Katri, Girl of the Meadows

Morning breaks unto the Räikkölä farm when Teemu charges Katri guidance of the cattle to the north pasture where she and Pekka had to combine efforts to rescue the cattle that wandered too close to the steep cliff there and could not arrest their descent down the precarious terrain of the slope; realizing that she could have had hefty fatality ratios for nothing more than a careless error, Katri foregoes reading to endow extra vigilance unto the wayward Viikuna not realizing that Martti has been searching for her because he has to return back to his urban home. Pekka explaining Martii the presence of multiple pastures igniting a fast friendship between the two boys obfuscates Katri endeavoring to understand why Aki had been arrested as she holds the Kalevala in her hand -- the quandary that becomes the forum for Martii to deliver Katri the bad news. Viikuna's curiosity punctuates Martti and Katri's personal perspective comparison exercise before Martii's cousin Helena arrives to relay that the departure time has been moved up along with taking one last contemptuous dig at Katri. An upcoming thunderstorm becomes the ultimate forum for Katri to receive a new dress from Ulla along with the opportunity to some spend more time with Martti; as an unexpected bonus, Katri is also blessed with courier commerce courtesy of Martti who is combining efforts with Pekka to mind the herd.

Another ordinary afternoon of minding the herd in which Aapeli learns the hidden expense behind partaking in free samples becomes the backdrop for the university student Aki Ranta to walk into Katri's life searching for artistic inspiration as he explains about the Kalevala -- a copy of which Helena possesses and Martii seeks to bail himself for Katri's sake; while Helena explains how he has arrived in the countryside only a few days ago with his spouse with whom her mother is good friends, Aki explains Katri his prologue as a university student as he draws one of the cows along with availing Katri herself as a model. Having successfully smuggled out Helena's copy of the Kalevala, Martii arrives on the scene just before Aki decides to search for fresh scenery not realizing that Helena knows where to search for insight about the deviant diagnostic she senses in her room; galvanized by the insight of where Aki's opening line is located, Katri finds that reading the Kalevala makes for quite a literary adventure that is not exactly for the faint of heart; as if to congratulate Katri for successfully reciting Aki's opening line, Helena arrives to retrieve her book in spite of Martii acknowledging culpability for his subterfuge as he entreats clemency of her on Katri's behalf!!! Martii's perseverance with his entreaties for Helena to bail Katri one of her books ultimately unearths that Helena herself shares Martii's very frustration with the Kalevala and cannot accept the fact that Katri has made greater headway with it than she herself has in such a short period of time; in a bid to restore homeostasis, Aki sets course for the pasture where Katri is minding the herd with his copy of the Kalevala.

While his fatigued arms might digress quite vociferously, Martii Halme prosecutes his workday with the perspective that he is not wrong to have rushed across the lake to Räikkölä-ke where he has promised to herd the cows while Katri recuperates in spite of Helena's objections equally split between emphatic counsel to stay home and declaring her intention to blow the whistle to her family government; meanwhile, Ulla and Anneli prosecute a conversation about the latter's perspective of the former's recovery while the former having decided for housing Katri in the summer house charges the latter the refurbishment of a room to this effect. Unfortunately, poor Martii has to endure running on fumes as a consequence of power-rowing across the lake on an empty stomach due to having overslept through breakfast; if that is not enough, a power nap after an impromptu brunch becomes the backdrop for a thunderstorm to unexpectedly roll in the necessity of having to grapple with the cows toward the shelter of the forest. Upon Helena having explained it to him, Governor Halme is none too pleased at his son's choice of summer employment and heads out to express this perspective; meanwhile, it becomes glaringly apparent that Martii is absolutely in over his head when a ground-bound lightning strike panics several of the cows into running away deeper into the woods. Caring nothing of Martii's exhaustion from having to retrieve the absconding bovines and that Martii is in over his head, Pekka objurgates Martii's irresponsibility for leaving the cows unattended during a thunderstorm at which Martii snaps and gives Pekka a far more ferocious run for his money than his aristocratic appearance would suggest possible!!! Even with his truce with Pekka to ensure that all the bovines are present and accounted for, a mud-spattered Martii is anguished to find that his fortunes have ultimately hit rock-bottom when Governor Halme rides onto the scene with a lot of very destructive criticism for his cattle-herding efforts; about the only silver lining in this is that Pekka steps up to the plate to offer his perspective of Martti's performance being above and beyond the call of duty!!!

Thanks to her collaborative efforts with Pekka, Katri successfully rescued all of the Räikkölä-ke cattle only to have endowed unto her a scathing castigation complete with a cane strike before Teemu has the true nature of the situation explained to him; still, Katri is in for quite a surprise when she finds herself inhibited by a cumbersome deviant diagnostic as the wages for her muddy intercession for Viikuna who had led the other bovines to the cliff at the north pasture in the first place. Martii decides for a visit to Katri as the method of choice for initiating his summer furlough along with introducing his disdainful cousin Helena who leaves in a huff; Katri's physiological deviant diagnostic now confirmed, Martii decides to intercede on Katri's behalf by herding the cattle prior to explaining Teemu the necessity of Katri resting for a few days -- an enterprise interdicted by Katri's obstinacy and Teemu not really understanding the full nature of the situation. Fortunately for Katri, Teemu cannot ignore the warm sensation of a fever nor the sincerity with which Martii promises to cover for Katri during this time; in spite of Teemu's qualms about his suitability for the job for which his punctual arrival should be a factor, Martii sets out to guide the cattle to the pasture but finds that Viikuna is not as easily appeased at the substitution of supervision as she decides for exploring the forest before Pekka makes her reverse course back to the herd. What everybody fails to realize is that Ulla is about to prosecute the ultimate course reversal as the many parallels between Leena's demise and Katri's illness prompt her to set course for the sauna to synthesize hot cakes, while Katri divides her energies between feeding her face and computing a perspective of Ulla having done such a selfless thing for her, Martii finds that securing Helena's cooperation is more difficult than forestalling a migration into danger led by Viikuna!!!

