“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The Tale of a Wee Old Woman and Her Wee Cat


Minnesota has their "Grumpy Old Men", (filmed partially in Wabasha MN) and apparently Sweden had their Grumpy Old Women!

This has to be one of the more unusual children's books I've come across in a while. It is not exactly a warm and cuddly book by today's standards. Elsa Beskow (1874-1953), a Swedish author, wrote "The Tale of the Wee Little Old Woman" in 1897.  The book above was translated to English and published in 1958. Her book pages and whimsical paintings are often surrounded by decorative framework of the Art Nouveau style, as you see in this book.

This book is collectible because of its unusual theme and the lovely lithographed images. There are about ten pages and each image is blank on the back, so they are perfect for framing if someone would want to display it in such a way.

I thoroughly enjoyed her lively artwork and her depiction of the cranky, Wee Little Old Woman! I haven't given away all of the illustrations or the story though! If you would like this book for your very own it is available here. 

Below you may read the text on the images and then my version of what happened after the wee cat drove the poor wee old woman to distraction!










Buy the book Here at my Etsy Shop!





The wee little woman put a wee little bit of milk in a wee little bowl and set it on a little wee table...

Just then the wee little cat came in....




My version...
 And then the wee little old woman went a wee little crazy and chased the poor wee cat about with her wee little broom all the while hollering wee little bad names at him...


So the wee cat ran away to the woods and NEVER came back again, because it found a new and loving family on the other side of the woods!!


And the Wee Woman Lived Happily Every After... and so did the cat! The End.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this book!

Until next time.. ~~ Diane



22 comments:

  1. The illustrations are indeed charming -- I especially like how a different plant/flower forms the border of each picture. My fave is the pussy willow border!

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    1. Glad you liked it Debra, my fave is the pine cone frame. She brought the tree that the cat is on right out into the frame! Cool!

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  2. Well Dear this Wee Old Woman certainly made me smile this morning. Your blog was my first read and I think this story is going to carry me through the day. There are times that my four wee cats could run away from home and this wee old woman might live a more peaceful life but of course she would be sad - how about you?? Have a great day and thanks for making my day.

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    1. Haha! Yes I sometimes feel that way too! Of course you know how much I love my kitties and would be heartbroken if they ever ran away! I think that's why I find the story kind of disturbing. Non-cat-lovers will probably think the Wee Old Woman did the right thing!

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  3. I love Elsa Beskow's books! We have many of her books and we read them a lot when my girls were little.

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  4. A wee bit of absolutely wonderful !

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  5. I love those illustrations. Old books never really lose their magic do they?

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  6. What a beautiful little book! And the illustrations are marvelous. :). I love love love wee little kitty!

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  7. I love Elsa's illustrations. And these are particularly sweet with the geranium and pussywillow frames. This book looks very cute. Poor little cat! I would run away too, if a grumpy old lady chased after me with a broom!

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  8. Hahahaha...I love your version! That poor wee little cat...

    Very charming illustrations. Reminds me of the books I used to read as a child, and the public library just a 'wee' bit from home :)

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  9. I miss the classic artwork of books

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  10. I think this is hilarious! So precious ;o) I love the art work and how it is framed! Excellent!

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  11. Hi Diane,

    Thank you for sharing your vintage book with us. The illustrations are fantastic! Not something you see a lot of today. I'm so glad wee little kitty has a safe place to stay :-)

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  12. Magical. Thank you for sharing! :)

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  13. A lovely illustrated story. Thanks for summing up the book with your 'happy ending' version. I think I would have to add that if I were reading it to a young child. ;)

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  14. I love vintage books like this one. The illustrations are so unique. I often will go to the children's dept and just sit and look at the new books and how they are illustrated. I like the illustration with the geranium border.
    Balisha

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  15. Your wee book is wee-ally pretty! (sorry!) But it really is!
    Your words made me smile as did Elsa Beskow’s gorgeous illustrations, thanks for sharing it.

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  16. I think I remember this book. It makes me think of great family times at a relative's home with extended family. Not that any of us ever chased cats with brooms. It may have been there that I read it.

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  17. Newest follower, great vintage book, I collect vintage books, especially fables. Thanks for showing this one!
    Hope to see you follow along too! Take care

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  18. My Swedish-born mom read this story to me as a child in the original Swedish and the last page is different from this English translation. In the Swedish version,it says that "The cat ran away to the woods and Never came back again...(and then in smaller text it goes on to say:)... but in the end he maybe did come back after all.
    So the original ending is not quite so grim and final even though she was really angry with her wee kitty.:)

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    1. Thank you dear reader! I've been pretty angry at my cats over the years, but I always forgive them and we make up!

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