There were in Apellaniz, at one time, many patients with pimples all over their body and to whom neither the drinks nor the potions of the most famous doctors and healers could cure. Here is the story of the rocks of Sarba.
Rocks of Sarba
To free them from this evil, public prayers were made in San Bartolomé. Almost everyone attended church, except for a few old women who had a reputation for liking acts of witchcraft. Before this collective prayer, the population feared that they were the culprits of this disease.
When everyone gathered at the church, these old women went up to the rocks of Sarba which are located above Apellaniz, as if they threatened to fall on the village. These scruffy women got into a huge crevice and eventually a pile of stones fell towards the church.
Astonished, the villagers began to flee from the sacred enclosure without taking into account good manners. But, miraculously and in front of the surprise of the parishioners, the statue of San Bartolomé raised a hand and exclaimed in an imperial voice:
- No sus movais! (Do not move)
The villagers waited a moment, between terror and wonder, as the stones stopped in their mad rush. Thus, it seems the terrible episode ended because even today, the rocks of Sarba have not moved.
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