The previous ten days have affirmed quod erat demonstrandum what Ukonniemi-ke, Halme-ke, and now Teemu already know: Katri and Aapeli's prominent proficiency at herding cattle. When Katri finally has her lunch and is able to get going, Teemu charges her the guidance of the cattle to the southern pasture along with walking them five kilometers; while Katri enjoys the nice weather as she watches the cattle do their thing, Pekka comes over for a visit to appraise her status. As if to affirm everything as hunky-dory, Aapeli rushes off into the forest after a rabbit only to be greeted with scorn from Katri who gives the rabbit to the overjoyed Pekka; after a recess for lunch, Teemu arrives to appraise Katri's progress and deliver an ominous syllabus about his wife Ulla and the north pasture that has a precipitous cliff. True to Teemu's admonition for vigilance, Ulla ultimately proves far more treacherous when Katri recounts her recent encounter with her mother Sara when she signals an interest in having Aapeli for her own oblivious to the logistical problems that it would cause Katri; while Teemu is very helpful in keeping Ulla in check, the ethical imbrogilo that Ulla visits unto Katri makes herding 300 wayward cows like Viikuna on the north pasture seem quite a tame task!!!

Upon the affirmative reply arriving in record-breaking time and a lunch pack galvanized with her grandparents' sage counsel for the road, zero hour for Katri's journey to Räikkölä-ke with Aapeli is finally at hand!!! A chance encounter with the cobbler becomes the forum for Katri to have delivered unto her a syllabus of what to expect from Räikkölä-ke prior to Martii catching up to Katri; upon having explained the cobbler's counsel, Martii feels a little guilty about how things have turned out as he endures the physiological wages of the subterfuge that he has had to avail. After taking a recess for lunch, Katri and Martii find that passing through a nearby village is easier said than done when they are accosted by a quartet of boys that take an unethical interest in the dachshund; when it becomes apparent that the boys will not listen to Aapeli's Leave me alone!!! growls complete with a defensive chomp, Martii renders unto Katri his greatest parting gift: stalemating the bullies so that she can escape. The bullies repulsed and Martii sent off back to Halme-ke is ultimately cold comfort to Katri and Aapeli literally running on fumes as their re-affirmation of their course for Räikkölä-ke becomes the genesis of their initial encounter with a cowpoke from Penttilä named Pekka whose courier intercession carries with it enduring his crass comedy as the salary; as the proximity to Räikkölä-ke increases, so will the necessity of Katri acknowledging the hefty syllabus ahead of her.

An impromptu geography lesson about Finland swiftly yields to a church service that illuminates the scope of damage Katri's grandfather has taken at the hands of a bear prior Katri beginning her home commute when Martti intercepts her to signal an interest in a fishing trip to temper the news of no headway being made to learn of any job openings; unfortunately, Martti wanders into the wrath of his elder sister Mari whose deflection succeeds the ashes of the mission charged him. While Julius compares notes with his wife Hilda about Martti and how to weather the storm ahead, Martti and Katri begin their angler outing oblivious to the deteriorating weather conditions building above them which forces the two kids to take shelter in a cave when their boat is swept from its mooring; now marooned on the island, Martti finds the courage to explain Katri a significant ethical issue of his family employing her before resolving to gather data from the commerce his family prosecutes. Aapeli rises to the occasion as the ultimate skeleton key to Katri and Martti successfully forestalling hypothermia prior to Julius's arrival on the island; unfortunately, Julius arrives too late to proactively forestall Katri and Martti catching a cold as a memento of the ordeal.

The story begins as a woman named Sara looks upon her payload as she is taking a carriage ride across the Finnish countryside to where her six-year-old daughter Katri has been residing with her grandparents. A cowpoke's cautionary challenge becomes the forum by which Sara explains that she has had to work abroad for protracted periods of time as evidenced by her previous visit having taken place the year before -- a dynamic that has driven Katri to perch on a bridge railing oblivious to how worried her grandparents Hilda and Julius Ukonniemi are about her. A very sentimental mother-daughter reunion gives way to Katri exchanging notes with Sara about the lives they have led before Sara presents Katri her payload -- an energetic dachshund puppy. Katri becomes extremely fond of the dachshund puppy which she names Aapeli whose immense affection and situational utility does very little to compensate for Sara's protracted absence during which the Colossal War in Europe extinguishes all correspondence and finding to her horror that her grandparents' micro-economy is in a bad way even without a large bear that thinks of Katri and her grandparents as food before Aapeli barks some trepidation into the large ursine. Even as the male villagers slay the bear that they think is why another farm lost two cows and Aapeli barks an injunction against proximity to the forest to the calf, it ultimately offers very cold comfort to Katri who does not like the necessity of selling a cow that she is fond of -- and that a bear has decided for the cow being its next meal along with her grandpa.