RECIPE FOR HOPE BUNS

Hugtto! Pretty Cure - Episode 29
My Own Review

RECIPE FOR HOPE BUNS

Hana introduces her friends to her grandmother in the 29th episode of Hugtto! PreCure. She runs an okashi shop, but her old age has started to catch up to her…

Hana hugs her grandmother

The episode starts with an excited Hana leading her friends to a place called Tanpopo House, where they meet Hana’s grandmother – Tanpopo Nono (her first name means Dandelion, and she has the floofy hair to match!).

She makes okashi (traditional Japanese sweets), and prepares a batch of dorayaki for everyone to sample.

Tanpopo’s dorayaki is a big hit

After eating the dorayaki, Hana tries to draw more customers to the shop by handing out free samples.

One person who tries is a loyal customer of Tanpopo House.

Yone is not only a regular, but the old lady's about a decade younger best friend and confidante.

 Yone can tell that the quality of Tanpopo House has gone down

Yone knows that Tanpopo House’s products used to be far better than they are now. She says that directly to Tanpopo, who pretty much just tells her to go away if she is going to complain. That’s exactly what Yone does.

Tanpopo is determined to prove Yone wrong, and, after chasing her friend off, attempts to make a new batch of ‘mega-dorayaki’. However, she ends up throwing her lower back out.

 Tanpopo ends up hospitalised
We get a rare case of an older character throwing their back out not being played for laughs, and Tanpopo going to hospital.

She doesn’t want Hana to see her in that state – Hana tries to protest, but Homare encourages Hana to go on a walk with everybody else.

 Everyone end up at Yone’s place, a rice shop, where they have a chat. Yone has been aware of the declining quality of Tanpopo’s treats for a while now – she talks about how all her okashi used to be amazing, and mentions ‘hope buns’ (kibou manju) – treats that Tanpopo used to make before Hana’s grandfather passed away. Tanpopo had stopped making hope buns after becoming a widow, because the recipe reminded her too much of her husband...

The usual locket keepsake...

ALLONS-Y!!

Youne even mentioned that Hana's grandfather used to create a special manju bun called Hope Bun (Kibou Manju) that was delicious but Tanpopo stopped making it after his passing. Hana decided to make Hope Buns although she has no idea how to make it... (Face palm)

Hana is eager to make hope buns, but there is a small problem…

Hana decides that they should recreate those hope buns – though nobody knows how. Fortunately, there happens to be an old notebook with the hope bun recipe just laying around. On Grandpapa's altar, no less!

Hana went to her grandfather's altar to find answers and Hug-tan pointed a notebook on top of the altar. Hana then found the recipe of the Hope Buns and started creating a batch with her friends.
While making, Hana also learns the love (ai: agape or unconditional love) and dedication (ganbare) that her grandmother has put in making the treats and was determined to get it right. 

 It’s tough, but Hana is determined to make hope buns

It’s quite a struggle, but when Hana thinks about Tanpopo exerting herself so much everyday, she finds the strength to push on and make the hope buns. Of course, Hana is also supported by the other Cures, too.


Whilst they do that, Yone visits Tanpopo.

Tanpopo has some unexpected visitors

the others managed to make the hope buns, though their presentation leaves a lot to be desired.

 

However, the hope buns bring back fond memories for Tanpopo, who gets tearful.

As young people picking potatoes together...

...test-tasting together...

 ...fond memories of when husband and wife were both alive

When Hana finally presented the Hope Buns to Tanpopo, the old granny was surprised in tears as she reminisce the times with her husband and how they created the Hope Buns with their hard work/perseverance (ganbare). 

Tanpopo admitted that she didn't want to make any Hope Buns as it was too painful to remember her time with her husband. 

 She tries one, and approves, drying up her tears – though she does tell Hana that she has a lot to learn still.

  

But now, Hana has showed her that it is okay to cry out the loss and to always cherish the time with Hana's late grandfather.

At around the same time, Gelos happens to be in the neighbourhood. Naturally, this means that it is time for the prerequisite monster of the week to appear, and for PreCures to do their thing (The negative emotion of the week came from a bike delivery man, who was being scolded by Tanpopo herself for slacking off).

When the Wild Theender’s attacks threaten to destroy Tanpopo House, Tanpopo steps up.
 

