We feel a little bit silly, in a way.  It’s not that we thought she actually was going to go skiing, but she looked ready for it.  For as long as we can remember, she’s never had balloons.  It’s only after reading on Eftelist that she used to be a ‘balloon seller’ that it all made sense!  With those sticks, we thought she was wanting to go skiing…

This woman actually has a story, just like everything else in Efteling.  Here’s the basics:

She was an old lady who liked to give away balloons to people for free because balloons made her happy, so she was trying to spread the joy herself.  But the people were too busy for balloons and were mean to her.  So she called her friend Jan the wind and he blew her all the way to the Efteling where her dress caught on Sleeping Beauty’s castle turret.  Some gnomes from the forest saw her and stood on each other’s shoulders to help her down.  She’s been there ever since!

From pinparade.nl

If you look closely, she can also be found in Diorama (in miniature, of course).

From eftepedia.nl

So yes, Efteling, please do something with this poor old woman!  If not real balloons, maybe she could be given some pretend ones so that she at least feels useful! Oh, and maybe fix the cracks in her hands? Ouch!

More information about the old woman can be found here.

With thanks to Milena.