A widow and her little daughter - Betty, lived in a broken down cottage. All they had other than the cottage were two she-goats.
However, Betty was very cheerful and she took the two goats to graze in the woods, every day.
That was not all.
Every day, in the morning, her mother gave her a slice of bread, a spindle and a basket. Just as her mother wanted, while the goats grazed, Betty would spin with the spindle and flax. At mid-day, she would put her spindle aside, call the goats and she gave the goats a morsel of bread. Then she would collect any fruit of the season from the forest and eat it with her bread.
After her meal, Betty danced and sang in the woods.
Even the goats enjoyed the happy and cheerful Betty dancing around the forest in the sunshine.
After that, Betty went back to her spinning and till date, her mother never scolded Betty for bringing the spindle empty.
However, all that changed one day.
One day, after having her meal, she was just about to dance when a beautiful maiden appeared before Betty. The maiden had golden hair, a white dress and she wore a garland of flowers.
Betty was stunned.
The maiden smiled at Betty. “Betty, do you like dancing?”
On hearing the melodious words of the maiden, Betty was no longer afraid. “I could dance all day long.”
The maiden smiled. She tucked her dress and took Betty by the waist. “Let us dance together. I will teach you.”
Adapted from Slavonic Folktales
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