The “Pennsylvania Dutch” refers to the group of people who migrated from modern-day Germany to the United States and Canada (primarily Pennsylvania) during the 1600s and 1700s. They had a rich tradition of folklore, often passing down stories orally from generation to generation. The following tale comes from the book “Folk Tales of The Pennsylvania Dutch: Stories of Witchcraft, Magic, and the Supernatural” by William Woys Weaver.
The Butter Baby
Hannah Rife and her husband were hoping to have a baby. As time passed on, she questioned if their baby would ever come. Growing worried, she feared that witchcraft was the source of their bad luck. Hannah questioned if she had been verhext — cursed by a witch.
On the first of May, Hannah was churning a fresh batch of butter. However, there was almost no cream coming out of her mix. It is said that poor dairy production is a sign of verhext. In order to break the spell, it’s believed that thrashing and scorching the milk will harm the witch. And so, Hannah grabbed a knife and cut the surface of the cream.
Just then, an old woman came up to her window with bleeding arms, begging her to stop. Hannah demanded to the old woman that she leaves this house alone or else she will continue to stab the cream, thus harming the witch.
With her butter, Hannah sculpted the figure of a tiny baby. And then, she headed to the creek and tossed it in the water as she prayed for her baby to come. If the butter sinks, it means that a baby will come in nine months — but if it floats, then it means no baby. As soon as she tossed the butter, before it had any time to sink, an eel swam over and instantly ate it.
Hannah did not know how to interpret these results, fearing that the witch who had recently revealed herself still had power over her. Seeking help, she went to the Braucher (a Christian folk healer.) The Braucher was not too concerned and advised her to have patience, come back to the creek in nine months and see what you find.
In six months, the eel had given birth to triplets: two boys and a girl. Hannah had been picking flowers in the garden when she heard a cry. Flabbergasted, she found a basket of crying babies right by the creek. It was sooner than expected, but she was thankful for this gift.
Bringing the babies home to her husband, the two of them were very excited. But Hannah worried, “how can I feed them without breastmilk?” And the husband suggested, “why don’t you go back to the Braucher?”
And so, Hannah returned to the Braucher. Explaining what happened, she sincerely thanked him for his advice to be patient, as her babies had finally arrived — just not as expected. But the Braucher cautioned her that these were no ordinary babies, they were Daumlinge (water fairies.)
He informed, “they cannot drink milk. Instead, feed them honey. And when they’re older, give them mead and plenty of fruit.” Hannah nodded. He added, “as they grow older, they will yearn to go back to their kind — but all children go their own way eventually.”
Going on, the Braucher explained that her children will likely use their powers to take good care of her and her husband. He suggested returning to the creek once a year to feed cake to the eel as a way of showing peace and graciousness. He believed that this eel likely had connections to the fairies and higher spirits — and that money would appear on her doorstep whenever the eel was fed.
And so, once a year, Hannah returned to the stream with cake to feed the magical eel. And just as the Braucher claimed, a pile of money appeared on her doorstep right after feeding. Over the years, accumulating the money, Hannah and her husband became rich. And they raised their three babies with great love and affection, proving to be wonderful parents.
I love that this story has a happy ending! Plenty of folktales end in tragedy or bittersweetness. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see things work out so beautifully.
This folktale is perfect representation of how the Pennsylvania Dutch viewed witchcraft. For them, the term “witch” was automatically negative, implying that witchcraft was only done for evil or harm. And on the contrary, they had an acceptable version of their own witchcraft, which they categorized as “Christian folk magic.”
A “Braucher” is essentially a witch doctor. Brauchers use witchcraft for healing – and they do this through Christian belief, with spells based out of the Bible, done in the name of Jesus. Just like any witch, a Braucher harnesses the power of herbs, crystals, and superstitious rituals. Their folk practices are considered to go against the mainstream, differentiating themselves from the field modern medicine.
There is something very witchy about the use of the number “three” in this story. The rule of threefold is that whatever energy you give to the universe, the universe returns to you threefold. So, if you put negativity out there, you will be returned with three times the amount of negativity. And when you put positivity into the world, you’re returned with three times the amount of positivity. And so, it’s extremely fitting that when Hannah wishes for a baby, she receives triplets.
The tale also teaches the value of patience. Hannah is advised to remain calm and patient when the eel eats her butter, and when she follows this mindset, her wish is actually granted slightly earlier than expected. There’s also meaning in the way that she has her babies, which is surely not the way she imagined it to happen. It teaches us that patience can bring rewards and you may end up getting exactly what you want — just not the way you assumed.
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Crystal Aura Gaze 
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