Tanpopo defends her precious treasure, swatting away the projectiles

 

When the theender threw a projectile at Tanpopo's shop, she used a giant pancake-turning pan to hit the projectile back to sender!

 

 COME BACK IF YOU DARE!!!

The Wild Theender tries to attack Tanpopo after that, but Cure Yell rushes to her defence. When Cure Yell punches the monster, Tanpopo realises that Hana is Cure Yell.
Cure Yell even helped to deflect another projectile and Tanpopo realised that Cure Yell is Hana. Although she will keep her identify a secret for now...

Cure Yell, Ange, and Étoile get the honour of finishing off the monster this week. (WE WILL MISS AMOUR AND MA CHÉRIE DOING THE FINISHING MOVE... :'( )

After the battle, Tanpopo finally made the proper Hope Buns and Yone praised that this was the exact taste that Tanpopo's husband created. Tanpopo thanked Hana and friends for a new start and Youne even offered to help her. (She even showed her bulk muscles which shocked everyone!)

After the dust settles, everyone goes back to Tanpopo House. Hana volunteers to help Tanpopo in the future, but Tanpopo couldn’t possibly impose. Tanpopo insists on continuing to do it alone, but her lower back has other ideas. Fortunately, there is someone else who is willing to lend a helping hand.

Yone is jacked

So, things all work out in the end, with Yone volunteering to help Tanpopo and presumably restore Tanpopo House to the same quality it had before.

The episode ends with this heartwarming shot of the notebook and a hope bun as an offering at the late husband's altar <3
Hana hoped to see more of her grandmother's recipes and even offered a Hope Bun to her grandfather's altar...

I can understand how Tanpopo is going through after her husband's passing. Although she showed a positive face (a brave face) in front of everyone but deep down, she still felt the loss of her husband which resulted a drop in standard of her production.

But the most cruel was her refusal to make any more Hope Buns as it was an original creation that was made with her husband and it represented their love (ai) and dedication (ganbare) together. However Hana showed her that it is okay to cry out and overcome grief. (Which I am suggesting that Hana might face a similar trial in the future since she is still conflicted over George's ideals)

 This was a sweet episode – Hana and Tanpopo clearly care for each other a lot, and it was amusing to see the ways in which they were similar. It had some pretty good funny moments as well.
I’m sure the hope buns are full of kirakiraru – oops, sorry, wrong season or continuity. Having a pâtissière on board might have made things go easier, though. Still, everything was resolved by the end.
An enjoyable episode, when all is said and done.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
On bedridden pensioners in anime: It is very rarely you get to see a bedridden senior in a modern-day setting, whether hospitalised or at home, without being able to leave the bed and wearing an IV drip on their arm and all... unless they are on their deathbed or terminally ill. On screen in anime, that is.

And it's not hard to understand the reason why: we use speculative fiction to escape from harsh reality... and the pain of losing a grandparent and/or an elderly friend in a similar scenario cuts deep. Thus has it happened to Yours Truly, as well as most surely to the dear reader.
On Cool Old Ladies (feat. Olenna Tyrell):
On the non-sixth-ranger Cures doing the new Finishing Move: to be honest and obvious, I preferred when Lulu and Emiru did the Finishing Move of the last cour.
On Gelos: The only thing I disliked this episode, well… at this point I am not longer surprised, is Gelos. I don’t understand the point of her character anymore. She is basically Papple 2.0, only with two ikemen minions by her side to do all the work for her. With her laziness, she certainly seems to be a prime candidate to put up to the chopping block, especially since she has done little to contribute to the story. The only thing we know about her and why she is working with Criasu is because she doesn’t want tomorrow to come, she wants to retain her youth. Much like the Wicked Queen in Snow White, right?
The negative emotion of the week came from a bike delivery man, who was being scolded by the sweetshop's owner, Tanpopo herself, for slacking off. Once more I say: dereliction of duty is something we have all yielded to sooner or later, Lieutenant Cassio and me and everyone else who has been assigned a task to perform.

