All three strangers turned out to be Llwyd ap Cil Coed in disguise, who placed the spell upon the golden bowl. Llwyd told Manawydan that he was a friend of Gwawl (from the First Branch) and had enchanted Dyfed and captured Rhiannon and Pryderi in revenge for the insult done to Gwawl by Pwyll (Pryderi's father and Rhiannon's first husband). The mouse turned out to be the wife of Llwyd, who had gone with the other women of Llwyd's court disguised as mice to steal the grain (the previous two nights, it had been Llwyd's warband). She was pregnant, which made her slower than the rest. While in captivity, Rhiannon had to carry the yokes of the horses, while Pryderi had to carry the gate hammers.