The Venetians and the Huntsman
A. Many years ago, there was a huntsman in Altenau who once laid down or slept on a meadow in the Schultal valley. Then two Venetians appeared, who always traveled to the Bruchberg mountain in order to extract the gold that no one else knew how to find. They woke him up, and asked if he could show them the way to the Bruchberg. The huntsman was well acquainted with the area, and led them there. At the Bruchberg, there was a small pit, which led into the mountain like a mining tunnel. Here they dug up yellow earth, and filled their bags with it. This earth was pure gold. Once they were done, they all lied down and slept. But when they woke up again, all of them were in Venice. The two companions showed the huntsman around the city, and showed him their immeasurable treasures of gold, silver, and gemstones, which filled many cupboards. In one such cupboard, they had a whole arrangement of quarry animals: Stags, deers, wild pigs, and many other animals, and all were made out of either gold or silver. The huntsman received a silver stag as a keepsake. When the huntsman woke up the next morning, he was once again on the meadow in the Schultal valley where he had lain, and the silver stag was next to him. When the huntsman wanted to visit the pit again, he found neither the pit nor the path to it.
The same legend is also told in the Upper Harz region in the following manner:
B. A district forester went into his district one morning. Then he saw six people coming his way from afar. He approached them and asked them what they were doing there. But he knew none of them, as they were so nondescript and did not have a proper human nature. He threatened them and told them that they should not ruin his district, but then went away without disturbing them further. The next morning, he returned to this spot in order to look out for the little men, but he did not encounter anyone. He sat down and fell asleep. When he woke up, he was in a wholly different region. He stepped forward, and reached a large body of water. Then a dog approached him, and offered to carry him over the water. When he had reached the other side, he found a large garden. In it, there were birds who could speak, and there was a house that was as transparent as crystal. Then the six little men appeared and led him into the house. Here, everything was made out of gold, even the animals: Stags, hares, foxes, and so forth. The little men prompted the forester to take something, and he chose a five-pointer stag. Then they pressured him to eat. The dishes were white snakes. The forester initially said that this was not something one should eat, but his protests were to no avail. Now he had to lie down in a bed, and when he woke up, he once again sat under the tree in his district, and looked around whether he was dreaming or awake. Next to him, a spring was gurgling, and one of those entities emerged from it. He told him that he wasn’t asleep, and next to him there was the five-pointed stag he had wished for. Then the little man vanished again. But the forester went home with his five-pointer, pleased and bewildered in equal measure.