A tale current in Dyfed, as the Welsh writer Gwynionyd put it, told of a country that lay, or had lain, between Cemaes, the northern hundred of Pembrokeshire, and Aberdaron in Llŷn. Its founding father was Rhys Dwfn, Rhys the Deep, meaning shrewd, and his descendants were called Plant Rhys Dwfn, the Children of Rhys the Deep. They were handsome but remarkably small. Certain strange herbs grew in their land that kept it hidden from even the sharpest-eyed invaders. The only other place those herbs grew was one small patch of ground, about a square yard, somewhere in Cemaes; a man who stood alone on it could see the whole country of Plant Rhys, but the moment he moved he lost sight of it.
They did not farm much, living in towns, and so they came to market at Cardigan. Nobody ever saw them arrive or leave, only at the market itself, and when they were there prices went up terribly. When the corn was all sold and dear, the poor would say to each other on the way home, "Oh, they were there today." A farmer named Gruffydd ab Einon sold them more corn than anyone and became their friend, and they took him to visit their country, where he saw treasures from every land, and sent him home loaded with presents. After his death the other farmers grew so greedy in their prices that Plant Rhys took offence and stopped coming to Cardigan. The old people thought they went to Fishguard market instead, because very strange people were seen there.
John Rhys, printing this in 1901, added that some Fishguard people thought otherwise. In the Pembroke County Guardian of 31 October 1896, Ferrar Fenton reported a Fishguard woman telling him firmly that there were fairies, because they came to Haverfordwest market to buy things, so there must be.
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