"Calineczka" Boats of Vietnam

Are you familiar with the story of Calineczka or as she is called Thumbelina in English. I thought of this story when looking at some pictures from Vietnam. Small scale, rural fisherman have round shallow boats. They move them around by rowing and stirring them not far from the shore. Originally they were made with bamboo but now since everything is provided by Chinese factories, they are made of fiberglass or plastic. Ahh! The modern times!

When you look at the fisherman from the shore they remind Calineczka in her bed made of a tiny piece of walnut shell. As the story written by Hans Christian Andersen tells us she is kidnapped by a toad in hopes that she marries her son. So she escapes and travels through the world on a lily leaf in search of safety and her home.

Hans Christian Andersen wrote Calineczka in 1835. When it first came out, critics where not very impressed with this story of a runaway bride because it was "too pretty" and lacked a moral at the end. So you could say Andersen was breaking the new grounds. Today, we love his style and his stories are admired by many age, ethnic and religious groups. Even my son showed his enthusiasm for this Danish writer. My son was truly moved by the story of The Girl with Matches. I guess we have a lot to thank for to Mary Howitt who translated his stories for children in 1888 into English. Thanks to her great work we can enjoy them today.

I hope you have a great Thursday! I am off to my baking and cooking! Time to get ready for Easter...