That is the origin of Monte Perdido, one of the most majestic and beautiful mountains in our Spanish Pyrenees. It rises with ice and stone, just like the heart of the shepherd.
Tale has it that long ago, the place where the mighty Monte Perdido now stands was a vast stretch of green meadows.
It was a beautiful area, full of lush grass, flowing water, and colorful flowers, where shepherds from the nearby villages of Sobrarbe would bring their sheep to graze.
One of those shepherds was known for his harsh and solitary nature. He hardly spoke to anyone and spent his time carving curious wooden figures with his pocketknife.
One afternoon, while resting by the river, a man approached him. He was barefoot, dirty, and poorly dressed. His figure was hunched, and his face hollow with hunger. The man said to the shepherd, “I haven’t eaten in a long time. Please give me something to eat, God will repay you.”
The shepherd looked at him, but with a hardened heart, chose to ignore him. He turned away and continued carving a boxwood branch. The beggar asked again, but the shepherd remained unmoved in his selfishness.
The strange man disappeared, and moments later, a thick fog began to cover the valley. The shepherd had never seen anything like it, and frightened, he started to search for his flock, which had scattered across the meadows.
Suddenly, a powerful snowstorm and strong winds began to blow. Within minutes, everything was frozen. The shepherd and his sheep vanished forever. They were never seen again.
Legend says that right on that very spot, a towering and treacherous mountain appeared: Monte Perdido. The green meadows turned into rock, snow, and ice beautiful, but no longer a place to care for livestock.
Shepherds say that the beggar was Saint Anthony and that what happened was divine punishment for the shepherd’s selfishness and lack of compassion. When the shepherd refused to help him, Saint Anthony said:
“You will be lost for your greed, and where you are lost, a great mountain will rise immense, as great as your lack of charity.”
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