Maria the tallest

Once upon a time in a little village in the Pyrenees, in La Vansa-Tuixent valley, lived a woman called “Maria the tallest”. This village, she lived in, was called Cornellana.

People believed Maria was a witch, but no one could prove.

And do you know why people thought that?

Because in the village some animals (sheep, cows, pigs,..) have died. The dead animals were from houses where Maria had had an argument with them.

In Cornellana like some other village in the Pyrenees there were some smugglers. Their job was smuggling tobacco. With this job they earned some money for their families.

This is the story of two young but expert smugglers from this area. They knew a cave in Fornols (the nearest village to Cornellana) where their hid their goods.

One day before the crowing of the cock smugglers went quietly to pick up the hidden tobacco in their cave. Suddenly they listened some voices. They were frightened because they thought they were from police; and they wouldn’t police to get them.

After that they listened Maria the tallest speaking to herself. She said: Where did you take me?, while she was walking to the cemetery in a small path.


Smugglers like statues thought that Maria was talking to the devil after she had done something evil.

Maria had a daughter called Sebastiana, and it’s said that. When she died, people realized that she had a long hairy black tail. This is an other fact why people thought that Maria was a witch.

And this is the legend of Maria the tallest. I don’t know if the story is true or false, but I think is a nice legend of my county.

Presentació: Mercè Mases