The Water-Leaper was the villain of Welsh fishermen's tales, a kind of water-demon which broke the fishermen's lines, devoured sheep which fell into the rivers, and was in the habit of giving a fearful shriek which startled and unnerved the fisherman so that he could be dragged down into the water to share the fate of the sheep. Rhys, from a second-hand account of it given him by William Jones of Llangollen, learned that this monster was like a gigantic toad with wings and a tail instead of legs.

[Motif: F420.5.2]