It has been told that the Turaida Castle scribe Greifs found a little girl nearby the castle and that was during the times of war between the Swedes and the Poles*.
The girl was barely older than a few months and she had almost perished in her famished states.
The scribe kept the findling for his own foster daughter and he baptized her by the name of Maija, and Maija grew to become a beautiful and chaste maiden.
The Sigulda young gardener Heils fell in love with Maija and the young folk used to spend their evenings in the Gūtmaņa Cave.
On 6th August, 1620, Maija received a message from Heils inviting to meet him in the Gūtmaņa Cave earlier in the afternoon for he would be busy later that evening.
Maija walked to the cave in the company of Greifs’ little daughter Lenta who was 8 years of age.
Later that night, Heils rushed to the Turaida Castle where he announced that Maija had been murdered in the Gūtmaņa Cave.
Little Lenta had not returned home, either.
That very night, the terrible deed was reported to the judge who visited Turaida in the following morning.
Heils was the first to be suspected even while renowned for a decent man.
Turaida Lord Šildhelms who was, at the time, bound to sickbed, sent an urgent message to the judge bidding to inspect two deserters of the Polish troops, and those were Jakubovskis and Skudrītis who had been serving the lord for two years since they had deserted the Polish force, and they had earned a well-deserved scorn for being drunkards and scoundrels.
Skudrītis, too, had approached the lord pleading for his testimony to become accepted regarding the circumstance of Maija’s death.
Skudrītis was thereby summoned to the court.
There Skudrītis revealed that Jakubovskis had had his heart set on Maija as soon as the twain had joined the Turaida folk.
Three months ago, Jakubovskis had professed his love to Maija promising to marry the maiden yet she refused him claiming to have been engaged to Heils.
Jakubovskis was a man of a wretched temper and he had desired to avenge the rejection.
In confidence with Skudrītis, Jakubovskis had plotted to lure Maija to the Gūtmaņa Cave where the twain were to take the maiden by force.
Jakubovskis had sent the message to Maija in the name of Heils.
Jakubovskis and Skudrītis had waited in the cave for Maija’s arrival and they had been hiding in the bushes.
Once Maija had appeared, Jakubovskis refused to let her pass and he had proposed his evil intent to the maiden in the most wicked words.
The maiden had resisted greatly yet Jakubovskis was proven too strong and he pushed the girl down to the ground.
Maija then pleaded for his mercy and she promised to bestow to Jakubovskis such and such enchanted shawl that could keep any man from all harm.
If Jakubovskis found it not in his mind to believe, – said she, – he could smite his sword at her neck where it was covered by the shawl, and he would duly witness her having been spared from the cut.
Jakubovskis had, indeed, a sword at his side and he drew it at once to strike at Maija.
Maija fell to the ground and blood surged from her neck.
That very instant, Skudrītis heard a shriek behind his back which must have arisen from little Lenta in her grave fright.
After the dreadful deed, Jakubovskis was distraught and he fled to the forest and he forbade Skudrītis to follow him.
That morning, Skudrītis had discovered Jakubovskis’ dead body – for the man had hanged himself in the forest.
Heils was found innocent and he was released from the imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Skudrītis, upon entreaties on behalf of both Heils and Greifs, was, too, freed after four months.
***
*Polish-Swedish War (1600 – 1629) was fought mainly in the territories of nowadays Latvia and Estonia and it resulted in the Swedish governance over large territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Latvian Folk Tales 