THE STONES OF PLOUHINEC
Waiting
Source
Bernèz kept his word and arrived at the agreed place an hour before midnight. He found the beggar carrying a double bag in each hand and another hanging around his neck.
“Come,” he said to the young man, “sit down there and think about what you will do when you have money, gold, and precious stones at your discretion."
The young man sat down on the ground and replied:
"When I have the money at will, I will give my sweet Rozennik everything she wants and everything she has wanted, from linen to silk, from bread to oranges."
"And when you will have gold as much as you want?" added the wizard.
"When I have gold at will", continued the boy, "I will make rich all the relatives of Rozennik and all the friends of her parents up to the very limits of the parish."
"And when you finally have gems in abundance?" the old man finished.
“Then,” cried Bernèz, “I will make all the men on earth rich and happy, and I will tell them that it was Rozennik who wanted it."
While they were talking like this, time passed and midnight arrived. At that very moment, there was a great noise on the moor and they saw, by the light of the stars, all the large stones leave their places and rush towards the Éthel river. They descended along the hillside, crushing the earth and colliding like a troop of giants who had drunk too much; They thus passed pell-mell alongside the two men and disappeared into the night.
Then the beggar rushed towards the heath followed by Bernèz, and, in the places where the large stones had stood a little before, they saw wells filled with gold, silver, and precious stones which rose to the edge.
Bernèz uttered a cry of admiration and made the sign of the cross; but the sorcerer immediately began to fill his double bags, listening towards the river.
He finished loading the third, while the young man was filling the pockets of his canvas jacket when a dull murmur like that of a coming storm was heard in the distance. The stones had finished drinking and returned to take their places.
They rushed forward, leaning forward like runners, and smashed everything in front of them. When the young man saw them, he stood up and exclaimed:
"Ah! Virgin Mary, we are lost!"
“No, not me,” said the sorcerer, who took the grass of the cross and the five-leaf clover in his hand, “for here I have my salvation; but a Christian had to lose his life to assure me of these riches, and your bad luck put you in my way; therefore renounce Rozennik and think of dying."
Source: Les Pierres de Plouhinec from the French book Contes et légendes de Basse-Bretagne published in 1891.
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
Bernèz and the beggar/sorcerer waited until midnight and saw the stones going to the river to drink.
They then saw the gold coins and precious gems that were under the big stones and got as many as they could.
When the stones came back, Bernèz saw his last hour coming, which was confirmed by the beggar.
Yesterday, we went to the "dyke" near the Pitt River. The dyke has been created to avoid flooding the lowlands near the river.
It is a pleasant walk. When the weather is good and not too cold, you see plenty of people walking and biking on the dyke.
You can also see some mountains in the background.
And yesterday, we also saw horses. It was far from us, but I am pretty sure that the riders were practicing dressage.
-- Vincent Celier