Back in 1264, Nendaz and the castle of Brignon belonged to the Counts of Savoie, whose Lords came along to the region every year to hunt.
One day, a young horseman on a magnificent black horse came along to the mountain pasture of Bleusy. The young man was Perrod, the castle's Lord, and he addressed one of the shepherds thus:
- Among you is a shepherdess by the name of Hugonnette, go and find her. As of this day I will take her into my service.
The eighteen-year-old Hugonnette was a very pretty country girl with a fresh, rosy colour to her cheeks. She was also sweet and gentle.
- Hugonnette is my sister, answered the shepherd, her presence here is vital. You will easily find the servant you seek at Saclentse.
But the master would not hear of it, and he ordered the shepherd to go and get his sister. The young man straight away went to warn Hugonnette of the danger she faced, and sent her off to hide in the woods.
The shepherd went back to the Lord and said to him:
- My sister is not at the chalet, she must have gone down to Saclentse. You'll recognise her easily by the white lamb that follows her everywhere she goes.
So Perrod leapt onto his horse and disappeared down the path that led straight to Saclentse. In that village lived a poor girl, a humble soul, who was often seen in the morning skipping around with a white lamb. When the Lord arrived at Saclentse, he saw a white lamb behind the bushes overlooking the Printse and set about following it. The frightened lamb ran off, followed by its guardian. Perrod spurred his horse and the horse made a huge leap forward, jumping across the cliffs and falling into the abyss with his rider. Meanwhile, the young girl and her lamb crouched huddling under a rock - and neither the horse nor the rider were ever seen again.