Basque tales
Here are various tales Basque : the lady of Orhy, the debts of God, the kidnapper lamina
The Lady of Orhy
One day, a shepherd discovered in a chasm in the Orhy region a woman combing her hair with a golden comb. She said to the shepherd:
"- If, on Saint John's Day, you carry me on your shoulders to get out of this place, I will give you as much wealth as you want; but you shouldn't be afraid of anything, no matter what. "
The Shepherd promised, and on Saint John's Day he took the woman on his shoulders and began to walk. But immediately all kinds of wild animals as well as a huge fire-breathing snake came out on the path and frightened him.
So, leaving the woman there, he began to run and came out of the abyss. The woman was shouting:
"- Woe to me, I am still here for a thousand years! "
God's debts
The good Lord, when he was traveling the world, one day arrived with Saint Peter in a big city. And while the divine traveler followed the long streets, poor people of all kinds, helpless old people, withered old people, crippled men, hungry children, came out of every corner begging passers-by for alms.
The alms received, the poor thanked by saying:
- "God will pay you".
This word, always the same, threw much anxiety in the spirit of Saint Peter, so much so that, unable to hold it any longer, he got carried away and said to the good Lord:
- "Lord, I don't want to walk with you anymore. You have too much debt. You will never be able to pay all those the poor send you ”.
- "If you bother staying with me, Pierre, you can go your way," replied the good Lord.
Pierre therefore went away grumbling. But he had not gone twenty paces when the good Lord climbed on a hawthorn, all laden with its ripe fruits. The good Lord shook the branches of the hawthorn and let the fruits fall. And each piece of fruit became, before reaching the ground, a beautiful piece of silver, and each piece of silver, upon reaching the ground, tinkled, tinkled so clearly and so loudly that Saint Peter turned his head and saw what was happening. was happening. And coming back in haste, he bent down, picked up the scattered pieces and hugged them in his sleeve.
- "Pierre, Pierre! said the good Lord to him, wait a bit and leave this money. You know I need it to pay my debts ”.
- "Ah! Lord! Your creditors, can be quiet, as I see. You are in a position to pay all your debts. That is why I will always walk with you ”.
The kidnapper lamiña
(Aussurucq version)
Marguerite Berterreix, from Cihigue (Soule), was guarding her sheep on the mountain when Lamiña appeared, threw her on her back and carried her into the Lamiñategia cave, without paying attention to her resistance, nor to her prayers, nor to her desperate cries.
When night came, her parents worried that they would not see her come home. The next morning they started looking for her with their neighbors, thinking she had fallen over some precipice. But their search having been in vain, they returned home, exhausted, when a beggar who had come from Aussurucq informed them that, the evening before, he had seen a Lamiña enter the cave Lamiñategia carrying on his back a girl who was throwing money. loud cries.
This news increased the grief of the parents, because in seeking to enter the cave, they knew that they were facing death. Now, at that time, there were savage men in the country called Maidac, handsome, tall and rich, whom Roland later drove away; and every week, on the Mendi moor, Mairiak and Lamiñak would meet to see some spectacle.
Marguerite Berterreix had been in the cave for four years, fed by the Lamiñak, among other good things, on snow-white bread. She had a three year old son.
One day when the Lamiñak were having fun at the show with the Mairiaks, she said to her son:
"- Stay quiet for a while, I'll come back soon. "
and out of the cave, then, at full speed, ran home.
Her parents hardly recognized her, but then they hugged her well and thought about celebrating her return. The mother alone was sad:
"'The Lamiñaks,' she said, 'would not be long in coming to look for Marguerite, and it was urgent to hide her. "
Immediately they went to dig a large pit in the stable, and the earth was thrown out. They put Marguerite there; the pit was covered with planks, leaving an opening under the crib to allow air to pass; we hid everything under the litter, and we reattach the cows to their usual place.
The job was barely finished when the Lamiñak arrived, claiming Marguerite. The parents said they had not seen her and invited them to visit the house. They did and found nothing.
Marguerite remained three days and three nights hidden in her hole: but her parents, fearing the resentment of the Lamiñaks, decided to send her to Paris. It had not arrived beyond Tarbes that the Lamiñak were in the house of Berterreix, recommencing their useless research.
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