The legend

Witches lived in the mountains. Nobody ever saw them, but people knew something magical was happening on the mountain peaks. During the day the cliffs were dry like chalk but at night people could hear a waterfall. At night the witches called their water from the stone. They drank and bathed and played in the water before dissolving into the dawn mist. The last witch to leave would seal the stream to hide it from people who could bring change and take their peace away.

That night, a traveller was passing through the mountains. His legs trembled from climbing steep slopes all day. Only the sound of the waterfall gave him the energy to move forward. He planned to spend the night near the stream so in the morning he would collect enough water for his journey. As soon as he took the first sip, his blood warmed up with joy. His legs stopped trembling. Instead, they pulled him to continue walking. Singing, he set off down the moonlit path. His voice carried over the misty valleys that never heard such sounds.

By then, all the witches had drifted away but one. She was about to stop the spring when she heard the song. The sound pulled her like a string. She stepped from the stream and followed the song the way birds follow the sun. The witch left behind her mountain peaks, her peace and her sisters. She also left the water running all through the night.

In the morning her sisters discovered she had disappeared. The stream flooded the valley. Reflections of soft clouds glided over the water as if the world had turned upside down. The sisters decided to keep the lake as a tranquil and endless shrine to the one who had gone away.

This story is based on the legend about the Kapetanovo Lake in Montenegro.