Tradition / Region: Czech Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Flame
The Myth
Burning Treasures are mysterious flames associated with hidden money and tormented souls.
The shepherd of Rindlau was driving his cows out to pasture on Palm Sunday when he saw a tiny flame blooming near a wayside cross. He ran over and found a pot of ancient money there. As he lifted the pot from the ground, a little black dog lay beneath it.
The dog leaped out of the hole with joy, sniffed at him, and gazed at him affectionately. But the shepherd only wanted the heavy money, so he pushed the dog away and cursed it. The dog vanished as if swallowed by the earth, and the pot rattled and sank.
Had the shepherd kissed the dog, he would have helped a tormented soul and become rich himself. But with his kick, he pushed the poor soul even deeper into hell.
A man from Duschowitz was walking through the countryside when he noticed a blue fire beside the path. Since his pipe had just gone out, he relit it from the small blue flame. Later, when he tapped out the pipe at home, an old thaler fell out.
Sources
Hans Watzlik. “Brennende Schätze.” In Böhmerwald-Sagen. Budweis: Böhmerwalder Dorfbücher, 1921, Heft 5. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/tschechien/watzlik/brennendeschaetze.html