The frog princess is dancing a very strange dance. Having poured wine into one sleeve, and poured swan bones into the other, she goes out onto the "dance floor" - and then something unimaginable happens:
“She danced, danced, spun and spun - all wondering! She waved her right hand - forests and waters became; waved her left - different birds began to fly."
Scientists believe that such dances, called in the chronicles "many-way dancing", took place in real life - they were part of the ancient holiday of "Rusalia", which was celebrated despite the adoption of Christianity. Girls (most likely of noble blood) tried to appease the deities of fertility with such a dance. The wine and bones that flew out of the sleeves hardly turned into forests and waters, but the sight was certainly beautiful - the dancer was spinning, waving her long sleeves.
Long sleeves are often found in medieval depictions:
The image of a feast and a ritual dance on a medieval bracelet.
Similar dances and other pagan symbols are depicted on bracelets found in various medieval hoards. These bracelets were most likely part of a ritual - they were removed, releasing the long sleeves needed for a dance designed to attract the forces of fertility.
Bracelet-bracer from the Vladimir treasure, 1896.
Here is what Academician B. Rybakov writes about the pagan ritual hidden in the fairy tale:
Promotional video:
