Part 2

No one can think of a more beautiful sight than the Dutch gardens in spring. They are full of red, yellow, white and pink tulips.

There are rows and rows of purple, pink and white hyacinths.

There are great fields of yellow daffodils. They look like patches of sunshine.

There are rows and rows of beautiful white narcissus plants. The sweetness of these plants fills the air.

Katrina and Jan love to go into the beautiful gardens. They pull the weeds from the flower beds.

They like to watch the big, buzzing bees fly around among the flowers.

They like to see the pretty butterflies flitting here and there. Some of the butterflies are white and red, and some are big and yellow.

“The white and red butterflies look like tulips flying away,” said Jan.

“The yellow butterflies look like daffodils,” said little Katrina.

THE BARGE

Bram’s father has a barge. Do you know what a barge is?

It is a big flat boat. The barge of Bram’s father is red and yellow.

It has big blue sails. It looks very pretty as it sails down the canals. Bram’s father often takes him out in the barge.

Sometimes Bram asks Jan and Katrina, Hilda, Kassie, and Karl to go with him.

When the flowers of the tulips and hyacinths have faded, the Dutch people dig up the bulbs from which grow the stems of the plants.

The Dutch people are very proud of their fine tulips.

They pack the bulbs carefully. They sell them and make a great deal of money.

Bram’s father sails his barge on the canals to the tulip fields. Then Bram and Jan and Katrina and Kassie and Hilda and Karl help dig up the tulip bulbs. They put them in boxes on the barge.

They work busily all the long day.

“I wonder who will plant these bulbs?” asked Bram.

“Perhaps some boy in America,” answered Karl; “every year we send thousands of bulbs to America. The Americans love our Dutch tulips.”

When the sun is setting, they sail back in the big barge. Past the green meadows they sail, past the yellow and blue farmhouses with red tiled roofs.

They glide slowly along. The big barge makes pretty ripples in the smooth water.

They see the black and white cows waiting to be milked. They hear the cowbells tinkle. They see the Dutch boys and girls carrying water in big pails.

They sail past the big, brown windmill. They see its arms go slowly round. It makes pretty shadows on the water in the canal.

They see the willow trees bending down to look in the water. And they hear the little birds singing their goodnight songs.

The sun sinks down, down. The sky is all red and yellow and orange. The purple shadows begin to fall. Night is coming--and here they are at home again!

BRAM’S LITTLE SISTER

Bram has a little sister. She is a dear little baby. She has round red cheeks. She has curly yellow hair. She has big blue eyes. Her name is Annetka.

Little Annetka has a cradle. It is made of carved wood. It is a very old cradle.

Little Annetka’s grandfather was rocked in that very same cradle when he was a baby. So you can see that it is very old.

Bram loves his little sister. He likes to rock her in the quaint, old cradle.

Sometimes he sings to her. He sings her the song his mother sings.

This is the one he likes best.

THE LULLABY SONG

The wind blows in from the sea tonight, Sleep, little daffodil, sleep, In the sky the little stars twinkle bright, Sleep, little daffodil, sleep. And the windmill goes creaking around and around, And the shades of the night are now purpling the ground, All the flowers close their eyes and are now sleeping sound, So sleep, little daffodil, sleep.

LITTLE RIKKA

Rikka is one of Katrina’s little Dutch friends. She lives near grandmother’s house by the sea.

Her father is a fisherman. He works on the fishing-boat with Jan’s father.

Sometimes the fathers take the children out on the ocean in the big fishing-boats. The big green waves rock the boat up and down.

Rikka and Katrina like to sit in the front end of the boat. They like to feel on their faces the salt spray from the ocean.

Jan helps the men with the nets. He thinks he is like a man when he works with them. Rikka’s father says that Jan is a good worker.

RIKKA’S WONDER-BALL

Rikka did not want to learn to knit. She said it was too hard. She said she would rather play on the beach.

Her mother said to her, “Rikka, if you will learn to knit, I will give you a ‘Wonder-Ball.’”

“A ‘Wonder-Ball!’ What is that, mother?” asked Rikka.

“It is a ball of yarn,” said her mother. “There are little presents or surprise gifts wound up in the ball. As you knit the yarn from the ball, the gifts fall out.”

“Oh, I should like a Wonder-Ball, Mother,” cried Rikka. “I will learn to knit and I will knit fast so that I can knit my presents from the ball.”

