Some of these stories are among the most beautiful legends of the island. Other stories are less-known but not less-fascinating. Because Sardinia is a magical land. A place populated by ghosts and fairies.
- Il folletto dai sette berretti (Tempio). The folletto is a sort of small elf or leprechaun, and he had seven caps. He was a very fast, smart and contemptuous creature and teased everyone. One day, a smarter and faster man stole one of the caps and hid it in a blackened pot. The folletto could not retrieve it because his white hand could not get dirty with the black soot of the pot.
- La ragazza al fiume (Tempio). One day, a woman saw a girl who was washing diapers in the river. The woman scolded the girl. But a large black spot appeared on the face of the woman due to her affront. Because that girl was the soul of a person deceased during childbirth.
- La stria (Aggius). She was a sort for evil witch. Once, she tormented so much a child that he began to cry. The mother tried to calm him and, seen something that looked like a dangling threads in the chimney, she severed it. But that thread was the hand of la stria.
- Il fortunato di Casteldoria (Aggius). A man was walking near Casteldoria Castle at night. Attracted by lights and mysterious voices, he came to a window, looked inside and saw the souls of the dead who deposited three gold coins. The man gained a rich and prosperous future for himself and his family.
- Le janas. They are little fairies who, according to popular traditions, live in holes dug in the rocks. Janas’ skin was white and very delicate. In the full moon nights, they came out to pray near Nuragic temples. And they had a soothing voice: their melody spreads at night while working on loom or sieves, and accompany the solitary wayfarers.
- Le streghe di San Sisinnio (Villacidro). They were ugly old woman with long hair and sharp nails, bloodsucking witches who could turn themselves into cats.
- La fanciulla e la miniera (Monserrato). A young and beautiful girl, while taking a walk, was the victim of a landslide in the gold mine of Genniau, near Sarroch. Everyone who passed over there could hear the loom that the soul of the maiden continued to use while waiting to be rescued.
Stories: Gino Bottiglioni, “Leggende e tradizioni di Sardegna”
