1. LA XANA
By Lía Fernández Pareja

2. The Xana is one of the most famous
characters in Asturian legends.

3. The Xana is known all over
Europe as the fairy (or the
fairy godmother) .

4. She is a beautiful, very pale girl
with fair, long hair.

5. She lives in fountains and in caves
near the mountains and the seas or
next to the rivers.

6. Xanas can be good
or bad fairies.
Bad Xanas kidnap
children, attack
people and steal
food.

7. Good Xanas wear white or silver dresses,
but bad Xanas wear rags.

8. Some Xanas have
been captured by a
cuelebre (another
mythological
dragon).

9. They have to keep the cuelebre’s
treasure: gold, silver and money,
because the cuelebre is very rich.

10. If you can see
them, you'll see
they are
combing their
hair with a comb
made of gold.

11. They own chickens and hens
made of gold too.

12. Some of them
wash clothes in
the river while
they sing and
dance. Some
others make
clothes in their
golden spins.