Nederlands / A2
De biecht
Het is Pasen. Veel mensen gaan naar een priester. Ze vertellen hem wat ze fout hebben gedaan. Thereesje gaat ook naar hem toe.
Ze zegt: ‘Mijn haar zit nu mooi. Overal zeggen mensen hoe mooi ik ben. Daar word ik veel te trots van. Ik probeer niet zo te denken, maar het lukt niet.’
‘Dat is niet goed’, zegt de priester. ‘Maar ben je rijk?’
‘Nee’, antwoordt Thereesje. ‘Mijn jongere zus is wel rijk. Zij heeft geld geërfd.’
‘Maak je dan maar geen zorgen’, zegt hij. ‘Mannen zullen met je rijke zus willen trouwen, en niet met jou. Dan ben je niet meer zo trots.’
English summary · includes the ending
At Easter, people go to a priest to admit their faults. In an unnamed town, one priest is especially popular with young women. Thereesje comes to speak to him about a problem that she faces every day.
Since she began wearing her hair neatly arranged, she keeps hearing how beautiful she is. All this praise makes her proud. She tries to fight that feeling, but she cannot manage it.
The priest disapproves, then asks whether she is rich. Thereesje says no. As everyone knows, only her younger sister is wealthy: she has inherited money from her godparent.
The priest tells Thereesje not to worry. He predicts that men looking for a wife will choose her rich sister and leave her alone, however beautiful she is. Then her pride will disappear. The story ends with his sharp answer; it does not show whether his prediction comes true.
Adapted for Lejrbål from the credited source.
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