[3] Reuven, a local furrier, is having trouble making money to provide his family with Hanukkah supplies and other necessities as the winter has been relatively mild and there has been little need for his services.

The town's butcher Feivel has decided to offer to buy Zlateh from Reuven for eight gulden, where he will slaughter her and sell her meat.

[5] After some debating and despite the objections of Reuven's wife Leah and his two daughters Anna and Miriam, he decides that the money that will come from the sale of the goat is more important to the family's well-being and sends his son, Aaron, to bring Zlateh into town.

On the way Zlateh suddenly wonders where Aaron is taking her when she passes new fields, pastures, and farms, but she soon tells herself that she is a goat that is not supposed to have any questions.

Aaron gets lost as the snow covers his path and he quickly begins to look for shelter, with his life and Zlateh's now in severe danger.

Further, with the winter now in full swing Reuven's furrier business drastically improves as, with the cold weather, the villagers need to keep warm.