Rikka’s mother made her a “Wonder-Ball.” It was a very big, blue ball. She gave Rikka some shining needles and taught her how to knit.

Rikka tried and tried, and at last she learned to knit. It was very hard at first, but she did not give up.

The first gift she knit from her ball was a little silver pencil. She was much pleased with it.

She knit hard every day.

It seemed a long time before she came to the next gift.

Then a pretty chain of red beads came out of the “Wonder-Ball.”

She knit and knit away. The gifts she knit from the “Wonder-Ball” were many.

She sang a little song as she worked.

She called it her “Knitting Song.”

Click, clack, click, clack, On go the needles, forward and back, Careful never a stitch to drop, Busily knit with never a stop. Forward and back, forward and back, Bright little needles, click, click, clack.

Among her gifts was a little gold ring with a blue stone in it. She had also a wooden bird, a tiny doll, and a thimble. She called her thimble her “finger-hat.”

Rikka was very happy. She thanked her good mother many times for the lovely, big “Wonder-Ball.”

Rikka soon learned to knit very well. She liked to knit even when she had no “Wonder-Ball.” She knit a scarf for her father. She knit a jacket for her doll. “It is such fun to make things,” said busy little Rikka.

THE FIRE AND WATER MAN

Jan and Katrina were down at Bram’s house. Bram’s house is by the canal.

Down the canal came a man in a boat. Now and then the man would call “Fire” in a loud voice. Then he would call “Water.”

He was the Fire-and-Water Man. He sells fire and water to the people by the canal.

Bram’s mother called, “Quick, Bram! Here comes the Fire-and-Water Man! Run for the shovel and buy some coals of fire from him. I need water, too. Take the big blue pail with the cover, then you will not spill any of the water. Hurry, Bram!”

“I will take your pail to the man,” said Jan. “I will carry the water and Bram can carry the fire.”

So Bram and Jan ran down to the boat and bought hot coals and fresh water from the man.

Then the man sailed on down the canal in his boat. They could hear him calling “Fire” and “Water.” He was going to sell fire and water to other Dutch mothers.

THE WINDMILL GAME

Jan and Katrina like to play the Windmill Game. They get Bram and Hilda and Kassie and Karl to play with them.

This is the way they play the game. Each one chooses a partner. They stand back to back. They stretch out their arms. They wave their arms up and down. When one arm goes up the other arm goes down. They look like a windmill whirling around.

They sing:

Windmill, windmill, whirl around With a whirring, creaking sound, Up and down, Away we go, Windmills go both fast and slow.

It takes two children to make a windmill in this Windmill Game. If Jan and Hilda and Kassie and Karl and Bram and Katrina all play, how many windmills do they make?

THE STORY IN JAN’S BOOK

Do you remember the book that Jan’s mother gave him for his birthday?

Jan has read the book now. He will tell you the story of little Peter. He likes it the best of all the stories in his book.

THE STORY

Peter was a little Dutch boy. He lived in Holland. He lived by the big dike. The dike was very big and very strong. It kept the sea from the land of Holland.

Peter knew how men watched the dikes. He knew that they had to do it, for if a leak came in the dike, the water would rush in.

The dike would break and the water would cover the land.

One day Peter’s mother said to Peter, “Peter, I wish you would take your father’s dinner to him. He is working far, far down on the shore. You may run along on the dike if you wish.”

So Peter started out with his basket. He went along the dike. He had gone quite far, and was tired, so he sat down to rest.

As he sat there, he heard a trickling sound. “That sounds like water trickling in a hole,” said Peter to himself.

He looked around. At last he found a little hole in the dike. The water was trickling in.

It was only a tiny stream.

“O, what shall I do?” said Peter. He ran to see if there was any one coming. But he could see no one. So he ran back to the hole in the dike and put his little hand over the hole. His hand stopped the water from coming in.

Poor Peter called and called, but no one heard. He became very stiff and lame, but he did not take his hand from the hole in the dike.

At last the sun went down, and it began to grow dark. Peter’s father and mother came to look for him. They found him cold and frightened with his little hand over the leak in the dike.

Men came with their tools and mended the dike.

“Brave, brave Peter,” they said. “You have saved your country from a great flood.”

All the people thought Peter was very brave indeed. They came to see him and brought him gifts. Even the king thanked Peter and sent him a bag of gold.

