𝕿𝖍𝖊𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓𝖘𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖊𝖙

The Tarbh-Uisge [Scottish folklore]

Whereas the Scottish water horse - the Each-Uisge - always has a clearly villainous role in folktales, the same cannot be said for its bovine cousin, the mythical water bull or Tarbh-Uisge.

In one tale, a girl ran away from a man who did not accept her rejection. She sat down next to a lake, thinking that she lost him, when the man appeared behind her and grabbed her. Suddenly, the form of a large bull arose from the water’s surface. Without warning it rushed at the man and crushed him into the ground. Then, it kneeled down before the girl, as if it invited her to mount it. When she did, the creature ran with incredible speed and deposited her safely at her mother’s doorstep before disappearing as suddenly as it appeared.

Before it disappeared, it spoke. The Tarbh-Uisge said that it aided a maiden in need, and asked an unknown person to release it from its three hundred years of bondage. The implication is that the creature was some kind of spirit who was cursed to become trapped in the form of a bull as punishment for some unknown crime.  

The Scottish water bull wasn’t always a hero, though, and if I understand it correctly, there are also stories where the creature was dangerous and malicious.