Tradition / Region: Liechtenstein Mythology
Alternative names: The Red Goat of the Treasure
Category: Sheep
The Myth
In Triesenberg there once lived a wealthy but extremely greedy farmer who trusted no one with his hidden fortune. One Sunday he told his wife, daughters, and servant to go to church while he remained home alone.
The servant became suspicious and secretly hid himself in the hayloft to watch.
During the church bells for the consecration, the farmer entered the barn carrying a pot filled with gold. He lifted part of the wooden floor and poured the treasure into a hidden cauldron buried beneath the barn. After the farmer left, the servant climbed down and stole a few pieces of gold.
Soon the farmer returned with another load of treasure. Looking into the hidden pit, he muttered that some gold seemed missing, even though he believed himself alone. Frightened, the servant did not dare move again.
When the farmer came a third time and emptied more gold into the hidden place, he sealed the floor and declared:
“Only the one who drives a fire-red goat three times around this treasure during the consecration bells, in the three highest names, shall ever reach this gold.”
Three weeks later the farmer died. No treasure or documents could be found, and his family fell into despair. The servant then told them to pray for him while he searched for something important.
After another three weeks he returned leading a terrifying fire-red goat. The wife and daughters laughed, believing all their prayers had only been for a strange red animal. But the servant warned them to wait and see.
The following Sunday, during the church bells, the servant and the widow opened the barn floor and drove the fire-red goat three times around the hidden treasure.
At that moment the ghost of the dead farmer suddenly appeared sitting upon the gold. When the church bells stopped ringing, the spirit vanished forever, finally released from its curse. The hidden fortune now belonged to the family.
As reward for his courage and cleverness, the servant was allowed to marry the farmer’s eldest daughter.
Sources
SAGEN.at. (n.d.). Der feuerrote Geissbock. In SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen. Retrieved May 23, 2026, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/liechtenstein/seger/geissbock.html