Wow I am not okay, this episode really hit home for me. I was tearing up the entire time, actually I still am as I am writing this. I guess this makes me especially emotional because it will soon almost be a year since I have lost both of my grandfathers. Both of them, I have witnessed the struggles and hardships they had to face when they realized they can’t do the things they used to do. Hana’s grandmother was no exception when it came to learning the harsh truth that the quality of her sweets have been declining and it is terribly difficult for her to run the shop on her own. She loves her job, the shop is something that keeps her connected with her love who is no longer with her, but her body just can’t keep up with it anymore. It is the one thing we all dread, losing our ability to be independent. It is demoralizing and really hurts one's self-esteem, especially if these seniors are very prideful individuals. On top of that, to have no choice but rely on relatives or social services to help them get by their remaining days, most can’t help but feel like a burden to their families and others.

Fortunately the episode didn’t go that deep, because this story is supposed to be about hope and happiness for the future, and that stuff is just dark, gloomy and depressing. I am glad Hana’s grandmother didn’t have to close up the shop, and was able to find support through a friend and loyal customer to help her with some of the tasks she can’t do anymore without hurting herself in the process. Instead we were given an endearing backstory of how she and her husband had formed the business together, and goodness they are so adorable! It makes me even sadder that he has already passed away.

It didn’t surprise me that Hana didn’t quite understand or catch onto her grandmother’s despair. She can’t help but be ignorant to these ordeals because not only has she never met her grandfather (who died when she was a baby), but she still has that innocent mindset of thinking our grandparents will always be capable of doing their thing. It was Saaya who identified the root of the problem, and Yone who explained it. Once Hana tried to make the Hope Buns to cheer her grandmother up, she realized just how brutally difficult it was to make traditional Japanese sweets. It made me happy though, she still made it and it cheered her grandmother up a bit. Making the Hope Buns together will be a great way for the two of them to continue bonding with one another.

The only thing I disliked this episode, well… at this point I am not longer surprised, is Gelos. I don’t understand the point of her character anymore. She is basically Papple 2.0, only with two ikemen minions by her side to do all the work for her. With her laziness, she certainly seems to be a prime candidate to put up to the chopping block, especially since she has done little to contribute to the story. The only thing we know about her and why she is working with Criasu is because she doesn’t want tomorrow to come, she wants to retain her youth.

Although this episode didn’t contribute much to the plot, I still enjoyed it because is consists an important life lesson for the children or any who is watching this show to come to terms to the hardships their grandparents, and elderly have to face. Be good to your grandparents, especially if they have been good to you. Just because things get difficult, don’t ignore them, keep in touch, talk to them, visit them and support them in doing what they still can.

PS: Hana’s grandmother ROCKED that floofy dandelion hairdo! How dare they say she tried too hard!

THE BLACK PLAQUE TANGO

THE BLACK PLAQUE TANGO
This is the Cell Block Tango filk of my own creation with more queerness, more sweets, and 100 percent original characters.
The idea came today while buying sweets, for I bought peach gummies, green frog gummies, sunny side up egg gummies, gummy bears, cream kisses, and cola gummies.
I had the Cell Block Tango on my mind and I started to chant for myself: "Peach, frogs, eggs, uh-uh!... Kisseros, cola!"
Hence the idea.
The Hunyak character Estela speaks Spanish, my own mother tongue.

[Lizzie]
Peach!
[Katla]
Frogs!
[Janette]
Eggs!
[Estela]
Uh-uh!
[Violette]
Kisseros!
[Persephone]
Cola!

[Lizzie]
Peach!
[Katla]
Frogs!
[Janette]
Eggs!
[Estela]
Uh-uh!
[Violette]
Kisseros!
[Persephone]
Cola!

[Announcer]
And now, the Six Merry Murderesses of Riboha County Jail
in their rendition of the Black Plaque Tango!

[Lizzie]
Peach!
[Katla]
Frogs!
[Janette]
Eggs!
[Estela]
Uh-uh!
[Violette]
Kisseros!
[Persephone]
Cola!

[Lizzie]
Peach!
[Katla]
Frogs!
[Janette]
Eggs!
[Estela]
Uh-uh!
[Violette]
Kisseros!
[Persephone]
Cola!

They had it coming
They had it coming
They only had themselves to blame!
If you had been there,
if you had seen it,
I bet ya you'd have done the same!

[Lizzie]
You know how people have these little habits that let you down...
Like... Miss Hills.
Miss Hills told us always to eat more fruit.
No, not sweets. FRUIT.
So I come to phys ed class this one day, and I'm really cross because of my maths grades.
So I'm looking for a little more sympathy.
And there's Miss Hills, standing upright as if she had swallowed a rapier,
looking at the stash of peach gummies I am finishing.
Yes, it contains real fruit!
So she said to me: "You have gummies one more time..."
and I said: "It's fruit!"
So I took out the last two peach gummies 
and I fired them as a warning
INTO HER FACE!

