Many years ago there died on the estate of Sundshult,
in the parish of Nafverstad, a child of illegitimate birth, which, because
of this, was not christened and could not be accorded Christian burial, or
a place in heaven, and whose spirit, therefore, was left to wander the earth,
disturbing the rest and making night uncomfortable for the people of the neighbourhood.
One time, just before Christmas, the parish shoemaker, on his rounds, was
detained at the house of a patron, and, having much work before him, he was
still sewing late into the night, when he was unexpectedly startled from his
employment by a little child appearing before him, which said,
"Why do you sit there? Move aside."
"For what?" asked the shoemaker.
"Because I wish to dance," said the spectre.
"Dance away, then!" said the shoemaker.
When the child had danced some time, it disappeared,
but returned soon and said, "I will dance again, and I'll dance your light
out for you."
"No," said the shoemaker, "let the light alone.
But who are you that you are here in this manner?"
"I live under the lower stone of the steps to
the porch."
"Who put you there?" asked the shoemaker.
"Watch when it dawns, and you will see my mother
coming, wearing a red cap. But help me out of this, and I'll never dance again."
This the shoemaker promised to do, and the spectre
vanished.
The next day a servant girl from the neighbouring
estate came, who wore upon her head a red handkerchief. Digging was begun
under the designated step, and in time the skeleton of a child was found,
encased in a wooden tub. The body was that day taken to the churchyard, and
the mother, who had destroyed her child, turned over to the authorities. Since
then the child spectre has danced no more.
Source: Herman Hofberg, Swedish Fairy Tales, translated by W. H. Myers (Chicago, W. B. Conkey Company, 1893), pp. 105-106.