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Long, long ago, in a hidden corner among Catalonia’s mountains and great forests, lived a giant called Gori. He was as tall as castle towers and as strong as a hundred horses together, but his heart was gentle and sensitive.
Gori lived alone in a large woodland cave. Although he was happy in his home, he often felt lonely. He loved walking among the tall trees and listening to the forest. One day he heard a sweet singing voice. It was so beautiful that he followed the sound until he saw a young woman gathering flowers in a meadow.
Her name was Alba, and she was as lovely as the first ray of morning sunshine. Her hair shone like gold in the sunlight, and her smile was so radiant that even the flowers seemed to turn towards her. Gori fell in love at once. But whenever he thought of approaching her, he remembered he was a giant and feared that neither she nor the villagers would accept him.
Night after night, Gori sat in his cave looking towards the meadow where he had first seen Alba. Sadness filled his great heart until, one evening, it turned to tears. He began to weep silently. His tears, as large as pearls, fell onto the forest’s dry earth.
He cried for hours, and his tears formed a little stream. As they continued to fall, the stream became a small river and then, incredibly, a great lake.
When Gori stopped crying the next morning, an enormous lake lay before him where there had once been dry ground. The water glittered in the sunshine, and every ripple seemed to carry a little of his sadness.
Ever since, in this tale, Lake Banyoles has been a place of beauty and melancholy. People say its waters are as deep and mysterious as a giant’s heart. Sometimes, when everything is still, a soft echo can be heard, as though the lake were weeping for a lost love.
Children from the nearby village often play beside the lake, while their grandparents tell the story of the tears that created this beautiful place. And so the legend of Gori and his unreturned love lives on, touching the hearts of everyone who hears it.