She had it coming,
she had it coming, 
she only had herself to blame.
If you had been there,
if you had seen it,
I bet ya you'd had done the same!

[Lizzie]
Peach!
[Katla]
Frogs!
[Janette]
Eggs!
[Estela]
Uh-uh!
[Violette]
Kisseros!
[Persephone]
Cola!

[Lizzie]
Peach!
[Katla]
Frogs!
[Janette]
Eggs!
[Estela]
Uh-uh!
[Violette]
Kisseros!
[Persephone]
Cola!

[Katla]
I met Killian Green in Chelsea about two years ago.
And he told me he was single... and we hit it off right away.
So we started living together: he'd leave for his roleplays, he'd come home,
I'd fix him a drink, and then we'd have supper, then a good period piece and sweets for two...
And then, I found out...
"Single", he told me... SINGLE MY ANUS!
He had six significant others.
One of those live action roleplayers, you know.
So that evening, when he came home, I fixed him his drink as usual.
You know, some guys just can't hold their poison frogs!

He had it coming,
he had it coming, 
he took a princess in her prime,
and then he used her, 
and he abused her...
It was a murder, but not a crime!

[Janette]
Now, I'm standing in the kitchen, 
frying some eggs sunny side up for supper,
minding my own business,
and in storms my dear Rebecca in a jealous rage!
"You've been screwing the waitress!", she said.
She had completely freaked out and kept on screaming:
"You've been screwing the waitress!"
And then she ran into my eggs. 
She ran into my eggs twelve times!

If you had been there,
if you had seen it,
I bet ya you'd had done the same!

[Estela]
¿Qué es lo que estoy haciendo aquí?
Dicen por ahí que lo estoy haciendo con un oso de verdad.
Pero no es así. Yo soy inocente.
No sé por qué la gente dice que tengo un oso vivo en casa.
He intentado explicarles que sólo me gustan los ositos de gominola y de peluche,
pero parece que nadie en el universo se atreva a creerme.
[Lizzie]
Yeah, but did you do it?
[Estela]
Uh-uh! Not guilty!

[Violette]
My brother Étienne and I had this double act,
and my significant other Renée travelled around with us.
Now, for the last number in our act, we did these twenty acrobatic tricks in a row:
one, two, three, four, five,
moonwalking, flip-flops, cartwheels, somersaults, one right after the other.
So, this one night before the show, we were in the Unbirthday Party Inn, the three of us, quaffing and having a few laughs, getting a little warmed up with liquid courage...
And we ran out of ice.
So I went out to get some.
I come back, open the door...
and there's Étienne and Renée doing Number Sixty-Nine,
giving each other cream kisseros.
Well, I was in such a state of shock I completely blacked out.
I don't remember anything. Absolute zero.
It wasn't until later, when I was washing the blood off their cream kisseros,
I even knew they were dead.

They had it coming
they had it coming
they had it coming all along...
I didn't do it,
but if I'd done it, 
how could you tell me that I was wrong?

They had it coming
they had it coming
they had it coming all along...
I didn't do it,
but if I'd done it, 
how could you tell me that I was wrong?

[Persephone]
I loved cola more than I can possibly say.
It tasted so good, and so refreshing... aphrodisiac.
So, when shopping, I was always trying to find it.
I'd go out every evening trying to find it.
And on the way, I found horchata, guarapo, iced tea, and Red Cow.
I guess you can say I gave up because of aesthetic differences.
I saw it as the only one,
and I see it as just one more.

[All]
As just one more, more, more, more, more!
As just one more, more, more, more, more!

They had it coming
they had it coming
they had it coming all along...
I didn't do it,
but if I'd done it, 
how could you tell me that I was wrong?

They had it coming
they had it coming
they had it coming all along...
I didn't do it,
but if I'd done it, 
how could you tell me that I was wrong?

[Lizzie]
"You have gummies one more time..."
[Katla]
SINGLE MY ANUS.
[Janette]
She ran into my eggs twelve times!

[Estela]

Todo por unos ositos de gominola y de peluche...
[Violette]
Number Sixty-Nine, giving each other cream kisseros.
[Persephone]
Aesthetic differences.

