Allegra in the glacier-Hotel Morteratsch, Pontresina

Many years ago, the young cattle of the village called Aratsch on the Alp, where the colossal Morteratsch-Glacier lies behind Pontresina. He loved the richest farmer's daughter Annetta in Pontresina, but this – a greedy – man cut her off and gave her to the rich owner of the castle above the village. Aratsch went abroad and became a soldier. Aratsch returned as an officer after years; at night he entered Annetta's parents' house, but found his lover lying on the death shrine, surrounded by flowers. He looked silently at the pale face, then stormed off, swung onto his horse, sprinkled to the alp where he had once sheltered and on to the glacier behind it, spurring his faithful animal to the gray jump in a crevasse , Nobody saw him again.

Back then, old Barba Gian was on this alp. Since then he often heard strange fiddling in his hut on quiet nights, as if someone was going from one peg to another and getting the milk, and between them a pitiful, female voice sounded: "Mort Aratsch, Mort Aratsch!" (Aratsch is dead, Aratsch is dead!) – That was Annetta's ghost, who was still tied to that of her lover after her death. Gian let the spirit go, and when he gave up his old age at an old age, he recommended that his successor do the same, because since the spirit has been there the alp has improved, and the cows have given more milk than before, including accidents rarely more a piece of cattle.

But the young Senn was raw and hard-hearted, and when the ghost came back and looked into the milk pens to see if everything was right and in order, everyone left and complained: "Mort Aratsch, Mort Aratsch!" He did one terrible curse and pointed the poor soul out of the hut forever. The Mort Aratsch-Jungfer escaped with painful crying. But from above, the alpine woman heard her angry voice: "Schmaladia saja quaist alp e sia paschüra!" (Damn this alp!)

From one hour on, the glacier advanced visibly from its gorge and quickly covered the alp, the hut and the entire side valley, up to where the Alp Nova now feeds its little grass. Only the Boval- hut, high up on the glacier, and the Isla persa (lost island) in the middle of ice and snow, are reminiscent of the old alp. On quiet nights, however, you can still hear the ringing of the herd bells and the complaint about Aratsch deep down. The glacier still bears the name Morteratsch Glacier to commemorate Aratsch's death. Others tell that the Pontresiner, after the complaint of the young mountain dweller, wanted the capuchin to banish the spirit. Although he had freed the hut from the spirit, it immediately fell into ashes and at the same time the glacier had started to advance.