Frederick and Catherine facts for kids

"Frederick and Catherine" (also called "Freddy and Katy Lizzy") is a fun German fairy tale. It was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm. You can find this story in their well-known book, Grimms' Fairy Tales. It's a tale about a husband and wife and their funny adventures.

The Story of Frederick and Catherine

Frederick and Catherine were a married couple. One day, Frederick left for work. Catherine decided to fry a sausage for their meal.

Catherine's Kitchen Chaos

While the sausage was cooking, Catherine thought she would get some beer from the cellar. As she was getting the beer, she worried about their dog. She feared the dog might eat the sausage. She rushed back upstairs, but it was too late! The dog had already eaten the sausage.

Catherine chased the dog, but she could not catch it. Meanwhile, the beer keg in the cellar emptied itself. All the beer spilled onto the floor. To hide the mess, Catherine bought some flour from a fair. She used the flour to dry up the spilled beer. When Frederick came home and heard what happened, he was very angry.

The Missing Gold

Frederick had some gold hidden in their house. He told Catherine it was just "counters" for games. One day, some peddlers came by. Catherine, thinking the gold was worthless, offered the "counters" to them.

When Frederick found out, they quickly set off to chase the peddlers. Catherine fell behind on the road. She felt sorry for the ruts (grooves) in the road. She thought the ruts were hurting, so she smeared butter on them to make them feel better!

The Rolling Cheeses

As they walked, a cheese rolled out of Catherine's pocket. She then sent another cheese after it, hoping it would bring the first one back. Then she sent all the rest of her cheeses, one by one, to fetch the others!

Frederick sent Catherine back home to get some food. She returned with dried pears, vinegar, and the house door. She brought the door to make sure it stayed safe!

Robbers Under the Tree

Frederick and Catherine found themselves stuck in a tree. Below them, some robbers were sharing their loot. Catherine had to let go of the things she was holding, one by one.

First, she dropped the dried pears. The thieves thought the pears were just leaves falling from the tree. Next, she dropped the vinegar. The thieves thought it was just dew (water drops) falling from the tree. Finally, Catherine let go of the heavy door. The thieves thought the door was the devil itself! This scared them so much that they ran away.

In the morning, Frederick and Catherine climbed down. They found their gold and went back home.

Catherine's Strange Actions

Catherine went out to cut grain in the fields. While working, she cut all her clothes into pieces. She looked so strange that she didn't even recognize herself!

Another time, Catherine saw some thieves. She offered to help them with their stealing. When they agreed, she went around calling for people who wanted to be robbed!

Catherine also went to pull up beets in the pastor's garden. She looked so odd that someone told the pastor the devil was in his garden. This person tried to help the pastor, who was lame (could not walk well). But when they saw Catherine, they both ran off. The lame pastor even ran faster than the person who was helping him!