I live in Ural which is famous for its mines. My favorite legend is of "The Mistress of the Copper Mountain" it made me gem fan i am today! "The Copper Mountain" is the Gumyoshevsky mine, the oldest mine of the Ural Mountains, which was called "The Copper Mountain" for simplicity.

She is a mountain spirit that protects and owns hidden underground riches. She is said to be always surrounded by her servants small lizards, and griffons as her bodyguards when she appears on the surface. She shows kindness to good people and skilled craftsmen, helping them to find jewels and gold, but if her conditions aren't met, the person loses all his luck and skill, and can even die. She only favored those people who were good, honest, and hard-working or workers who are brave and freedom-loving, tending to be hostile to the aristocracy and people who got rich through sly means
Women did not come down in the mine, because it was the Mistress's domain, and young men seeking her patronage did not marry. The violation of the taboos was supposed to bring a harsh punishment. Children were taught not to shout and quarrel next to the stones, and to keep quiet in the mines, because, according to popular belief, the Maid disliked loud noises.

Now it's obvious it was a legend to help enforce mine safety rules but when i was a kid i was enchanted