The wise woman of Hoogboom

In the hamlet of Hoogboom there once lived, between the little school, the plane trees and the Kazerneweg, an old woman so kind-hearted that she helped anyone who was hurt for an apple and an egg.

She had inherited from her family a particular recipe for a salve that no one else knew and no one could imitate. People with cuts always came to her, and those healed far faster than if they had gone to a doctor.

She had promised her family never to give the recipe away, to no one but her own children. She was not its owner, she said, only its keeper.

There was even a doctor in the neighbourhood who wanted to buy the recipe at a very high price. The woman refused. She would rather heal people herself, with her good heart.

Her little practice went very well. They came running from far and wide to be treated, and the doctors nearby were envious of it. So envious that they made her life very difficult.

They had the means to do so, for what she did was of course unlawful. So she had to limit her clientele to her own circle of acquaintances, and later she gave up her charity altogether.

Although she had two daughters, the secret of that marvellous recipe is still unknown. Nowhere is the salve used any more.

All that remains is a broken pot that once held it, on show in the Folklore Museum in Antwerp. Of the preparation only this is known: a powder was dissolved in the liquid of a pint of beer.

Since there were two daughters, there is in theory still a chance the brew may resurface. But the daughters moved to Antwerp, and there is little hope. Most likely the old woman took her knowledge with her into the grave. She had her use in the time when she was needed.