysgawd, and Isgawyn son of Banon. And then he himself was wounded. The next morning at break of day some of the men overtook him. And he killed Huandaw, Gogigwr, and Penpingion, three servants of Glewlwyd Mighty-grip, so that God knows there was no servant of his in the world but Llaesgymyn, a man who improved no one's situation. And along with these he killed many men of the land, and Gwylddyn the Builder, Arthur's Chief Builder. and then Arthur overtook him at Pelumiawg, and he slew Madawg son of Teithion, Gwyn son of Tringad son of Nefedd, and Eiriawn Penlloran. From there he went to Abertywi and made a stand against them. He killed Cynlas son of Cynan and Gwilenhin, King of France. he went from there to Glyn Ystu, and then the men and dogs lost him. Arthur summoned Gwyn son of Nudd to him, and asked him if he knew anything of Twrch Trwyth. he said that he did not. Thereupon all the huntsmen went hunting the pig, to the Vale of Llychwr. And Grugyn Silver-hair and Llwydawg the Suitor descended upon them and slew the huntsmen so that none of them escaped alive except one man. In response Arthur came with his armies to where Grugyn and Llwydawg were unleashed against them all the appointed dogs. As soon as Grugyn and Llwydawg stood at bay, Twrch Trwyth came to protect them. Since they crossed the Irish Sea, he had not seen them till then. The men and dogs fell upon him. He broke into flight to Mount Amanw. Then one of his pigs was slain and they went at it life for life. Twrch Llawin was killed and another of his pigs named Gwys. They moved on to Amanw Vale, and there Banw and Benwig were killed. From that place none of his pigs accompanied him alive except Grugyn Silver-hair and Llwydawg the Suitor. They proceeded to lake Ewin, where Arthur overtook him. Twrch made a stand and killed Echel Mighty-thigh and Arwyli son of Gwyddawg Gwyr and many other men and dogs. From there he went to lake Tawy. Then Grugyn Silver-bristle separated from them and went to Fort Tywi and on to Ceredigion. After him went Eli and Trachmyr and a great throng. He came as far as Garth Grugyn, and there he was killed. Llwydawg the Suitor was in the vicinity and killed Rhuddfyw Rhys and many besides. Then Llwydawg went as far as Ystrad Yw. There the men of Brittany encountered him. He killed Tall Peisawg, the King of Brittany, and Red-eye the Stallion, and Gwrfoddw, Arthur's uncles, his mother's brothers. Then Llwydawg himself was slain. Twrch Trwyth then made his way between Tawy and Ewyas [a region in southeastern Wales]. Arthur summoned the men of Cornwall and Devon to stop him at the mouth of the Severn. Arthur said to the warriors of the Island: "Twrch Trwyth has slain many of my subjects. by men's valor, so long as I live, he shall not go to Cornwall! I will not chase after him any more, but will go at him life for life! You do what you will." What happened is that by his council an army of knights, and dogs of the island with them, was sent to Ewyas; from there they came back to the Severn and ambushed Twrch Trwyth with whatever tested fighters were in the island. they drove him battling into the Severn. And Mabon son of Modron went with him into the Severn River on White Dun-mane, Gweddw's steed, and Goreu son of Custennin, and Menw son of Teirgwaedd, between Llyn Lliwan and the estuary of the River Wye. And Arthur fell on him, and the champions of Britain with him. Osla Big-knife closed in, and Manawydan son of Llyr, and Cacamwri, Arthur's servant, and Gwyngelli surrounded him. First they grabbed him by the feet and dunked him in the Severn till it flooded over him. On one side Mabon son of Modron spurred his horse and got the razor from him; and on the other side, Cyledyr the Wild on another horse plunged with him into the Severn and took the scissors from him. before they could remove the comb, Twrch found land with his feet, and from the time he reached land, no dog nor man nor horse could keep up with him till he got to Cornwall. Whatever trouble they had trying to get those treasures, they had worse trouble trying to rescue the two men from drowning. as Cacamwri was pulled up, two millstones pulled him back to the depths. As Osla Big-knife was running after Twrch, his knife fell from its sheath, and he lost it; then his sheath got filled with water, and when he was pulled up he sheath dragged him down to the depths. Arthur went on with his armies till he reached Twrch Trwyth in Cornwall. Whatever trouble he had had before was play compared with what he now had seeking the comb. Yet trough trouble upon trouble the comb was won from him. Then Twrch Trwyth was harried out of Cornwall and driven straight into the sea. afterward it was never know where he went and Aned and Aethlem [two pursuing hounds] with him. And Arthur went from there to Celliwig in Cornwall to bathe and cast off his weariness.
-- Culhwch and Olwen from The Romance of Arthur: an Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation.. Ed. James J. Wilhelm. New, expanded edition. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities; vol. 1267. (New York : Garland Publishing, 1994). pp52-57.