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or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at into History.com. It's a summer of 1668 in Central Sweden.

Twelve-year-old Yertruth walks her goats along the banks of the Dala River. It would be a peaceful relaxing

walk if it wasn't for the ten-year-old boy trailing along the path behind her.

Matt swipes petulently at the reeds.

He's from the same village as Yertrud,

but he's bored and frustrated that he's been forced to join her on her chores.

Yertrud shoots him a look, hoping to get him to stop,

but all this does is spur mats on.

He lashes out at the nearest goat, causing the animal to dart away and into the river.

Yertrude shouts at mats to go after it, but he refuses, sneering that looking after the goats is her job.

Yertrude can see the goats struggling in the water, trying to pull itself up onto a slippery rock.

And if the goat drowns, Y true knows she'll get a beating.

So scowling at mats, she hitches up her dress and wades into the water. She grabs

the flailing goat around the neck and carries it back to the bank.

The goat bleeds happily as its feet touches dry land and it rushes off to join the rest of the herd.

Yertrude then clamammers onto the bank herself.

Squeezing the water from her skirt, she hiss his insults at Maths for his stupidity.

But Maths quickly thinks of some hurtful words of his own.

He calls Yurtrude a witch who only reached the goat so easily because she used her

...