Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie (Grimm)
Division into sections is editorial.
Seeking permission from the family
A young man named Pif-paf-poltrie arrived at a household seeking to marry one of the daughters. He approached the father first with his request.
When Pif-paf-poltrie greeted Father Hollenthe and asked for his daughter's hand in marriage, the father responded courteously but explained that the decision required unanimous family consent.
"Oh, yes, if Father Hollenthe, Mother Malcho, Brother High-and-Mighty, Sister Käsetraut, and fair Katrinelje are willing, you can have her."
Following the father's directions, Pif-paf-poltrie went to the cow-house where he found Mother Malcho milking the cow. He repeated his polite greeting and marriage request, receiving the same response about needing family consensus.
The persistent suitor then sought out Brother High-and-Mighty, whom he found in the room chopping wood. Again, he made his formal request and received the same conditional approval dependent on the entire family's agreement.
Next, Pif-paf-poltrie located Sister Käsetraut in the garden where she was cutting cabbages. He approached her with the same courteous manner, asking permission to marry her sister, and received an identical response requiring family consensus.
Finally, Pif-paf-poltrie found fair Katrinelje in the room counting out her farthings. When he greeted her and asked if she would be his bride, she agreed, provided her family members were willing to give their consent.
Katrineljes dowry and the marriage agreement
Having secured the young woman's agreement, Pif-paf-poltrie inquired about her dowry. Fair Katrinelje proudly listed her modest but varied possessions, which included money both in hand and owed to her, along with practical household items.
"Fair Katrinelje, how much dowry do hast thou?" "Fourteen farthings in ready money, three and a half groschen owing to me, half a pound of dried apples..."
She continued her inventory, mentioning a handful of fried bread and a handful of spices among her possessions. Fair Katrinelje concluded her dowry description with a cheerful verse, expressing pride in what she considered a fine dowry.
"And many other things are mine,
Have I not a dowry fine?"
With the dowry matter settled, fair Katrinelje turned the conversation to her suitor's profession. She began questioning Pif-paf-poltrie about his trade, systematically asking if he practiced various crafts. Each time she suggested a profession, he mysteriously replied that his work was something better.
"Wilt thou be my bride?" "Oh, yes, if Father Hollenthe, Mother Malcho, Brother High-and-Mighty, and Sister Käsetraut are willing, I am ready."
The broom-makers revelation
Fair Katrinelje continued her methodical questioning, asking if Pif-paf-poltrie was a tailor, shoemaker, husbandman, joiner, smith, or miller. To each suggestion, he consistently responded that his profession was something better than what she proposed.
"Pif-paf-poltrie, what is thy trade? Art thou a tailor?" "Something better." "A shoemaker?" "Something better." "A husbandman?" "Something better."
Finally, fair Katrinelje asked if he was perhaps a broom-maker. At this suggestion, Pif-paf-poltrie's mysterious responses ended, and he confirmed that this was indeed his trade. He expressed pride in his profession, asking if it was not a fine trade.
"Perhaps a broom-maker?" "Yes, that's what I am, is it not a fine trade?"
With all family members consulted, the dowry discussed, and the groom's profession revealed, the courtship ritual reached its conclusion. The systematic approach to gaining consent from each family member demonstrated the importance of unanimous approval in marriage arrangements, while the revelation of the broom-maker's trade completed the formal negotiations between the prospective bride and groom.