The witches of Collioure were, strangely enough, three very pretty young girls. One of them, nicknamed Grisette, was to marry a handsome guy who she loved. But an indiscreet old woman warns the future of the beauty's diabolical actions, advising him to watch over her.
Grisette de Collioure
The lover managed to hide in his fiancée's room, and, without being seen, was able to await the events. Around midnight the young girl opened her window, waving a white handkerchief and soon two very cute married women arrived.
— Tomorrow is the Collioure festival, said one of them, let's go to the island of Saint-Vincent and we will pick flowers to adorn ourselves.
The proposal having been agreed, La Grisette took from her cupboard a jar full of pomade in which each lightly dipped their thumbs. At the signal: pel sus fulla, led nos to the barca, the three witches disappeared, after having made the sign of the cross nine times.
The fisherman only had to imitate his fiancée, dip his thumb in the ointment, and pronounce the sacramental words to also be transported to the beach of Collioure where the bruixas were already there. And as they were heading towards a boat, he preceded them and lay down under the bow. The witches settled down and the badessa cried:
Vara per un, vara per dos, vara per tres!
But as the boat was not moving, she asked her comrades if any of them were pregnant (prenys), then repeated the formula, completing it:
Vara per un, vara per dos, vara per très, vara per cuatre!
And the boat headed towards the Island of Saint-Vincent, while the astonished witches wondered who was the fourth person who had caused the departure. But the sinner remained silent in his hiding place. His attention was soon attracted by a strange conversation that Grisette was having about him. On my wedding night, she said, I want to transform my husband into a fish and force him to swim all over the coast. This will be funny. And his comrades laughed.
— I, said one, changed my husband into a horse and I ordered him to travel the roads. The next day he was sick...
But, at that moment, we arrived on the edges of the Island. The witches having dismounted, the sinner also came out of his hiding place and went, like them, to pick rare flowers, then returned hastily under the bow of the boat. The return was as quick as the outward journey and the young man was very happy to touch land, after such an instructive journey.
The next day he told his comrades about the adventure and distributed Saint Vincent flowers to them. With them he arrived at the daily meeting where his fiancée was waiting for him. The sight of the flowers disturbed the young girl who, pressed with questions and seeing herself discovered, had to confess everything, confirming the words of her lover the day before.
The sinner, in fact, declared to renounce his hand, making it impossible for him to marry in the commune.
