They say that long ago a village in a mountain valley was covered by a lake. Only its bell was saved, and it hung on a post on the north shore.
Ilka, a shepherd girl of twelve, lived in the valley with her grandfather Bela. His rule was: "Never cross the frozen lake after dark. The ice is thin where the old village lies." But one evening a lamb ran away, and when Ilka found it, the sun was setting. She crossed the ice with her twenty sheep anyway.
In the middle of the lake, thick fog came down. Ilka could not see either shore. The ice groaned and cracked, and the sheep began to cry. She remembered another rule of her grandfather's: "When you are lost, stand still and listen." So she stood still. Far away, a deep bell began to ring.
She walked towards the sound, and the ice held. At the shore, the bell hung on its post, and nobody was near it. Bela came with a lantern. "I did not ring it," he said. "Nobody did."
Now the children of the valley learn it first: in fog, stand still and listen.
