V
THE DAY THEY DROVE THE MILK CART
The next morning Kit and Kat woke up very early, without any one'scalling them. You see, they were afraid they would be too late to gowith the milk cart.
But Grandfather Winkle had only just gone out to get the milk ready,and they had plenty of time to dress while Grandmother got breakfast.Grandmother helped with the buttons and the hard parts.
Grandmother Winkle's kitchen was quite like the kitchen at home, only alittle nicer. It had red tiles on the floor; and it had ever so manyblue plates hanging around on the walls, and standing on edge in a rowon the shelves. There was a warming-pan with a bright brass cover,hanging on the wall; and I wish you could have seen the pillows and thecoverlet on the best bed!
Grandmother Winkle had embroidered those all herself, and she was veryproud of them. When she had company, she always drew the curtains backso that her beautiful bed would be seen. She said that Kit and Kat werecompany, and she always left the curtains open when they came to visither.
When the Twins were all dressed, Grandmother said,
"Mercy sakes! You have on your best clothes! Now that's just like a manto promise to take you out in your best clothes in a milk wagon!Whatever was Grandfather thinking about!"
Kit and Kat thought she was going to say that they couldn't go, so theydug their knuckles in their eyes and began to cry. But they hadn't gotfarther than the first whimper when Grandmother said,
"Well, well, we must fix it somehow. Don't cry now, that's a good Kitand Kat." So the Twins took their knuckles out of their eyes and beganto smile.
Grandmother went to the press and brought out two aprons. One was avery small apron. It wouldn't reach to Kit's knees. But she put it onhim and tied it around his waist.
"This was your Uncle Jan's when he was a little boy," she said. "It'spretty small, but it will help some."
Kit wished that Uncle Jan had taken it with him when he went toAmerica. But he didn't say so.
Then Grandmother took another apron out of the press. It looked as ifit had been there a long time.
"Kat, you must wear this," she said. "It was your mother's when she wasa little girl."
Now, this apron was all faded, and it had patches on it of differentkinds of cloth. Kat looked at her best dress. Then she looked at theapron. Then she thought about the milk cart. She wondered if she wantedto go in the milk cart badly enough to wear that apron over her Sundaydress! She stuck her finger in her mouth and looked sidewise atGrandmother Winkle.
Grandmother didn't say a word. She just looked firm and held up theapron.
Very soon Kat came slowly--very slowly--and Grandmother buttoned theapron up behind, and that was the end of that.
The Twins could hardly eat any breakfast, they were in such a hurry togo. As soon as they had taken the last spoonful, and Grandfather Winklehad finished his coffee, they ran out into the place where the dogswere kept, to help Grandfather harness them.
There were two black and white dogs. Their names were Peter and Paul.
The wagon was small, just the right size for the dogs; and it waspainted blue. The bright brass cans full of milk were already in; andthere was a little seat for Kat to sit on.
When the last strap was fastened, Grandfather lifted Kat up and set heron the seat. She held on with both hands.
Then Grandfather gave the lines to Kit, and a little stick for a whip,and told him to walk slowly along beside the dogs. He told him to besure not to let go of the lines.
Grandfather walked behind, carrying some milk cans.
Grandmother stood in the door to see them off; and, as they startedaway, Kat took one hand off the cart long enough to wave it to her.Then she held on again; for the bricks in the pavement made the cartjoggle a good deal.
"We must go first to Vrouw de Vet," Grandfather called out. "She takesone quart of milk. Go slowly."
At first Kit went slowly. But pretty soon there was a great rattlingbehind him; and Hans Hite, a boy he knew, drove right past him with hisdog cart! He drove fast; and, as he passed Kit, he stuck out his tongueand called out,
"Milk for sale! Milk for sale! A milk cart drawn by a pair of snails!"
Kit forgot all about going slowly.
"Get up!" he said to the dogs, and he touched them with his long stick.
Peter and Paul "got up." They jumped forward and began to run!
Kit ran as fast as his legs would go beside the dogs, holding thelines. But the dogs had four legs apiece, and Kit had only two; so yousee he couldn't keep up very well.