“I think Peter was very brave and very unselfish,” said Jan. “He did not think of himself, though he was cold and stiff and frightened. He thought of all the people who would lose their homes and lives, and so, though he was only a little boy, he was brave and strong enough to save his country from the sea.”

A SLEIGH RIDE ON THE CANAL

One cold afternoon in winter, Jan’s mother said, “You may hitch Rink to the big sled, Jan, and you and Katrina may ride away down the canal to grandmother’s house. Grandmother knows you are coming.”

“You are to stay all night. Father and I are going to the festival in the city.”

“Oh, good, good!” cried Jan, and he ran out to tell Katrina.

Katrina was very happy, for she liked nothing better than to go to grandmother’s house.

She clapped her hands. “I will get ready at once,” she cried. “What a good time we will have with grandmother!”

Jan hitched Rink to the big red sled. Rink seemed to know he was going to grandmother’s, for he barked and wagged his tail for joy.

Then Jan and Katrina got ready for their long ride on the canal. Jan put on three coats and a warm muffler. He wore two caps on his head. Katrina put on two coats and a shawl, and wore two hoods.

Their mother tucked them up warmly on the big sled. She gave them a basket full of goodies to take to grandmother. She stood in the door of their little blue house and waved her hand. “Good-by, my little ones, good-by,” she called, “grandmother will be watching for you.”

With a bound, Rink was off, and away they went over the smooth ice on the canal. They went by the brown windmill. They saw Hilda, Karl, and Kassie playing in the snow. Hilda, Karl, and Kassie shouted at them and waved their hands. Jan and Katrina waved back to their friends, and Rink ran on and on.

GRANDMOTHER’S STORY

It was night. Jan and Katrina and grandmother had had their supper. Katrina had helped grandmother wash the dishes. It was not time for bed.

“Let us sit down before the fire, Grandmother,” said Jan, “and you can tell us a story.”

“O yes, please, Grandmother,” cried little Katrina, and she ran to get grandmother’s big armchair with the red cushions.

Grandmother smiled and sat down in the chair. It had big, wide arms. Jan sat on one arm of the chair and Katrina sat on the other.

“What shall I tell you about?” asked grandmother.

“Tell us about St. Nicholas,” said Jan. “You know, Grandmother, it is nearly time for him to come.”

“Why, so it is,” said grandmother.

Then she began:

“Far, far away from here, in the forest of Christmas trees, lives an old man. He has white hair, a long white beard and the brightest eyes you ever saw. He wears a beautiful red suit, and it is trimmed with the whitest of fur. The name of this good old man is St. Nicholas. All the year long, in his forest of Christmas trees, St. Nicholas is busy making toys and sweetmeats for the good little boys and girls.”

“What toys does he make, Grandmother?” asked Katrina.

“O, little wooden dogs and horses and birds and pigs and chickens and dolls and doll-houses,” answered grandmother.

Then she went on with her story. “St. Nicholas has a beautiful big white horse.

“At Christmas time he takes the white horse from its stall. ‘Come, my horse,’ says St. Nicholas. ‘It is Christmas time once again, and you must take me all over the land to visit the little Dutch boys and girls.’ Then St. Nicholas calls his black servant. He lets him ride on a black horse and gives him two bags to carry. One bag is full of toys and goodies for the good children, and in the other bag is a switch with which to beat the bad children. All through the night St. Nicholas rides on his white horse.”

“The little Dutch children put their wooden shoes down by the fireplace. Near by, they put a basket of hay and carrots for the white horse of St. Nicholas.

“In the morning, when the good children get up, the hay and the carrots are gone, and the wooden shoes are full of toys and goodies.”

“What a nice story,” says Katrina.

CHRISTMAS IN HOLLAND

It is Christmas Eve. Jan and Katrina have taken off their wooden shoes. They have scrubbed them white as snow, and they have set them down by the fireplace.

“We must not forget the white horse,” says Jan.

So, near by, they have placed a pretty red and yellow basket. In it are some carrots, some hay, and some oats. They are for the white horse of St. Nicholas.

Mother tucks the children in their funny Dutch beds in the wall.

They look very snug and warm. Their round cheeks are very red and their eyes are very bright.

“I hope St. Nicholas will not leave me a switch, Mother,” says Jan.

