At a time when cholera was carrying off people and livestock, an unknown lady came to a poor man’s house late in the evening. She asked to stay the night. The owner hesitated for a long time because he feared the stranger, but finally allowed her inside.
In the morning the woman asked him to ferry her across Svitiaz. He agreed. When they reached the middle of the lake, a storm suddenly arose. Waves began filling the boat, and it seemed that both travellers were about to drown.
The stranger climbed onto the man’s shoulders. He was a strong swimmer, so he abandoned the boat and carried her to the opposite shore. There the lady revealed who she was: she personified cholera itself.
Before vanishing, the woman declared that she would not return to Svitiaz before the Last Judgement. She disappeared as swiftly as lightning. From that time onward, the storytellers said, the inhabitants believed their village would be protected from another outbreak.