Kat began to scream the moment that Peter and Paul began to run. Thedogs thought that something that made a dreadful noise was after them,and they ran faster than ever. You see, Grandfather Winkle never in theworld screamed like that, and Peter and Paul didn't know what to makeof it. So they ran and ran and ran.
Kat held on the best she could, but she bounced up ever so far in theair every time the cart struck a bump in the street. So did the milkcans; and when they came down again, the milk splashed out.
Kat didn't always come down in the same spot. All the spots were hard,so it didn't really matter much which one she struck as she came down.
But Kat didn't think about that; she just screamed. And Peter and Paulran and ran, and Kit ran and ran, until he couldn't run any more; hejust sat down hard on the pavement and slid along. But he didn't let goof the lines!
When Kit sat down, it jerked the dogs so hard that they stoppedsuddenly. But Kat didn't stop; she went right on. She flew out over thefront of the cart and landed on the ground, among all of Peter andPaul's legs! Then she stopped going, but she didn't stop screaming.
And, though Kit was a boy, he screamed some too. Then Peter and Paulpointed their noses up in the air and began to howl.
Way back, ever so far, Grandfather was coming along as fast as hecould; but that wasn't very fast.
All the doors on the street flew open, and all the good housewives cameclattering out to see what was the matter. They picked Kat up and toldher not to cry, and wiped her eyes with their aprons, and stood Kit onhis feet, and patted the dogs; and pretty soon Peter and Paul stoppedbarking, and Kit and Kat stopped screaming, and then it was time tofind out what had really happened.
Neither of the Twins had any broken bones; the good housewives wiggledall their arms and legs, and felt of their bones to see. But shockingthings had happened, nevertheless! Kat had torn a great hole in thefront of her best dress; and Kit had worn two round holes in the seatof his Sunday clothes, where he slid along on the pavement; and,besides that, the milk was slopped all over the bottom of the cart!
Just then Grandfather came up. If it hadn't been that his pipe wasstill in his mouth, I really don't know what he might not have said! Helooked at the cart, and he looked at the Twins. Then he took his pipeout of his mouth and said sternly to Kit,
"Why didn't you do as I told you?"
"I did," said Kit, very much scared. "You told me to be sure to holdtight to the lines, and I did! I never let go once."
"Yes, and look at his clothes," said one of the women. She turned himaround and showed Grandfather the holes.
"I told you to go slowly," said Grandfather. "Now look at the cart, andsee what you've done by not minding, spoiled your best clothes andKat's, and spilled the milk! Go back to Grandmother."
"But I couldn't mind twice at one time," said Kit. "I was minding aboutnot letting go."
"Oh dear," sobbed Kat, "I wish we were four and a half feet high now!If we were, this never would have happened."
Grandfather took the dogs and went on to Vrouw de Vet's, withoutanother word.
The Twins took each other's hands, and walked back to Grandmother'shouse. Quite a number of little boys and girls in wooden shoesclattered along with them. Grandmother heard all the noise, and ran tothe door to see what was the matter.
"Laws a mercy me, I told you so!" she cried, the moment she saw them."Look at your clothes! See how you've torn them!"
&nb
sp; "I can't see the holes in mine," said Kit.
"But I can," said Kat. And then all the children talked at once; andwhat with wooden shoes and the tongues all going, Grandmother clappedher hands over her ears to shut out the noise. Then she took Kit andKat into the kitchen and shut the door. She put on her glasses and gotdown on the floor so she could see better.
Then she turned Kit and Kat all around and looked at the holes. "O! mysoul!" she said. She took off the aprons and the torn clothes and putthe Twins to bed while she mended.
She got out a pair of Grandfather's oldest velveteen breeches that hadbeen patched a great deal, and found a good piece to patch with. Thenshe patched the holes in Kit's breeches so neatly that one had to lookvery carefully indeed to see that there had ever been any holes thereat all.
Then she patched Kat's dress; and, when it was all done, she shook itout and said to herself,
"Seems to me those Twins have been quiet for a long time."
