Fairy tale of the man of Salishina

The fairy tale of the man from Salischina is based in the Val Lumnezia in Graubünden and takes place in Vrin and on the Salischina Alp to the southwest .

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A long time ago a man lived on Alp Salischina. He lived there all summer and winter with his wife and two sons. There came a time when the boys suddenly got weaker from day to day. Her complexion drained. The father worried and asked if they weren't getting enough to eat. Then the boys said: "We have enough milk, but someone else eats the bread".

The following day the father noticed a snake coming out from under a stone slab and eating from the children's bowl. It was a proud animal that raised its head and showed a wonderful red crest. The father picked up a stick and smashed the snake's head. A scream could be heard. But not only was the snake dead, but also the two boys. At the same time, a huge ruff broke loose under the house and devoured the fertile meadows. The mother who had to watch everything died of grief. The father, however, continued to live in the same place as a hermit .

The pastor of Vrin let the man know that he was expecting him for Sunday mass in the village. So did the man. During the service he began to cry violently. But at the end of the party he laughed out loud. The pastor confronted him after mass and asked him why he was behaving strange. The man replied: "Reverend, first I saw how blood was flowing out of the host and dripping onto your hand. I had to cry over this. But then I noticed two little devils on the altar . They wrote all the sins of the churchgoers on a cow skin . The devils continued to stretch the skin until it finally tore and the devils tumbled backwards. That made me laugh. "

The pastor had got goose bumps before. The man from Salishina had hung his hat made of fir branches in the rays of the sun. Now after the man's answer, he hurriedly sent him away. And he told him never to go to mass in Vrin again.

source

• The fairy tale of the man of Salischina, in: Fairytale hiking. On the trail of Graubünden legends and fairy tales, 2nd edition 2003, Terra Grischuna Verlag Chur, p. 31f.