Have you ever heard of Katrinelje? Well, her parents thought she was the smartest girl in the whole village!

One day, a nice young man named Hans came to visit. "Katrinelje," said her mother, "Hans is thirsty. Please go to the cellar and fetch some cool cider."

Down in the cool, dim cellar, Katrinelje saw the big barrel of cider. But oh dear! Right above it, stuck in the ceiling beam, was a shiny pickaxe.

Katrinelje sat down on a stool and started to think. "What if," she thought, "I marry Hans? And what if we have a little boy? And what if, one day, we send our little boy down here for cider, and that pickaxe falls right on his head?"

The thought was so sad that Katrinelje started to cry. Boo hoo hoo!

After a while, the maid came looking for her. "Katrinelje, why are you crying?" she asked. Katrinelje told her all about the pickaxe and the future little boy. So the maid sat down and cried too!

Then the farmhand came. "Why all the tears?" he wondered. They told him. He joined the crying club!

Next, Katrinelje’s mother hurried down. "What’s all this fuss?" she asked. When she heard the story, she also started to weep.

Finally, Katrinelje’s father came. "Goodness me!" he exclaimed. "Is the cider barrel leaking?" They all explained about the pickaxe. And guess what? He started crying too!

Hans waited and waited. At last, he went down to the cellar himself. There they all were, a chorus of sniffles! "What on earth is wrong?" he asked.

Katrinelje told him her very clever, very sad thought about the pickaxe and their future son. Hans listened carefully.

"My, my," said Hans. "You really do think ahead, Katrinelje! Such a clever wife you will be!" And so, he decided to marry her.

After they were married, Hans said, "Katrinelje, my clever wife, please go to the field and cut the corn for our dinner."

Katrinelje went to the field. First, she ate a big lunch. Then, feeling sleepy, she lay down for a little nap. "Should I cut the corn first, or nap first?" she wondered. "Oh, I'll nap first!"

Hans came by later and saw her sleeping. "My clever Katrinelje is working so hard, she's tired herself out!" he thought, and went home.

When Katrinelje woke up, it was getting dark. "Oh dear," she thought. "Am I Katrinelje, or am I not Katrinelje? I feel a bit muddled."

While she was sleeping, Hans had quietly tied little bells all over her dress. So now, when she moved, she went jingle-jangle!

"Hmm," she said, hearing the jingles. "If I am Katrinelje, I'll know myself. If I'm not, then who am I?"

She walked back to her house, jingling all the way. She peeked in the window and called out, "Is Katrinelje home?"

Hans, hearing the bells and thinking it was someone else, called back, "Yes, she's inside, probably resting after all her hard work!"

"Oh my!" cried Katrinelje. "Then it's not me!" And she ran off down the road, jingle-jangle, and was never seen in that village again.

1892 Views