It has been three years since little Katri's mother left for Germany leaving her daughter behind in Finland, where she now lives with her grandparents. With Finland still under Russian domination, the inhabitants of these lands have had little or no news from the outside and no one knows if little Katri will again see her mother. To make matters worse, things in the Katri's grandparents' farm are not going well, the harvest had been a small one, their only cow had been killed by a bear and the family confronts great monetary problems. Katri wants to help and finds work in a neighboring farm; for a girl of hardly nine years of age the work of a farm is hard and tiring even with all of her enthusiasm and good moods, which is what keeps her standing.—bazabib

An adaptation of the Finnish novel "The Shepherd, the Servant Girl, and the Hostess" by Auni Nuolivaara. The story opens in 1911, when Katri's mother migrates to the German Empire to find work. Little Katri is left in the care of her grandparents in Russian-dominated Finland, and her upbringing is financed by money send home by her mother. In 1914, World War I begins and all communication between the Russian Empire and the German Empire ends as the two empires are at war with each other. The 9-year-old Katri has to financially support herself, first as a farm laborer and then as a nanny for a wealthier child. A female acquaintance teaches Kari how to read and write, using the epic poem "Kalevala" as an educational tool. Later, Kari gains more formal education in Turku. By the time she reaches adulthood, Kari launches her career as a professional writer.—Dimos I