Long ago, in the towering Djurdjura mountains, there lived in an ancient tower the most beautiful girl ever created — her name was Lounja. Her mother was no ordinary woman: she was the Ghoula, the dreadful creature of the night who devoured hearts and stole souls.

Each night before going out to hunt, the Ghoula would lock the tower with seven padlocks and warn: "Lounja, do not look from the window and do not sing, or I will eat you before dawn." But Lounja would watch the free birds in the sky and weep silently — and whenever her longing for freedom grew unbearable, a golden lock of hair would escape her and fly away on the wind.

One morning, Qais — a young man of the Beni Hilal, brave as a lion and pure of heart as a spring — was tending his camels on the mountain when he saw a golden lock dancing in the air. He followed it until he reached the tower, and called out with a voice that filled the whole valley: "Who is the owner of this gold?"

Lounja leaned from the window despite her fear. Their eyes met and could not let go. She said in a trembling voice: "I am Lounja, and this tower has been my prison since I first opened my eyes." Qais replied: "And I am Qais, and my heart is now your prisoner forever."

Lounja told him: the key to the tower was hidden beneath the Ghoula's heart as she slept at dawn, and the Ghoula was weakened the moment her name was spoken aloud by someone in love. At the next dawn, Qais entered with courage and cleverness, spoke the Ghoula's name — and she turned to stone on the spot. That black rock still stands at the peak to this day.

Lounja stepped into sunlight for the first time in her life, tears racing her smile. And when the dawn light touched her hair, every golden lock turned into a jasmine flower — and their fragrance filled every mountain in Kabylie.