She went over to the cupboard bed; and there were Kit and Kat fastasleep; with their cheeks all stained with tears and dirt. GrandmotherWinkle kissed them. Kit and Kat woke up, and Grandmother dressed themin their Sunday clothes again, and washed their faces and made themfeel as good as new.
By and by Grandfather Winkle came home from going about with the milk.Grandmother Winkle scrubbed the cart and made it all clean again; andby noon you would never have known, unless you had looked very, veryclosely--much more closely than would be polite--that anything hadhappened to the Twins or the milk cart, or their clothes or anything.
After they had eaten their dinner, and the dogs were rested andGrandfather had smoked his pipe he said,
"Kit, if you think you can mind, I will take you and Kat both home inthe dog cart." Kit and Kat both nodded their heads very hard. "Only,I'll do the driving myself," said Grandfather Winkle. And he did.
He put Kit and Kat both on the seat, and he walked slowly beside thecart. They went out on the road beside the canal toward home. They gotthere just as the sun was getting low in the west, and Vrouw Vedder wasgoing out to feed her chickens.
VI
THE DAY THEY GOT THEIR SKATES
One morning, when Kit and Kat ran out early to feed their ducklings,the frost nipped their noses and ears.
"It's getting colder every day. Very soon winter will come," Kat said.
They ran down to the canal. The old goose and the gander and thegoslings--now half grown--were standing on the bank, looking unhappy:there was a thin sheet of ice all over the canal, and they could not goswimming.
Kit took a stick and broke the ice. Thin sheets of it, like pieces ofbroken glass, were soon floating about; and the old goose, the gander,and all the goslings went down the bank in a procession into the water.
They swam about among the pieces of ice for a while, but it was so coldthat they soon came up on the bank into the sun again and wiggled theirtails to shake out the water. Then they all sat down in the sun to gettheir feet warm.
Kit and Kat ran up and down the road and played tag until their cheekswere red and they were warm as toast. Then they ran into Vrouw Vedder'swarm kitchen.
The kettle was singing on the fire, and there was a smell of coffee inthe air. Vrouw Vedder gave the Twins some in a large cup. She put in agood deal of milk and gave them each a piece of sugar to sweeten itwith.
"Is it Sunday?" asked Kat. On Sundays they sometimes had coffee. Onother days they had milk.
"No," said Vrouw Vedder; "but it is cold, and I thought a cup of coffeewould warm us all up."
While they were drinking their coffee, Kit and Kat talked about theice, and what fun they would have with their sleds on the canals whenwinter came.
"I tell you what it is, Kat," said Kit; "I think we're big enough tohave skates. Hans Hite isn't much bigger than I am, and he had skateslast winter. I mean to ask Father this very day."
"Yah," said Kat--that is the way Dutch Twins always say yes--"Yah, andlet us be very good and help mother all we can. I think maybe they willgive skates to good Twins quite soon, even if we aren't very bigyet--not big enough to be called Christopher and Katrina."
Vrouw Vedder was heating water and getting out her scrubbing brushes,so Kit and Kat knew that she was going to clean something.
"What are you going to scrub to-day, Mother?" asked Kit.
"I'm going to scrub the stable," said Vrouw Vedder. "It is getting toocold for the cows to stay all night in the pastures. Father means tobring Mevrouw Holstein in to-night, and I want her stable to be niceand clean for her."
"We'll help you," said Kit and Kat very politely.
"Good children!" their mother said. "You may carry the brushes." Sothey opened a door beside the fireplace, and walked right into thestable.
The stable was really a part of the house. There were two stalls in thestable. Vrouw Vedder took her pails of water and her brushes and beganto scrub. She scrubbed the walls, and the sides of the stalls, and thefloor. The Twins scrubbed, too, until they were tired; and the stablewas so clean, you would have liked to live there yourself.
"Let's play out here," said Kat. "Let's play house."
"All right," said Kit. "I'll be the father, and you be the mother."
"But who will be Twins?" said Kat.
"Let's get the ducklings," said Kit.
"They can be Twins, of course," said Kat. "They are, anyway."