“O, I hope not,” says Katrina. “You do not think he will, do you, Mother?”

Mother smiles and shakes her head: “I cannot tell, my little ones,” she says. “Go to sleep now, and in the morning we shall see.”

So Jan and Katrina turn their faces to the wall. They cuddle up in their warm feather beds and go to sleep.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Jan and Katrina got up early on Christmas morning. They ran to the fireplace. There were the wooden shoes! They were filled with good things. There were toys on the floor beside the shoes.

“O Mother! Father! Come quick! See what the good St. Nicholas has brought us!” cried Jan and Katrina.

“What beautiful gifts!” says mother. “St. Nicholas must think you are good children.”

St. Nicholas brought Jan a little wooden horse on wheels.

He brought him a woolly lamb that says “Baa” when you press a spring in its back.

Jan had three books, too, and a pen and a red pen-holder. What fine gifts!

Katrina had a little cradle for her doll. She had a doll-cart. She had a gold chain, a lace collar, and a pretty blue gown.

Jan and Katrina also had many sweetmeats, nuts, and little cakes.

BRAM’S RABBITS

Bram’s father gave him some rabbits. They are white rabbits, with pink eyes. They have long, pink ears. They are very pretty. They like to eat clover and cabbage and lettuce.

Katrina and Jan like to go to Bram’s house. When they go there, Jan says, “Let us go out and see the rabbits, Bram.” And Bram says, “All right. Come on, Katrina.” But Katrina wants to stay and play with baby Annetka.

“You go on, boys,” says she. “I will come by and by.”

So the boys go out to see the rabbits. Katrina plays with little Annetka. She throws a big ball to the baby. The baby tries to catch it, but she cannot.

Katrina puts Annetka in her little cart. She rides her up and down on the brick path in the garden. The baby likes to see the pretty flowers. She likes to look at the white shells and stones by the garden path.

By and by Annetka’s mother comes out. “It is time for your nap, baby,” says she. So she takes little Annetka into the house.

Then Katrina runs away to see the rabbits.

THE MARKET

One day Katrina and Jan went to market with Bram and his father. They sailed down the canal on the barge.

The market place was full of noise and busy life.

There were hens and ducks and geese that cackled and quacked and hissed.

There were rows and rows of cheeses, pats of yellow butter, and honeycombs dripping with honey.

There were dog-carts filled with milk-cans, with apples, with potatoes, and other vegetables.

There were Dutch girls selling lace and flowers.

There were bakers with trays full of bread, rolls, and cakes.

Katrina bought a wooden spoon to take home to her mother. Jan bought mother a big yellow bowl.

“Mother will like to stir cake in it,” he said.

“Yes, and she can stir it with this nice, wooden spoon,” said little Katrina.

WINTER

It is winter. The canals in Holland are frozen over. The ice is very smooth and thick.

All the Dutch children have skates. Their fathers and mothers have skates, too. Everybody that is strong and well skates on the Dutch canals in Winter.

Jan and Katrina and their little friends Bram and Hilda and Kassie and Karl all have skates. They skate up and down and around and around.

They have skating matches. The one who can skate farthest and fastest beats. Sometimes Jan beats and sometimes Karl does.

The girls cannot skate as fast as the boys.

KIND HEARTED JAN

One day Jan was down on the beach. There he saw a man with a dog and a cart. The man was putting sand in the cart. He was going to make the dog pull it into town.

The poor dog was sick. His feet were sore and he was not strong enough to pull the heavy cart.

The man had a whip. He whipped the poor dog. The dog moaned and cried. He fell down between the shafts of the cart. His master beat him, and tried to make him get up.

Jan saw the cruel master whip the poor dog. He felt very sorry for the dog. He ran up to the man. “You must not beat your dog,” said Jan. “He is old and he is not strong enough to pull your heavy load.”

“He is a good-for-nothing dog,” said the man. “I wish I could sell him.”

So Jan asked the man how much he wanted for the dog. Jan had enough money, so he bought the poor old dog.

He took him home. He washed the dog’s sore feet. He gave him food and drink. He made a soft bed for him to lie on.

“He will be a playmate for Rink,” said Jan. “I will call him Kris.” Kris grew well and strong. He was always grateful to Jan for saving him from his cruel master.

End of Project Gutenberg's Windmills and wooden shoes, by Maude M. Grant