[Lizzie]
Peach!
[Katla]
Frogs!
[Janette]
Eggs!
[Estela]
Uh-uh!
[Violette]
Kisseros!
[Persephone]
Cola!

THE RINGSTETTEN SAGA - ARC III GLOSSARY EXPLANATIONS

• Wishing hazelnuts: the inspiration came from a lesser known Andersen story, Ib and Little Christine, in which the young titular characters receive them as gifts from a magical Roma (gypsy) woman. Christine picks the two first nuts, and she marries into high society (no bed of roses), while Ib makes a more modest yet luckier choice.
• Hats (Jingoists) and Caps (Enlightened): these two factions did actually exist in mid-eighteenth-century Sweden, and neutrals as well. The Hats had the support of the officer class, while the Caps were members of the gentry and clergy, bourgeois, landowners, professionals... And yes, even Gustavus III's royal parents were divided by this conflict (Adolphus was a Cap, while Louisa was a Hat).
• Was Gustavus III queer or bi? This is a rather extended opinion, that I have chosen to accept to explain his lack of offspring and the still debated hypothesis that he wasn't Gustavus IV's father...
• The Baratheons of Drottningholm: Any similarity between fictional characters and real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. So is the one between the Swedish Royal Household of Holstein-Gottorp, rulers of Sweden in the late eighteenth century, and the Royal House Baratheon (if anyone overlooked it all: Gustavus III=Robert, Charles XIII=Stannis, Frederick Adolphus=Renly, Sophia=Cersei, Gustavus IV=Joffrey, Fredrik Munck=Jaime). The most reliable explanation is that George R.R. Martin could be partially inspired by Swedish history.
• Freethought: a crime during democracy and tolerated by Gustavus III? That is historical truth, and so is the fact that he abolished the laws that hitherto forbade Catholics and Jews to reside in Sweden on religious grounds. 
• Afternoon tea, due to Sweden's trade contacts with the UK and Asia, became a popular tradition in the mid-eighteenth century amidst wealthy members of the Cap Party. The Hats preferred a more intense and Continental cup of strong black coffee.
• Lord Anson/British outpost: I took the inspiration for this character and setting from The Rose Tree by Christoph von Schmid, with reminiscences of both Othello and Alice in Wonderland. The books Kristian read during his sojourn (Gulliver, Tom Jones...), which the author has read and appreciated herself, were rather popular in those days.
• Ice cream (still called "glass", pronounced like French "glace", in Swedish) was in vogue at the royal courts of the Age of Reason. And so were other treats such as...
• Macarons, which have recently come back (due to films like The Duchess or Marie Antoinette)
• Candied chestnuts, more well-known as marrons glacés (French for "candied chestnuts")
• Eau-de-vie, fruit liquor, to rinse it all down. This kind of liquor is still called "eau-de-vie" (French for "water of life") in both French and Swedish.
• The white kerchief tied around an officer's left arm was, along with the so-called "storm hat" (a slightly conical top hat), one of the changes the new regime of Gustavus III brought to Sweden's military uniform. The kerchief, visible from afar, symbolizes loyalty to the King and noble intentions. It was introduced as a sign of allegiance to the Crown (against Parliament) during the velvet revolution.
• Catherine the Great's backstory: She was a Prussian, a foreigner forced to convert from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy to marry the would-be Peter III. And she dethroned her spouse, with the aid of the officer class, when she realized the young Czar was a grown-up child, who drank hard and cheated on her with her ladies, who even had a rat court-martialled and guillotined for gnawing at one of the toy soldiers he used to recreate battles (it was a general, the Czar stated himself). Peter the Not-So-Great. Catherine was definitely his better half. Though there is a rant given by Swedish officers on the battlefields of Karelia that may seem somewhat offensive. The one below...
• "Her son is a bastard, his father's Orlov!": What? This is most likely to be the truth! I mean, Gustavus III was a cuckold himself, and Catherine II was also unhappily married... Count Orlov was her most important ally in the coup, and her first lover. Thus, Czarevitch Paul of Russia (the would-be Paul II) is most likely to be a lovechild. Which explains one of the reasons (the other is that she's simply too busy with affairs of state) why the Czarina had sent him to live with relatives in the provinces (who neglect him in turn). Though the young heir to the Russian throne was officially legitimized and considered legitimate, like Gustavus IV.
• The Anjala officers and their peace letter: Such an event did happen on the farmstead known as Anjala in August 1788. 113 discontented Swedish officers sent a letter to Catherine the Great during that war. Most of the "conspirators" received the royal pardon... but they would later be punished for another offense (though they were innocent) in 1792.
