Good morning my friends!
Today we’ll have to watch our step, unless we want to slip in the water and take a bath, just like it happened to the main character of the tale I’m about to tell you….
First of all, however, I want to tell you something about the place we’re visiting today.
The site you can see in the picture is called “Toumpi d’l Oursa”.
“Toumpi” are natural pools that take form along mountain creeks… you know the difference between creeks and rivers, don’t you? A creek is small stream of water that runs along a mountain, hopping through boulders and waterfalls: a river, instead, collects all of the creeks and, full of water, slowly goes down to the sea… if you live in a city, most probably what you see every day (if there is one) is a river.
Here on the mountains we have many creeks and even if their water is very cold all year round (because it comes straight from high mountain glaciers), we use ‘em in the summer to bathe and freshen up!
“Toumpi d’l Oursa” is located between Rocciaglia and the Barfè bridge, along Angrogna creek, which is a feeder of the Pellice river; it runs down Rou mountain and gives the respective village its name.
It is told that once a farmer used to have an apple tree along the river.
The tree had large and tasty fruits, and no one could steal them because the tree was leaning right above the river, and only a nimble and skilled climber could do it… no rascal had ever been brave enough to even try it!
…well, someone else succeeded in doing it.
Do you know that bears are great gourmands and can climb well?
One day the farmer, tired of seeing his apples disappear from the tree, hid behind a bush to find out who the thief was.
To his surprise, a she-bear appeared!
She climbed the apple tree and begin to eat with big relish; when she was full, she calmly went away.
The farmer, on the other hand, was furious, and he decided that he would take his revenge: therefore he chose a branch of his apple tree and he sawed it partially, without removing it completely.
The day after the she-bear went to the tree for her usual apple snack; she climbed the tree, put her paw on the cut branch and… Crack!!! Splash!!! The branch broke and she took a frozen bath!!!
This was a lesson to the bear and, from that day onwards, she did not even dare to get near the apple tree!
How to get here:
follow the road for Pradeltorno (district of Angrogna) coming from Torre Pellice and, once you leave the Provincial Street 161 entering the town, take Generale Martinat Street right before the bridge on Angrogna creek.
Go through the whole street and you’ll reach the hamlet known as Chiot dl’Aiga, then take the road on your left (Pradeltorno Street) that takes to the valley bottom. After 1.2 km you will find an open space with the sign “Torrente Angrogna – Toumpi d’l Oursa.”
Do you want to read the tale in Italian ?