Clever Elsie

A wickedly funny Grimm Brothers tale of runaway imagination and marital mischief. Clever Elsie is famed for her foresight—but her “wisdom” is really catastrophic overthinking. When a pickaxe left above a beer cask sends her spiraling into tears over the fate of a child she doesn’t have, her family joins the weeping chorus until suitor Hans—delighted by such exaggerated caution—marries her. The honeymoon ends in hilarity when Elsie naps in the cornfield, Hans slips a bell net over her, and she wakes so confused she no longer recognizes herself and bolts from the village. Narrated with playful warmth and crisp comic timing by Mike Polischuk, this brisk folk farce skewers worry, groupthink, and the perils of being “too clever.” A delightful quick listen for fans of classic folklore, dark humor, and sharp little fables with a sting in the tail.