The Wildmannli
Alpine fur figures
The Wildmannli, fur-covered creatures from the mountains, once herded people's cattle - as long as the weather was right. Their stories tell of a willingness to help and a mysterious reward that suddenly turned coal into shiny coins.
The Wildmannli lived in the Nenzing valley on the Alpe Seris, in caves called "Kasten". They wore no clothes, their whole body was covered in hair - similar to a bear. They came to Malbun valley and Steg to look after the cattle of the inhabitants of Triesenberg. When the farmers had a lot to do, they relied on the Wildmannli and left the cattle unattended for several days, knowing that they would feed and care for them.
However, the Wildmannli stayed at home when the weather was bad - especially when the Föhn wind was blowing. So it happened that once the Föhn storm blew up on the ridge, while the weather was fine on Triesenberg. The farmers still wanted to dig potatoes and therefore did not go up into the mountains because they assumed that the Wildmannli would feed the cattle.
On the third day, however, some of them set off to see what was going on and fetch milk and whey. They discovered that the cattle were half starved - the Wildmannli had not come because of the wind.
Another time, the Wildmannli called a midwife from Triesenberg to a woman who had recently given birth. In return, she received an apron full of charcoal. Dissatisfied with this reward, she threw away one charcoal after another on her way home.
A wild man followed her invisibly and collected the coals. Every time she threw one away, it called out: "The more you throw away, the less you have!" When she got home, the woman emptied the remaining coals onto the hob - and was surprised to see that every single coal had turned into a blank taler.
She hurried back to collect the discarded coals - but they were nowhere to be found.