So Kit ran out and brought in the ducklings. They were so tame theyalways ran to Kit and Kat, when they saw them coming. They were almostducks now, they had grown so big.
"Let's give the Twins their dinner," said Kat. So she got some grain,and they both sat down on a little box and held the ducks in their lapsand fed them from their hands. The ducks ate greedily.
"You have very bad manners," said Kat. "You will get your clothes alldirty." She took two rags and tied them around the ducks' necks forbibs. The ducks did not like bibs. They quacked.
"Now don't say anything like that," said Kat. "You must do just as youare told and not spill your food."
Then Kit got some water and a spoon and gave the Twins a drink, butthey did not like the drink either.
"Now we must put them to sleep," said Kat. They rocked the ducks intheir arms, but the ducks squawked dreadfully.
"What bad children to cry so!" said Kit. "You can have both the Twins";and he gave his duck to Kat.
"You fix a bed for them," said Kat. So Kit turned up the box they hadbeen sitting on, and put some hay in it; and they put the ducks in onthe hay.
Pretty soon the ducks went to sleep. Kit and Kat ran away to play outof doors and forgot all about them.
They didn't think about them again until Father Vedder came home atnight with Mevrouw Holstein. When he put the cow into the stall, hestumbled over the box. It was rather dark in the stable.
"Quack, quack!" said the ducks.
Kit and Kat were helping Father put the cow into the stall and get somehay for her. When the ducks quacked, Father Vedder said,
"What in the world is this?"
"Oh, our Twins! our Twins!" cried Kit and Kat. "Don't let MevrouwHolstein step on the Twins!"
Father Vedder pulled out the box. Kit and Kat each took a duck andcarried it out to the poultry house.
"Twins are a great care," said Kit and Kat.
"Now is the time to ask," whispered Kat to Kit, that night, when FatherVedder had finished his supper and was lighting his pipe. "You must askvery politely, just the very politest way you can."
They went and stood before their father. They put their feet together.Kit made a bow, and Kat bobbed a curtsy.
"Dear parent," said Kit.
"That's a good start," whispered Kat. "Go on."
"Well, well, what now?" said Father Vedder.
"Dear parent, Kat and I are quite big now. I think we must be nearlyfour feet and a half high. Don't you think we are big enough to haveskates this winter?"
"So that's it!" said Father Vedder. Then he smoked his pipe again.
"There was
ice on the canal this morning," said Kat.
"So you think you are big enough to skate, do you?" said Father Vedder,at last. Mother Vedder was clearing away the supper. "What do you thinkabout it, Mother?" said Father Vedder.
"They have been very good children," said the Vrouw. "There are theskates you and I had when we were children. We might try them on andsee if they are big enough to wear them. They are in the bag hangingback of the press."
Kit and Kat almost screamed with joy.
"Our feet are quite large. I'm sure we can wear them," they said.
Father Vedder got the bag down and took out two pairs of skates. Theyhad long curling ends on the runners. The Twins sat down on the floor.Father Vedder tried on the skates.
"They are still pretty large; but you will grow," he told the Twins."You may have them if you will be very careful and not let them getrusty. By and by we will teach you to skate."
The Twins practiced standing in the skates on the kitchen floor; and,when bedtime came, they took the skates to bed with them.
"O Kit," said Kat, "I never supposed we'd get them so soon. Did you?"
"Well," said Kit, "you see, we're pretty big and very good. That makesa difference."
"It's very nice to be good when people notice it, isn't it?" said Kat.
"Yah," said Kit. "I'm going to be good now right along, all the time;for very soon St. Nicholas will come, and he leaves only a rod in theshoes of bad children. And if you've been bad, you have to tell himabout it."
"Oh! Oh!" said Kat. "I'm going to be good all the time too. I'm goingto be good until after the feast of St. Nicholas, anyway."
Not many days after Kit and Kat got their skates, there came a cold,cold wind. It blew over the fields and over the canals all day and allnight long; and in the morning, when the Twins looked out, the canalwas one shining roadway of ice.
Father Vedder came in from the stable with a great pail full of milk.
