Winter had been over for a while, and even the first spring day had already passed, and all the snowmen in the gardens had melted away. Some brave flowers timidly began to sprout their first buds. Warm sun rays lured people out for their first spring walks.
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There was only Daddy, Mummy, and a little girl walking along a dirt road. The girl was having fun chasing butterflies and plucking dandelions, accompanied by the watchful eyes of her parents. They all agreed to rest for a while under an old oak tree near a crossroads far from the village. They wanted to spend the time weaving a dandelion wreath.
This idea made the little girl so happy that she ran ahead to reach the tree first. She didn’t notice that the sky had grown much darker and cloudy, and a strong wind had started to blow.
Soon it began to rain. The girl ran even faster to hide under the tree, which wasn’t far away now. There was a dry place under the branches, but the wind blew dust from the road straight into her eyes. She couldn’t see that the raindrops had turned into heavy snow.
When she finally rubbed the dust away, a curtain of snowflakes surrounded her. She could hardly see a few steps ahead. Suddenly, she realized she was lost and didn’t know where her parents were. She began to shout, but the wind carried her words away. Yet as suddenly as the storm had come, it was over. Bright sunlight returned, but her parents were nowhere to be seen. All around her was snow, covering the first spring plants and flowers she had seen just moments before. It looked as if nature wanted to take a little nap beneath a white blanket.
Then the girl noticed some footprints in the fresh snow. They led away from the oak tree. Each footprint had five small imprints arranged in a circle. “What is this?” the girl asked aloud.
“We were left here by the fox,” the footprints replied in a whispering, tempting voice. “Follow us and you will be like a fox yourself — quick, smart, sly, and very, very beautiful. You will be able to talk to people, persuade them, and even lie so that you achieve everything you want. You will be given all you desire, or you will take it without asking. And if you are caught, you will escape, slip away, and hide. Almost nothing will ever happen to you.”
The little girl liked the sound of this. She had always wanted to be more beautiful and clever than everyone else. She was about to follow the footprints when she noticed another set not far away. These looked quite different: a large triangle with five toes.
“What huge footprints!” cried the girl. “Yes,” the big footprints replied, “we were made by a bear. Can you see how deep we press into the snow? It is because the bear has strong legs. Follow us and you will become like him — big and strong. Everybody will fear you. Everybody will listen to you and obey. You will be the leader. You can do and say whatever you like, and nobody will dare oppose you. But beware — nobody will dare come close to you either.”
This was a tempting idea too. To be strong — yes, that was what really mattered! While she was still thinking about which footprints to choose, she noticed yet another trail.
These were made by simple prints of small and larger shoes. They looked quite familiar.
“We are the footprints of people,” they said. “If you follow us, you won’t be the smartest or the strongest. You will just be an ordinary girl. People will sometimes scold you, sometimes criticize you. You won’t be allowed everything, and sometimes you will even cry. You will be scared and not the best in everything you wish to be. But you will be truly loved simply for who you are.”
The girl suddenly felt warmth wrap around her heart. It was so strong that she forgot about the snow and started to run, following the last footprints. It didn’t take long before she saw her parents searching for her in the fields. The joy of their reunion was so great that it woke the spring sun. The clouds vanished, and the world was bright and warm again.
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