- Genre
- Mythological legend
- Source status
- folkloric
- Motifs
- Šatrija, oven broom, sacred name, interrupted flight
The story
A young farmhand worked for women who were witches. One day they invited him to go with them to Šatrija hill.
The women straddled an oven broom and took flight. They gave the farmhand the means to fly as well, and he went along. They had covered much of the journey and were close to the hill when he exclaimed in amazement, invoking the Virgin Mary and marvelling at their flight.
As soon as he spoke, he fell to the ground. He never reached Šatrija. The witches flew on and feasted there, drinking from horse hooves.
Reading the story
The short legend connects the interrupted flight with a sacred name. It does not say that the farmhand died or later took revenge, and no such ending is added here.
Told by Uršulė Jančiauskienė in the Veviržėnai area; recorded by N. Vėlius in 1962. LTR 3526(212).
Source and retelling
Lietuvių tautosaka, IV (1967), Nr. 406, p. 461: „Vaikio ir raganų kelionė“. An original retelling of the recorded traditional narrative cited here. The sequence of events and ending are retained in modern language.