"Winter is here now, for good and all," he said, as he set the paildown. "The canals are frozen over, and soon it will be the day for thefeast of St. Nicholas."
Kit and Kat ran to him and said, both together,
"Dear Father Vedder, will you please teach us to skate before St.Nicholas Day?"
"I'll see if the ice is strong enough to bear," said Father Vedder; andhe went right down to the canal to see, that very minute. When he camein, he said,
"Yes, the ice is strong; and we will go out as soon as you are ready,and try your skates."
Vrouw Vedder said, "I should like to go too"; and Father Vedder said toKit and Kat,
"Your mother used to be the finest skater in the whole village when shewas a young girl. You must not let her beat you."
They hurried through with their work, Kit and Kat helped. Then they allput on their heavy shoes and wraps, took their skates over theirshoulders, and started for the canal.
"If you learn to skate well enough, we will take you to town before thefeast of St. Nicholas," said Father Vedder. "But it comes very soon."
He put on his own skates and Kit's, and the mother put on her own andKat's.
"I'm sure we can do it almost right away," said Kat.
"Now we'll show you how to skate," said Father Vedder. He stood theTwins up on the ice. They held each other's hands. They were afraid tomove. Father Vedder took Mother Vedder's hand.
"See," he said, "like this!" And away they went like two swallows,skimming over the ice. In a minute they were ever so far away.
Kit and Kat felt lonesome, and very queer, when they saw their fatherand mother flying along in that way. They weren't used to see them doanything but work, and move about slowly.
"It looks easy," said Kit. "Let's try it. We must not be afraid."
He started with his right leg, pushing it out a little in front of him.But it was very strange how his legs acted. They didn't seem to belongto him at all! His left leg tried to follow his right, just as it oughtto; but, instead, it slid out sidewise and knocked against Kat'sskates. Then both Kat's feet flew up; and she sat down very hard, onthe ice. And Kit came down on top of her.
They tried to get up; but, each time they tried, their feet slid awayfrom them.
"Oh dear," said Kat, "we are all mixed up! Are those your feet or mine?I can't tell which is which!"
"They don't any of them mind," said Kit. "I can't stand up on any ofthem. I've tried them all! We'll just have to wait until Father andMother come back and pick us out."
"Ice is quite cold to sit on, isn't it?" said Kat.
Soon Father and Mother Vedder came skimming back again. When they sawKit and Kat, they laughed and skated to them, picked them up, and setthem on their feet.
"Now I'll take Kit, and you take Kat," said Vrouw Vedder to herhusband, "and they'll be skating in no time." So Kat's father took herhands, and Kit took hold of his mother's, and they started off.
At first the Twins' feet didn't behave well at all. They seemed to wantto do everything they could to bother them. They would sprawl wayapart; then they would toe in and run into each other.
Many times Kit and Kat would have fallen if Father and Mother Vedderhad not held them up; but before the lesson was over, both Kit and Katcould skate a little bit alone.
"See, this is the way," said Vrouw Vedder; and she skated around in acircle. Then she cut a figure like this 8 in the ice. Then FatherVedder did a figure like this S all on one foot.
"My!" said Kit and Kat.
"I think our parents must skate the best of all the people in theworld," said Kat.
"I'm going to some day," said Kit.
"So'm I," said Kat.
After a while Vrouw Vedder said,
"It's time to go home. Not too much the first time." So they all wentback home with their cheeks as red as roses, and their noses too, andsuch an appetite for dinner!
But the Twins were a little lame next day.
Every day after that, Kit and Kat went out with their skates to theditches and tried and tried to skate as Father and Mother did--they didso want to skate to town and see the sights before the feast of St.Nicholas! They worked so hard that in a week they could skate verywell; and then they planned a surprise for their mother.
"If you will watch at the window, you'll see a great sight on the canalvery soon," said Kit to his mother one day.
Of course Vrouw Vedder hadn't the least idea what it would be!
Kit and Kat slipped out through the stable and ran down to the ditch.They put on their skates and skated from the ditch out to the big canal.
