Pengrych was the vainest young man in all of Randor. He was the son of a great earl and lived in a magnificent home on the shore of the lake called Llyn Gwyn. He was a talented, handsome, curly-haired youth, but his vanity was unbearable. By his own estimation there was no one at his father's court whose looks or abilities could compare with his own. Certainly he deemed none of the girls there worthy of his attentions. Pengrych took note only if his own beauty and spent his days wandering alone around the lake, gazing admiringly at his reflection in the smooth waters.

Pengrych is entranced by his vision of the girl dancing in the waters of Llyn Gwyn.

Over time, his dreamy self-admiration grew to anger and despair. Was there no one worthy to be his companion? Each day he wandered the lake shore, his mood growing as dark as his black and curling beard. His self-pity grew to match his self-love. Then one day, as he was engaged in his favorite preoccupation, he rounded a rock and was surprised by an old woman.

The crone laughed derisively, chiding him for wasting his time in this fashion. Embarrassed, the youth replied that as there were no girls worth admiring at home, there was every reason to look at himself. “Look again in the water,” the old one replied.