Clever Katarina: A Tale in Six Parts

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

One of the criticisms of folk and fairy tales is the passive role of
many of the female characters. Clever Katarina is a noteworthy
exception.

Katarina is a poor but intelligent peasant girl. The king, impressed by
her beauty, determines to find out if she is as clever as people say by
giving her a riddle to solve. She must come to the castle not clothed
yet not naked, not riding yet not walking, not on the road and yet not
off the road. If she is successful she will become queen.

Katarina solves the riddle by wrapping herself in a fishing net (not
clothed yet not naked), the end of which she ties to the tail of a
donkey. Pulled by the donkey, she bounces behind him (not riding yet not
walking) along the edge of the road to the castle (not on the road yet
not off the road).

The king and Katarina are married and live happily—until her
cleverness no longer pleases the king. Banished, she is granted one last
kindness: she may take with her the best and dearest thing she desires.
Once again, Katarina proves her worth.

Storyteller Ken Setterington’s version of this classic fairy tale has
a traditional feel. Even the dust jacket with its gold cut-paper design
on a burgundy background and italic lettering are reminiscent of an
earlier time. The book’s formal design is enhanced by Nelly and Ernst
Hofers’ silhouette-style, cut-paper illustrations. Their intricate
designs precede each of the six chapters and decorate numerous
additional pages throughout the book. A chapter on the history and art
of paper cutting concludes the book.

Clever Katarina contains many of the elements of fairy tales (poor but
clever character, events happening in threes, kings and queens) and as
such could be used as part of any fairy tale unit. It would be most
useful, especially with older students, as an example of a
“feminist” fairy tale. Recommended.