The Sacred Salt River 

Germanic tribes obtained salt by pouring saline water over the glowing embers of trees. A salt-rich river (the Saale) flowed between the territories of the Hermunduri¹ and the Chatti², and war broke out over its ownership. For the Germanic peoples believed that such a region lay close to the heavens and that human prayers could heard by the gods nowhere better than here. They believed that the salt in this river and these forests was a gift of divine grace; unlike other peoples, who obtained salt left behind by receding tides, here the salt emerged from the river water through the interaction of two hostile primal elements: water and fire. The war ended fortuitously for the Hermunduri but disastrously for the Chatti; in fulfillment of their vow, the victors sacrificed all the captured men and horses.

¹ Hermunduri (also known as the Hermanduri) were a prominent ancient Germanic and Suebian tribe recorded by Roman authors from the 1st century BC through the 4th century AD

²  The Chatti were a powerful ancient Germanic tribe that inhabited the central and 

northern highlands of modern-day Hesse, southern Lower Saxony, and the upper 

Weser River valleys in Germany.

Translation FairyTaleChannel.com

The fairy tale of Chaplain Schlunz, or “Hang your Hat on a Sunbeam, Friend”.

 The fairy tale of Chaplain Schlunz, or “Hang your Hat on a Sunbeam, Friend”.

Chaplain Schlunz lived in Glis from 1833 until his death in 1882. In his outward appearance he was of great simplicity, but inwardly he was a zealous and pious man who could also achieve much more than others. To this day in almost every part of Upper Valais, people still recount the many strange tales about him. Once the clergymen of the deanery gathered the priests for a conference. Some mocked the simple clergyman from Glis and deliberately occupied all the places to hang up their hats and coats. When Chaplain Schlunz entered the conference room a bit later, he looked around in astonishment, then calmly took off his hat and pressed it lightly against the smooth wall. "So you are holding fast!” he said.  Others claim he hung his hat on a single sunbeam streaming through the window. In any case, he thoroughly put his mockers to shame. In doing so, he is also said to have exclaimed: "Oh, how many masters, but how few real clergymen!" 

A fairy tale from Brig, Switzerland