The Elders of the Croisette still talk about it at the Saturday evening vigils. A long time ago, a young man lived on the east side of the Croisette, a farmer by profession on the mysterious lands of the plateau. He was known to everyone because he was fearless and fearless. His entourage called him Del without knowing the origin of his surname. Although accustomed to going to the fields beyond the pond of the Priests, the young farmer got lost one autumn day in the woods while picking the mushroom in this prolific end of September.

After walking for a long time under the fir trees through the brushwood and bracken towards the valley and then crossing a large dark forest, he fell asleep in the Chanot at the foot of an oak tree, overcome by fatigue. When he woke up, he saw a small light through the branches and walked towards the house. He knocked vigorously on the door. A young girl came to open the door.

"I'm so tired and I've lost my way," he said. Please give me shelter for the night.

“My father is an ogre,” she said; all night he roams the woods in search of game and he sleeps during the day. If he finds you here on his way home, he'll devour you. »

But extreme fatigue pushed poor Del to enter despite this warning. No sooner had he closed the door than the ogre arrived.

“I smell fresh flesh here, hum!!! hmm!!!, he growled.

– My father, a handsome young man is up there sleeping. He is very skilful with his hands and he knows a thousand trades.

“Very well,” he yelled, “I'll call him. »

Awakened by the howls that shook the walls, the poor peasant faced the ogre.

"You are going," he told her with forceful threats, "to dig a hole and find some water!" I want to build a well there. If you haven't finished your work by noon, I'll eat you. »

Remembering the advice of his father the dowser, he seized the hazel stalk and surveyed the fields, located a spot and immediately set to work, digging, digging, my friends, without finding any trace of the precious liquid. He used three shovels without reaching the end of the work.

The ogre's daughter, known as Rosina with the Golden Eyes, arrived at the stroke of noon.

"How's your work, my friend?"

– Ah, poor young lady, the clay is hard, the moraines too heavy to bear and three landslides have delayed my work. I will never make it ! »

The girl's eyes lit up and with a sweeping gesture with her wand, she squirted water out of the hole.

Midday struck, the ogre appeared and in a thunderous voice said:

“Have you finished your task?

“Yeah,” Del said.

- Very good. Tomorrow you will make a new frame on the farm and the annex. If you're not done by noon, I'll eat you! »

He immediately set to work, felling three trees, sawing off the trunks to make beams and boards, tearing up the old worm-eaten framework and covering the farm.

A little before noon, Rosine with the golden eyes arrived.

“Is your work progressing?

- Oh, no, good young lady, I sweat, I nail but I do not come to the end.

The brave girl made a broad gesture and as if by magic, the annex house was immediately covered. At noon, the ogre arrived.

“Have you finished your job?

“Yeah,” Del ventured, completely dejected.

- Its good. »

The ogre's daughter approached and asked:

“What did he command you, my father?

- Nothing.

“So he wants to eat you. Let's flee together,” whispered Rosine with the golden eyes, madly in love with Del the peasant, the gravedigger and roofer.

No sooner said than done. They ran hand in hand for a long time when turning around, she saw a man coming as fast as the wind.

"It's my father," cried the frightened girl.

Immediately, she changed into an apple tree and changed Del into an apple picker, her basket under her arm. The ogre arrived.

“Good boy, did you not see a young lady and a young man pass?

“No, no, I didn't see anyone,” whispered the picker. »

The ogre returned to the house and told his wife that he had only seen an apple tree and a picker.

"Well," replied the woman, "the apple tree was her and the picker was him."

“I'm running right now,” he shouted. »

The two young people were still fleeing. Turning around, she saw her father again, running as fast as the wind.

'It's my father,' she cried again; immediately she changed into a pond and her lover into a fisherman.

"Didn't you see a young man and a young lady?" he yelled.

“No, I didn't see anyone,” said the fisherman, raising his line. »

Back home, the ogre again told what he had seen.

"Well," said the mother ogress, "the pond is her and the fisherman is him."

“This time I'll catch them undeceived,” he growled, shaking the walls. »

The two young people were still running. Turning around, she saw the ogre approaching, swift as the wind.

"He's my father again," she said breathlessly. »

So she changed into a carp and changed her companion into a pike. When the ogre arrived, he wanted to grab the carp which was jumping but fell into the pond where he drowned. With a stroke of the reed, the two lovers emerged from the water, hand in hand.

Mother ogress having learned the outcome of this sad day, fled into the woods and was never seen again. Some time later, the marriage of Rosine with the golden eyes and Del the companion of a thousand trades was celebrated.

All the farmers in the neighborhood gathered in the farmyard to feast, taste the kirsch of the year and devour the farmer's wife's sausage. That night, the water flowed abundantly at the source and in the sky, the roofs of the farmhouse sparkled with a thousand lights, the lights of love.

Some people still falsely claim today that the tap of the spring poured out a wine with a delicate aroma that day, which made the joy of the guests, but the many testimonies collected invalidate this version. Perhaps these take their desires for a reality as popular wisdom says!!