Harvest Moon : Mineral Town Guide

There are five girls whom you can choose to marry: Ann, Elli, Karen, Maria, and Popuri. Each of them has a very distinct personality and very different like and dislikes.

Ann

Elli

Karen

Maria

Popuri

Before getting married, a girl must have a pink heart for you, as shown at the bottom right corner of of their text while they're talking to you. The "heart" order goes white, blue, green, yellow, and lastly pink. That's not the only thing, though -- you'll need to have the carpenters build a kitchen for your home before she'll accept. Lastly, in order to propose, you'll need to offer her a blue feather. How do you get one? Once a girl is close to becoming marriageable, Rick will begin selling a blue feather in his shop. The selling price will be 1000G, but he'll knock off 20G just for you.

After Marriage

After you're married, if you're on good terms with your wife, she'll do certain chores for you. Here's what each girl will do:

Ann: Feeds the chickens and crates eggs.
Elli: Feeds the chickens and crates eggs.
Karen: Crates eggs, and she'll drop a few occasionally -- but you'll get paid for it anyway.
Maria: Weeds the farm and crates eggs.
Popuri: Waters some of the plants (depending on how well you treat her) and feeds chickens.

Make sure to treat your wife well. Give your wife her favorite gifts daily -- the more attention you give her, the more work she'll do for you (or at least in Popuri's case). Make sure to be home at a reasonable hour. Your wife will go to bed at exactly 10:00, so a good time for you to go to bed would be while she's standing at the bedside, which would be from 8:00 - 10:00.

If it so happens that your wife drops down to a blue heart, she'll leave you! Though she won't technically divorce you, she'll leave a note on your table telling you she's left, and if you have a child, she'll take him with her. The strange thing is that all other eligible girls in the village seem to mysteriously disappear during this time... Anyway, in order to get your wife back into your home, you must go to her parents house (or wherever she lived before she married you) and ask for her to return. She will, with a little convincing.

Children

Before you do anything, you must have the carpenters build a baby bed. If you have done so and you've been treating your wife well, after about a season of marriage, your wife will begin complaining of strange symptons -- she'll be wanting to eat odd things, she's been getting sick to her stomach a lot lately. After another season, your wife will tell you that she's pregnant! She'll begin preparing for the baby, doing things such as reading up on maternal books. Your child will be born a season later.

The day of the birth, (which, if you've done everything correctly, will be about three seasons after your marriage) you'll wake up to find your wife in bed and the midwife and a member of your wife's family in the house. The only thing you can do is go outside and wait around for 3:00 to arrive, since the baby won't be born till then and Zack won't let you leave your farm. Go inside after 3, and you'll hear your wife giving birth to the child. Once all is said and done, talk to your wife and you'll get the opporunity to name your child, and a picture to remember the event.

First stage: Your child's first stage lasts for about a season. In this time, all he really does is sit around in his mother's arms or in his crib, acting about as alive as a log. It's hard giving him gifts in this stage -- you can only give him things while he's in his crib, and the chances of you missing and dropping whatever you're trying to give him is high, so the best thing you can do is show him your dog.

Second Stage: Whoo, he's a little more grown up, and it's ten times easier to give him things! He likes things it when you show him things such as your dog, and loves milk especially. He'll crawl around wherever your wife is, making cute little baby sounds. You can still pick him up and carry him around, if you like. During this stage, you may wake up one morning to find your baby sick. Your wife will be panicking, and you'll get the option to call a member of the girl's family, the midwife, or the Potion Shop Owner for help. It doesn't necessarily matter who you call, whoever comes will simply help your child get better. This stage lasts for three seasons.

Third Stage: This stage occurs after your child has turned one year old. You can no longer pick up your child and take him for walks around town, unfortunately. However, he will begin talking, saying cute little random phrases. This is the final stage, so no matter how long you play, your child will remain a toddler forever. 

Ann

Ann lives at Green Ranch with her father, Hall, and her brother, Gray. Her mother apparently died when she was at a young and fragile age, so she was raised without a female influence. She therefore grew up to be a very rough and tomboyish girl (and envious of the feminine gals in the area, such as Elli). She's very blunt and tends to overreact, though she's probably the most cheerful and optimistic person in the game. She has a particularly soft spot for animals, constantly caring and worrying over them.

