Katri, Girl of the Meadows

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.