THE TREASURE AT KERTELL. (JANNSEN.)

Sacred-Texts Legends & Sagas   

DURING a great war, the people of Kertell, in the island of Dagö, caused a great iron chest to be made, p. 223 wherein they stored all their gold and silver, and sunk it in the river near the old bridge. But they all perished without recovering it. Many years afterwards, a man who was passing by in the evening saw a small flame flickering in the air. He laid his pipe on a stone and followed the flame; but it disappeared, and on going to pick up his pipe, he found it gone, and money lying on the stone. But afterwards, whenever he passed the stone, he found money. His companions advised him to consult a magician with respect to raising the treasure, of which the tradition had persisted; and the magician directed him to go to the place where he had seen the flame on three successive Thursdays, and sacrifice a cock, but not to speak of it to any one.¹ On the third Thursday, he took some companions with him; and when the cock was sacrificed, the treasure-chest appeared above water, and they dragged it to shore with great labour. But one of the party looked towards the bridge, and saw a little boy mounted on a pig riding over it. He exclaimed to his companions, when the figures disappeared, the stakes and ropes gave way, and the treasure fell p. 224 back into the river, and was irrecoverably lost to them.

Footnotes

p. 223

¹ This seems to be an error in the story; for the context shows that the prohibition was not to speak a word during the ceremony.