• Charles XIII's witch hunt: due to a deathbed promise, the Regent did persecute the Anjala officers due to a connection with the discontented royal guards behind the assassination. These officers' lives were spared, and they were punished either with banishment or with lifetime imprisoment.
• Carlsten (Charlestone): This notorious fortress prison on Marstrand Island off the Swedish West Coast has actually hosted officers accused of collaborating in the Gustavus III assassination plot. The author frequents Carlsten every summer, and thence came the inspiration to have Krister imprisoned there.
• Epaulets: Finally, in the Age of Reason, the time has come for military officers across Europe to spread their wings, after having discarded their breastplates. The rest of their attire does not undergo such a radical change.
• The ending: This is a story about the Early Modern Era, meant to start with the twilight of the Dark Ages (the Protestant Reformation), and to end when the fall of the Bastille has changed the world (notice the French refugees in the finale!) This story is thus set in "fairytale times", like I often say. It's also the story of the rise, downfall, and rebirth of Sweden in those times so like ours, yet so different from ours, and that of the Ringstettens' plight and its resolution, that run parallel with the history of Sweden. Finally, it's an epic detailing all the conditions of humankind, denouncing warfare and corruption. The story ends with the Green Lady watching the Ringstetten children because they are no longer the strangers and masters they were to the fair folk one century before. The oath has been sworn, broken, avenged, and forgiven, and the progress of science brought by Positivism, a revival of the Enlightenment, hasn't disenchanted the world or driven the fair folk away yet. Yet there are those children, children stand for the future... the young saplings whose adulthood is not explored in the end. Their idyllic and carefree existence should be contrasted with that of Arc I's leading cast one century before, during the Thirty Years' War. Said conflict, in the end, brought on the secularization of the Western world, the Enlightenment, optimism, sensualism, and rejection of authorities. These children grow up, unlike their ancestors at the start of it all, with an Enlightened, less sacred and enchanted yet more open, worldview. Arc I is about, among many other things, the warning "there be dragons": we know the commandant of Ringstetten in Küstrin owes obedience to the Elector of Brandenburg in Potsdam, and the Elector owes obedience to the Kaiser in Vienna... that Magdeburg is still besieged by Tilly, that Sweden has come to the Protestants' rescue... yet we don't leave the guardhouse until the story proper starts and it's all about discovering new places and people, mapping them, and lowing out the dragons. Arc II is about regret: making an impulsive wish in hindsight, which can be rather painful. The oath with the Sidhe, the war on Russia, Katinka's elopement (and Ilse's), even the Sidhe's use of enchantment of Gustav Adolf... every single deed is questioned in hindsight upon focusing on its negative consequences. But it's also about hope and moving forward, anticipating next arc. Arc III is about carpe diem, enjoying the present like a child would do, but also about hope and the importance of the past (for instance, Krister's idealized image and field experience of war, desertion, involvement in the Anjala Plot, encounter with Gustavus III, and his final arrest, consequences of one another, all condition his life): without such a tragic past (the 30YW), the History of Ideas wouldn't have such an optimistic and future-oriented movement as the Enlightenment. The overarching themes of the whole Saga are the effects of warfare, the loss of innocence, questioning the system, showing the world one's prowess, and fulfilment, the latest one echoed in the ending of each arc.
• A Tempest of passions and redemption: Shakespeare's last drama is as influential as Othello in the creation of the Saga. A feud between powerful mortals and the magical beings whose lands they have "invaded", a test of character set up by the magical beings, and the final happy ending with an expected reconciliation and the tying up of all those loose ends that there were at the start of the cathartic story. 
• Tying back together what stern custom once did part: The final words, that echo in the end, are the moral of the whole story, a chronicle of the rise of the Enlightenment entwined with a family saga. Friedrich Schiller's poem An die Freude, which supplied the lyrics for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and anthem of the European Union (its motto: "Concord in Diversity")... They also served as replacement for the Rose Hymn in The Lady in White, a WW2-era retelling of The Snow Queen set in Lützen, Leipzig, Northern Germany, and Sweden:

Spark of joy, the gods’ fair present,

child of the Elysian fields,

now with fire intoxicated

our host into your shrine steals.

