BETTY WITH THE STORKS
Psssst, guess what, the amber actually has magical powers! I can hardly believe it! Do you want to know what happened? Then listen carefully!
Before I said goodbye to the old man, I asked him where I had ended up here. I had fallen asleep on the traders' wagon and woken up here. He explained to me that this place was called Zistersdorf. There was a beautiful market here with many market stalls and musicians, stilt-walkers and jugglers. Afterwards I went to see the town, especially the town wall and the tower I found very interesting. Later I also came to a church. Then I lay down in the sun on a green meadow. Looking up at the blue sky, I saw a large bird flying past. I wondered if it was a stork or just a heron? Completely lost in my thoughts, I reached for the amber that now hung around my neck. I must have rubbed it a little too. Suddenly it went POOF and BANG and white smoke rose. When the wall of fog in front of me cleared again, I was still lying in a meadow, but I was definitely no longer in Zistersdorf.
Above me, many of the large birds were now circling. They had an orange long beak, orange legs and white and grey plumage. They are definitely storks, I thought! As I continued to look around, I spotted some trees with more storks high up in them. They had built large nests, also called eyrie, and were caring for their young. They were constantly flying and feeding them. ... I love to watch things, so I didn't really notice that in the meantime some children gathered around me and looked at me with wide eyes.
"Who are you?"
A little boy asked me.
"We've never seen you here before!"
"I'm Betty!", I answered kindly. "Can you tell me where I am? I think I'm lost," I fibbed a little, because I could hardly believe this incredible story about the magic amulet myself. "What kind of person are you? This is Marchegg, of course. This part is also called Auwald," one of the girls told me suspiciously. "What is that around your neck? Is that amber?" another boy asked curiously. "Um, yeah. I think it's an amber. An old man gave it to me," I replied. "Well, take good care of it, because amber is very popular with our traders!" he returned. The oldest of the girls now spoke to the others: "Come on, we have to go! Our parents are already waiting for us with lunch!"
"Goodbye, Betty with the amber!"
One of the girls called out to me as she said goodbye.
"Yes, goodbye! Betty Bernstein!"
They all shouted in chorus and ran away.
Phew, now I needed a little break to understand what had just happened to me!
So, that was my very first journey, which I experienced with my amber amulet! Now you know how I got my name!