Likes: Potatoes, corn, your dog, and especially wool.
Dislikes: Wild animals, and especially when you let your animals die. Never do that.
Birthday: Summer 14
Gift to you: On your birthday, Ann will knit you a pair of socks.
Rival: Cliff the vagabond.
Sprains her ankle: Just outside of your farm at the crossroads.
Photo Event: One morning in Winter, Ann will stop by your farm to see if you would like to see the rare Pika bunny. Agree with her and you'll receive a photo.
Special Event: If you have several points on your cake card for the bakery, you may accidentally drop it on your way out of Green Ranch. Ann will bring this to your attention and pick it up to give it to you. She'll comment on how many points you have and ask you if you like sweets. If you answer yes, she'll be pleased and tell you that she likes sweets too. If you say no, she'll be disappointed, thinking that you visit the bakery just to see Elli.

Dream:
"Hey, look at the little birds."
...A bird's nest in the tree...
"They're so cute..."
"I hope they grow up fast so they can fly!"
...The happy girl...
"...Oh! Kyaaaa!"
She got too excited and fell...then...
...then?

After witnessing this dream, go to the area behind the carpenter's house. You'll find Ann observing the tree and she'll tell you how once she scarred her forehead by falling from this tree. She'll ask you if you've ever fallen from a tree before. If you tell her yes, she'll be happy, remembering that you were the one climbing the trees with her.

Where to be found: Every day, excluding Thursday and Sunday, Ann will be walking around Green Ranch in the fields. If it's raining, she'll be in the barn. On Thursdays and Sundays, she can be found by the fisherman tent, by the carpenter's hut, or at the Goddess pond. On very rare occasions, she'll be visiting Rick at his shop or Karen at her vineyard. During the fireworks festival, she'll be at Green Ranch. During Starry Night, she'll be at the Church. On New Year's Eve, she'll be at the bar.

Elli

Elli lives at the bakery with her grandmother, Ellen, and Jeff, the bakery master and her friend of sorts. Both her parents died while she was young, the poor girl. She's an excellent baker and most of her goods are sold at the bakery. She's very sweet and good-natured, both sensitive and emotional at times. She's very motherly; the prospect of marriage and raising a family absolutely elates her. Patient and kind, Elli is the epitome of what you would call a good wife, whether it be for you or Jeff.

Likes: Eggs, milk (gold especially), fish, when you buy sweets from the bakery.
Dislikes: Insects, squirrels.
Birthday: Fall 1
Gift to you: On your birthday, Elli will give you a handkerchief.
Rival: Jeff the bakery master.
Sprains her ankle: In the mountains by the river.
Photo Event: One evening in the Fall, Elli will stop by the farm to ask you if you would like to make Moondrop Dew with her. Agree with her and you'll get a photo after witnessing the event.

Dream:
"I'll be the mommy and you be the daddy."
"Honey, dinner is ready."
...Playing house...The girl made mud cookies...
"No, don't eat it!"
"Help! Somebody, daddy!"
...He got a stomachache and was sick in bed.
...Then...Then?

After the dream, head on over to either the Bakery or to left side of Flowerbud Village. There you'll see May and Stu playing house. Elli will talk to you and ask you if you remember anything about playing house with her. Tell her you do and she'll be happy with you.

Where to be found: Elli is almost always inside the bakery or outside it in the yard. On Mondays when the bakery is closed, she's usually off wandering in the mountains and can very occasionally be found in the Flower Shop. On Sundays, she seems to disappear altogether for some reason. For the Fireworks, she'll be in the yard of the Bakery. On both Starry Night and New Year's Eve, she'll be in the Church.

Karen

Karen is the feisty daughter of Gotz and Sasha, owners of the vineyard. Because she was brought up in the vineyard, her passion is wine, and she drinks often (in fact, Karen is your only major competition in the New Year's drinking contest). She also happens to love dancing, much like her mother used to. She's very rough and rather rude at first, but will open up quite a bit once she gets to know you. If by the end of your second year she happens to be indifferent to you and you have not restored the vineyard, she will leave the village forever.