Magic that ties once more together

what once was by custom torn,

in fraternity uniting

everyone in this soft morn.

The Swedish version heard at the end of the Saga is this:

Din trolldom åter förbinder

allt vad seden strängt skilt åt.

Broderskap förenar alla,

mjuka vingar torkar gråt.

The original German verses read:

 Deine Zauber binden wieder,

Was die Mode streng geteilt,

Alle Menschen werden Brüder,

                                                  Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.                                                                   

THE RINGSTETTEN SAGA XX: THE FATE OF ULRIKA

Previously on The Ringstetten Saga:
A cadet offshoot of the Ringstetten dynasty is returning home to court (being one of the Queen's ladies) in an elegant baroque carriage, after visiting the Governor of Värmland and taking part in the revels of the Midsummer Green. And Caroline's stay at Vänersvik and her impression of Ulrika (not noticing that the girl's perfect French is spoken with a Wallonian accent) convince her to adopt the young blonde. At first, her parents are reluctant for Ulrika to start a new life at Drottningholm, the Swedish royal court, but they finally yield to Caroline's idea of introducing such a belle in society.
Ulrike is surprised by the plan. The farewell knows no equal. Cue Gustav Adolf and Katarina worrying about their daughter in all that elegance, among all those self-centered strangers!
Life ain't easy for an upstart at court. Just ask Sansa Stark. Or Ulrika von Ringstetten, who has finally succeeded to fit in at Drottningholm. Imagine that! For instance, she needs to change her accent, because she speaks Wallonian French! It seems that her fairytale dream has come true, but it will prove no bed of roses...
So many halls and mirrors, so many ladies in petticoats chattering in French, and a hedge maze in the vast royal gardens... and the "Cap and Hat" issue.
She is asked by the Queen's other ladies whether she is a Cap or a Hat, and she doesn't get what the question is, answering: "Well... guess I'm a Ribbon" for the bow in her hair. She decides to remain neutral after discovering that the Cap and Hat parties are two opposite factions, that even tear her foster parents, and even the royals themselves, apart. Queen Louisa (the de facto ruler of the land, in spite of loving books and fairies) and Madame Caroline are jingoistic Hats, bent on declaring another war on Russia for revenge after the Poltava debacle (and to expand the fallen Swedish Empire), while King Adolphus (weak-willed, fond of sweets and amateur woodcarver) and Monsieur Gabriel are Enlightened Caps bent on securing peace, supporting culture and education. Ulrika is neutral, a "Ribbon", and she soon meets her match in a Prussian dignitary's eldest son Fritz, nicknamed "Frédéric le Beau", neutral being a foreigner. Pretty soon, as the dashing Fritz finds a niche at court, Ulrika becomes his bride and, later on, his spouse.
As their marriage takes place, the Swedish government undergoes a turning point: when King Adolphus unexpectedly dies of a heart attack and his dashing son Gustavus returns from France to inherit the crown, the new ruler's supporters take Parliament by storm and dissolve it. After the successful velvet revolution (force was used, but there was no bloodshed or any casualties), Sweden has no longer Hats or Caps, just courtiers, gentry, and common people, subjects of an Enlightened despot.
Ulrika spends her life in a dream, attending fêtes and balls, playing soubrettes (clever maidservants) on stage, dancing the minuet and the gavotte with young officers of the Royal Guard, playing croquet with her fellow courtiers, stuffing herself with candied chestnuts, macarons, peaches and cream, ice cream... and getting dead drunk on eau-de-vie (fruit liquor), champagne, or Cognac behind Fritz's back. For le Beau has shown his true colours: a vain, self-centered, narcissistic fop who married Ulrika to get part of the Ringstettens' fortune. She is his trophy wife: his precious and lilywhite porcelain doll. And an unhappily married court lady can only escape her scenario in two possible ways: living up to her dreams and being unfaithful. She's doing both. And the naive ingénue has finally become a social butterfly with the reputation of an epicurean.
Queen Sophia, Gustavus III's spouse, to whose entourage Ulrika belongs, is unhappily married as well. She came over from Denmark as a child to marry a boy three years her senior, as a symbolic wedding to turn the traditional hostilities between Sweden and Denmark into an alliance. Decades have passed since that day, and Gustavus still prefers the company of young men (and the spotlight, being quite the outspoken attention seeker! He loves acting on stage, playing the lead role, especially as Apollo, with whom he identifies himself). Thus, there are rumors at Drottningholm that the young royals will soon die childless. The Queen herself has told Ulrika her plight, and vice versa.
