Legenda o lijepom Pécopinu i lijepoj Bauldouri

The story takes place in medieval Germany, in a romantic, fairy-tale landscape along the Rhine. The handsome young knight Pecopin and the beautiful Bauldour have been in love with each other since childhood; their fathers have betrothed them. On their wedding day, Pecopin goes hunting for a huge boar that is terrorizing the village. In pursuit, the devil (in the form of a boar or a hunter) lures him into an enchanted forest, where time stops flowing normally: Pecopin hunts for centuries, goes through ages, wars and changes, but cannot return.

After 100 years, Pecopin finally returns – old, exhausted, but still in love. He finds Bauldour: she has waited faithfully, but has died of grief and old age. In the dramatic finale, love conquers death – Pecopin finds her in the grave, and the spirits are united in eternity.

Hugo uses folkloric motifs (the eternal hunt, the devil's illusion, the Rhine as a symbol of transience) to create a romantic fairy tale about love that transcends time, death, and fate. The story is lyrical, full of poetic descriptions of nature, medieval chivalry, and melancholy – typical of Hugo's style in "Le Rhin," where he mixes travelogue, history, and fiction.