Likes: Very berries, wild grapes, strawberries, tomatoes, beating her at drinking on New Year's day.
Dislikes: Insects, fish.
Birthday: Winter 29
Gift to you: On your birthday, Karen will give you a charm bracelet that supposedly helps with the weather.
Rival: Kai the vineyard worker.
Sprains her ankle: In the vineyeard, by the tree in the top right corner.
Photo Event: If you've saved the vineyard and you have Karen on at least a yellow heart, she'll come to you on the evening of Fall 7th and ask you to come with her to the vineyard.

Dream:
"Daddy! I'll never get in trouble again! Please open!"
...A girl is crying...?
"Sniff, sniff."
"Oh, who are you? Where did you come from?"
"Wow, there is a hole here..."
"...My daddy's angry, so I can't come home..."
He went hom with the crying girl holding her hand, then...
...Then?

After seeing this dream, go to the vineyard. Karen will walk over to you and offer to give you a tour of the vineyard. You'll accept, and you'll go into the storeroom. Karen will find that the door's locked, and you'll be stuck inside. She'll panic, complaining she's hungry. Your first option is to wait around a while until her dad to comes to get you two. Your second (and better) option is to find the hole at the top right corner of the storeroom's first floor, beside the black machine. If you make your way out via the hole, Karen will ask you if you were the one who helped her to get out when she was young. Tell her you were and she'll be happy with you.

Where to be found: Karen's schedule is very... random. The best place to find her is in the bar, as she works there most nights. During the day, she's a bit difficult to find: Sometimes she's up wandering around in the vineyard, sometimes she's in the mountains by the carpenter's hut. However, she'll be on the beach every Sunday. For the Fireworks and Starry Night, Karen will be at the beach. On New Year's Eve, she'll be at the bar.

Maria

Maria is the daughter of the Mayor and his unnamed wife. She works as a receptionist at the library and spends most of her time there. She's adorably shy; when you first meet her, she tends to stutter while speaking to you. Not only that, but she embarrasses quite easily. She's very kind, courteous, and trusts easily. She has a bit of a fascination with books and insects, and occasionally draws on her free time.

Likes: Cabbages, insects (show them to her), when you read books (press 'A' near the bookshelves).
Dislikes: Your dog and wild animals.
Birthday: Winter 11
Gift to you: On your birthday, Maria will give you a book. However, if you have her on a pink heart, she'll give you a "beautiful picture" which hangs on the wall above your bed.
Rival: Harris the mailman.
Sprains her ankle: In the library.
Photo Event: Maria will stop by one evening of Summer. If you agree to go with her, you'll get a photo.
Special Event: One day, you may see an event where the salesman is telling the Mayor that he owes him money and pressuring him to pay. Maria, out of her own kindness, will offer her beloved golden pendant as payment for the money. The salesman accepts it. Maria will ask him if he's truly happy. The salesman is slightly surprised, but tells her that he is happy. He leaves, and then she sees you and speaks with you for a while. The next day, you'll receive Maria's pendant in the mail; apparently the salesman didn't feel right taking it from her. Give it back to Maria and she'll be very happy.

Dream:
"Thank you for showing me..."
...An old fairy tale book...?
"When will you come next time?"
"We'll visit again next summer. Right, [name]?"
"Really? Will you really come again?"
...The girl is about to cry...
"What? For me? Is that OK? Thank you, I'll take care of it."
"Come on... say goodbye to little..."
...The girl was waving for a long time...
...That was...

The event that goes along with the dream sequence takes place in the Library. Once you see a book sitting on Maria's desk, pick it up and give it to her rather than talking to her. If you tell her you were the one who gave her the book when she was a child, she will be very happy with you.

Where to be found: Maria is usually at the library on both sunny and rainy days. On days the library is closed, you can find her standing outside the church or in the mountains behind the carpenter's home. During the fireworks festival, she'll be in the Town Square. During both the Starry Night festival and New Year's Eve, she'll be in the church.