One summer evening, while King Gustavus is doing reforms in the provinces (which considerably lowers the mood at court), the Queen leaves the ballroom and sneaks into bed with Head Stablehand Munck. They don't notice they are being watched by one of the ladies, dressed in a blood red brocade skirt and wearing a ruby heart parure. Guess who? (Ulrika von Ringstetten!)
A fortnight after His Majesty's return, Sophia starts to put on weight and wear larger petticoats to conceal her secret, not without arising suspicions. Gustavus III accepts the unborn child as his own, in spite of the courtiers' whispers about lovers and affairs, led by Queen Mother Louisa and her favourite child: Gustavus III's dashing, vain, epicurean and weak-willed youngest brother Frederick (There is a middle brother, reserved and stern Charles, in charge of the fleet and thus rarely seen). The newborn? It's a boy, named after his royal father. The heir to the Swedish throne, despite being an actual bastard.
Ulrika is soon inspired by the Queen's adultery to carry her foul play even further, into her bedchamber. At the ballroom, she gets completely wasted and confesses to a young Finnish ensign of the Royal Guard. For the occasion, our court lady is wearing a blue satin skirt and a parure of forget-me-nots tied with a blue satin ribbon in her hair, to fit the colour of her eyes and the uniform of her beloved.
However, her Prussian husband is half drunk, incensed by the effect of liquor and that of his spouse skipping through the maze with the young officer. In a fit of rage, without doubting, he throws his right glove at the ensign while calling him out: "Tomorrow at dusk, in the English Garden! (English Garden of Drottningholm: the woods beyond the hedge maze) Let me see how great a marksman you are!"
The officer picks up the glove, and a startled Ulrika starts coming to, weary and dizzy. The challenge has the effect of a cold water shower upon her.
The next day, she doesn't witness the duel, since Fritz has coldly explained: "It's an issue for gentlemen", the last time they will ever see each other. The next day, the confrontation is the talk of the palace. Both contenders have fallen: the young Finnish ensign, shot in the right side, and the older Prussian, with a bullet right through the heart.
A war on Russia, that has just broken out, is the second most important topic of conversation.
A widowed Ulrika takes leave of the royals and leaves the royal court for her hinterland birthplace, in a baroque carriage draped in black like her crepe dress and veil. Upon reaching the estate, she is welcomed by her old parents, who help her unpack her trousseau.
At first, Ulrika is desperate, having lost her husband and her place at court, and now bereft of the exciting social life she has led. For three days, she keeps on drinking brandy and weeping endlessly on her black handkerchief.
She has to sleep in the bedroom that was hers as a little girl. And soon, on the fourth day, the young dowager remembers her childhood and its more innocent pleasures, accepting her return to provincial life.
The Count and Countess of Ringstetten inform their daughter of everything that has happened at Vänersvik in her absence: it has been raining frogs one summer, good old Etienne is deceased (which causes Ulrika to feel guilty and regret her departure), and the Crown has opened a new orphanage, that also serves as public school, on Midsummer Green, with the Ringstettens' support and consent (Gustavus III himself opened it, while his Queen was having her affair). "It's that white schoolhouse on the Green, beside the church. You see the walls all covered with honeysuckle, like a bower?" Ulrika has finally awakened from her dream, and she turns over a new leaf as a teacher for unwanted and orphaned children with flaxen hair and sky-blue eyes. Her own childlessness and need of support are soon compensated by the love and enthusiasm she brings to the young wards of the State: they gather around her black skirt to listen to fairy tales, and she lovingly kisses them every night at bedtime, before going to bed herself, sober, secure, and innocent. Every now and then, upon returning to Vänersvik from the Honeysuckle Farm Children's Home and Public School, she passes by the churchyard and leaves some flowers on Etienne's grave, stopping for a while before resuming her walk.
This becomes her new life, to a ripe old age, until she falls asleep forever.