The Fairy Polybotte, powerful and feared, lived near Gérardmer, in the area known as Le Saut des Cuves. Old, wrinkled, and ashamed of her ugliness despite a perfect body, she had withdrawn into solitude. She ruled over a host of malevolent creatures: gnomes, goblins, dark elves, and wicked Sotrés, and drew her power from the cold and snow.
One day, a lost knight discovered a mysterious cave, at the heart of which lay an enchanted garden. In the center, a sumptuous feast awaited him. The fairy invited him and tried to seduce him. But the knight, loyal to his wife, rejected her advances.
Humiliated and furious, she froze him in ice just as he was about to leave. For if he had succumbed to her charms, he would have broken the curse that condemned her to ugliness.
Since that day, even in the height of summer, the cave — now known as the Fente du Kertoff — remains icy cold.