Katri, Girl of The Meadows

Katri, Girl of the Meadows (牧場の少女カトリ, Makiba no Shōjo Katori) is an Japanese anime series based on the Finnish novel Paimen, piika ja emäntä (The Shepherd, the Servant Girl, and the Hostess) by Auni Nuolivaara. The series was broadcast originally in Japan in 1984 as part of Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater anthology series. As part of the WMT series, Katri became international towards many countries, including Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Germany, and the Arabic-speaking world. Despite the series taking place in Finland, it has never been published or broadcast there, and most Finns have never heard of it.

The first and last episodes were broadcast English dubbed in the UK on Channel 4 as Little Girl on the Farm and Little Girl goes to School as part of 1987's Japanese Autumn season.

Plot
Katri is a little 9-year-old girl living with her grandparents in Finland after her mother left for Germany three years ago. But with Finland under Russian rule, it becomes hard for the inhabitants of these occupied lands to receive news outside the order, making Katri wonder if she will ever see her mother again. To make matters worse, things on Katri's grandparents' farm are plummeting; 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 for support and finds work on a neighboring farm; but is hard for a girl her age, yet her enthusiasm and good moods is what keeps her standing despite the hardships.

Official

 * Official web page (in Japanese)