The Old Country is rich in fairy tales, anecdotes, and legends, most of which have been passed down in Low German. Fortunately, literarily gifted locals took up the pen early on and left us with a deep insight into customs, traditions, and mentality. From this rich source, I was able to draw, collect, compile, and translate. We all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. They deserve our gratitude. Without their diligence and love for their homeland, this little book could not have been published.

From the content: The Wolf of Francop, The Junker Calls, The Swedish Dike Watch, Mieken Borchers, The Dike, Stuufstert, Star King, Help, Picker, The Scarecrow, The Eternal Bride and Groom, Sour Soup, The Plum Pancake, Gesche von Husen from Huttfleth, Metje Pape and the Cossacks, Catching Stint, Claus von Husen and the Fish Woman, Jan Fudderich, Old Country Wedding, Sleigh Ride on the Elbe around 1840, Ferry House Kirschenland, The Pretty Fir Tree, Buttercup and Thistle, About the Clever Mouse, Adebar and the Frog, Between Twelve and One, Visit in the Dark, The Underground Passage at Esteburg, About the Iron Button, The King of Tonga, When Servant Niklas Walked on Water. Including a place index.

Recommendation text: The Old Country offers a wealth of material for history and stories: seafaring and dike construction, natural landscapes and fruit cultivation, customs and festival culture. Cornelia Kenklies has now compiled the legends and stories from the Old Country not only from many sources but has also partially retold them herself. Thus, this book is a great enrichment of our knowledge about the land and its people, about the atmosphere and way of life in a unique cultural landscape, and a pleasure to read at the same time.