In Alsace, if a woman wanted to have a child, she had to go to Kinderbrunnen: the children's well! Arriving at her destination, she had to make a wish over this well by throwing a coin inside it. A little gnome with a white beard thus retrieves the coin and hears the wish of the future mother!

   

   It is said that below the cathedral of Strasbourg, there was an underground lake where the souls of the children amused while waiting to come into the world. To satisfy the wishes of these ladies eager for children, the gnome took his silver boat and with a golden net gently catches a baby to drop it at the edge of the well. It was at this moment that the stork came to pick up the baby to bring it to his new parents with the help of a basket, and was happy to put it in his cradle.

 

   If you are a young woman and find yourself one day in Alsace, pay attention to the sky, perhaps you would see a bird of auspicious! If you are lucky enough to see a stork flying overhead, you will probably be waiting for a happy event in your family!