Long ago, the people of the Conwy valley were plagued by terrible floods, not from nature, but from the fearsome Afanc-a monstrous water beast with a hide so thick no weapon could harm it. When angered, it broke the banks of its lake, drowning crops and livestock, casting despair over the land.

The wise men knew brute force would not defeat the creature. They planned to lure the Afanc from its watery lair and bind it, then carry it far away to a peaceful lake beneath Snowdon’s shadow. But how to tempt such a beast?

A brave maiden, daughter of a local farmer, volunteered. Alone, she approached the lake’s edge and sang a soft Welsh lullaby. Enchanted by her voice, the Afanc slowly emerged, its fury quelled by her song and eyes growing heavy with sleep.

At her silent signal, the men leapt from hiding, chaining the beast with strong iron links fastened to mighty oxen. The Afanc roared and struggled, but was pulled from the lake, the oxen straining so fiercely one lost an eye-the spot forever remembered as the Pool of the Ox’s Eye.

Finally, they reached the new lake, where the Afanc plunged into its cold depths, trapped beneath the mountain’s watchful gaze. The maiden’s sacrifice saved the valley, a haunting tale of courage and cunning of a woman who faced a monster with nothing but her voice and heart, becoming the quiet hero who tamed the flood.