Many mountain lakes (Popradské, Veľké Hincovo) are said to be home to fairies. They appeared to shepherds and young men as beautiful maidens, helped the good, and kept away from the wicked.

Long, long ago, when the Tatras were not so noisy, shepherds and lads from villages below the mountains would roam the peaks. The finest place to rest was by a great lake that gleamed beneath the summits like a mirror of the sky. People called it the Lake of Love. It was known that fairies lived in its depths—delicate beings with hair silver as moonlight and smiles sweet as honey. They danced and made merry on its shores, but showed themselves only to those who came with a pure heart and joy within. The fairies had the gift of revealing the future.

Whoever dared gaze into the dark water saw the image of their great love. A young man would often see the face of a girl he didn’t yet know—and in time she would enter his life. Girls, in turn, saw brave lads whom they could later recognize even blindfolded. But the lake also had a stern face. If a liar, a thief, or someone playing with others’ feelings drew near, the reflection showed endless darkness—yet with a message. It mirrored his traits and gave him a chance to change.

If someone wished to cleanse his heart, he had to remain for three days and three nights by the lake—without food, in silence, with a deep desire to know. Such a person could hear the healing music of higher spheres, dissolving his veil of ignorance and reminding him that happiness lies within.

Each morning and evening, one of the noblest fairies would sound a conch. The fairy Ajsen. Her warming melody left one sitting in speechless awe—motionless, as if time had stopped. To those who surrendered to it, the music melted hardened opinions and traits. After such cleansing, it always became clear what new thing to fill oneself with to escape one’s fate.

Goodness attracts goodness. Evil always turns against itself.