Myths, Legends and Peruvian Stories (Mitos, Leyendas y Cuentos Peruanos)
Selections and Notes by José María Arguedas and Francisco Izquierdo Ríos
Costa – Leyenda (Coast – Myth)
017. The Enchanted Well (El Pozo Encantado)
Collected in Cañete, Province of the Department of Lima, by Yolanda González Zavala, a fourth year high school student of the “Miguel Grau” National School of Magdalena Nueva, Lima.
In Cañete, a few meters from the Pan-American highway, in the South, one can find the entrance to the small estate of Hualcará, where there is a well of crystalline water which they called “The Enchanted Well”. According to legend, they say that when someone approaches the well, a beautiful young woman comes from within it and offers to the traveler a glass of water; and whoever drinks the water would disappear just like the young woman does, without leaving a trace. For this reason the inhabitants make sure not to approach the well for fear of disappearing when drinking the enchanted water.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Caminante – (person who walks) walker; (person who travels) traveler
Procurar – (to make an attempt) to try; (to endeavor) to make sure; (to give) to provide
Procurarse – (to get) to obtain