La Fossa de la Minyona (The Maid’s Grave)
This legend tells the story of a brave young woman who was not afraid of witches or goblins. She lived near the houses Les Clotes and Can Calabrès. One day, unfortunately, she was defeated by her own fears.
In the house Les Clotes, half an hour away from Sant Hilari, in the Middle Ages, lived a very beautiful girl with all the graces accompanying the spring of life. Her discretion was as great as her beauty, and her high talent distinguished her above the other girls in the region.
At that dark time, it was believed that the house Les Clotes was surrounded by witches, evils and goblins; its inhabitants were so frightened that by mid-afternoon they already closed the doors and prayed. But the girl, who in addition to her beautiful personal qualities possessed unwavering courage, laughed at their fear. To show them that the goblin they saw was just product of their imagination, she decided to go out alone at midnight, heading to the place where the goblins and witches were said to appear, terror of their house and of the whole region.
The night was dark as a wolf’s throat, and the sound of distant thunder threatening storm could be heard. The girl went out determined, but when she was near the place, her skirt got tangled in some hawthorns; the poor woman wanted to escape and screamed and pulled hard. As the night was dark, she could not see that the thorns had taken her skirt. Then, superstition and fear dominated her, and she thought it was the goblin who had imprisoned her, and died of fear right there.
Until the end of the last century, in the place where the unfortunate maid died, between the country houses Les Clotes and Can Calabrès, a rough wooden cross reminded the place, popularly known as the Maid’s Grave. All the passers-by threw a stone that had the value of a prayer.