Vrouw Vedder was watching at the window. Soon she saw Kit and Kat goflying by, hand in hand, on the canal! They waved their hands to her.Vrouw Vedder was so pleased that she went to call Father Vedder, whowas in the hay-loft over the stable.
"Come and see Kit and Kat," she cried.
Father Vedder came down from the loft and looked too. Then Kit cut afigure like this, S, and Kat cut one like this, 6. The round spot iswhere she sat down hard, just as she was almost around.
When they came into the kitchen Father said,
"I think we could take such a fine pair of skaters as that to the Vinkwith us on our way to town! The ice is very hard and thick for so earlyin the season, and we will go to-morrow."
"We can see the shops too. St. Nicholas is coming, and the shops arefull of fine things," said Vrouw Vedder.
Kit and Kat could hardly wait for to-morrow to come. They polishedtheir skates and made everything ready.
"What do you suppose the Vink is?" said Kat to Kit.
"I think it is something like a church," said Kit.
"You don't know what a Vink is, so there," said Kat. "I think it'ssomething to eat."
Then Kit changed the subject.
"I'll race you to-morrow," he said.
"I'll beat," said Kat.
"We'll see," said Kit.
The next day they started, all four, quite early in the morning: VrouwVedder took her basket on her arm.
"I shall want to buy some things,
" she said.
Father Vedder lighted his pipe--"To keep my nose warm," he said.
Then they all went down to the canal and put on their skates.
"Kat and I are going to race to the first windmill," said Kit.
"I'll tell you when to start," said Father Vedder.
"And I'll get a cake for the one who wins," said the mother.
"One, two, three!" Away they flew like the wind! Father and MotherVedder came close behind.
Kit was so sure he would beat that he thought he would show off alittle. He went zigzag across the canal; once or twice he stopped toskate in curves.
Kat didn't stop for anything. She kept her eyes on the windmill, andshe skated as hard as she could.
They were getting quite near the mill now. Kit stopped playing andbegan to skate as fast as he could. But Kat had got the start of him.
"I'll soon get ahead of her," he thought. "She's a girl, and I'm aboy." He struck out with great long sweeps, as long as such short legscould make, but Kat kept ahead; and in another minute there she was atthe windmill, quite out of breath, and pointing her finger at Kit!
"I beat, I beat," she said.
"Well, I could have beaten if I wanted to," said Kit.
"I'll get the cake," said Kat.
"I don't care," said Kit. But Kat knew that he did.
"I'll give you a piece," she said.
Father and Mother Vedder came along then; and when Kit and Kat wererested, they all skated for a long time without saying anything. ThenFather Vedder said proudly to his wife,
"They keep up as well as anybody! Were there ever such Twins!" AndMother Vedder said,
"Never!"
By and by other people appeared on the canal--men and women andchildren, all skating. They were going to the town to see the sightstoo.
One woman skated by with her baby in her arms. One man was smoking along pipe, and his wife was carrying a basket of eggs. But the man andwoman were good skaters. They flew along, laughing; and no one couldget near enough to upset them.
As they came nearer to the town, Kit and Kat saw a tent near the placewhere one canal opened into another. A man stood near the tent. He puthis hands together and shouted through them to the skaters,
"Come in, come in, and get a drink Of warm sweet milk on your way to the Vink:"
"We must be getting quite near the Vink," Kat said. "I do wonder whatit looks like. Do you think it's alive?"
They passed another tent. There a man was shouting,
"Come buy a sweet cake; it costs but a cent, Come buy, come buy, from the man in the tent."
Vrouw Vedder said,
"I promised a cake to the one who beat in the race. We'll go in hereand get it."
So they went to the tent.
They bought two cakes, and each ate half of one. Kat broke the cakesand gave them to the others, because she won the race.
When they had eaten the cakes, they skated on. The canals grew more andmore crowded. There were a good many tents; flags were flying, and thewhole place was very gay.
At last they saw a big building, with crowds of merry skaters about it.Many people were going in and out.
"There's the Vink," said Father Vedder.
"Where?" said Kit and Kat.
He pointed to the building.
"Oh!" said Kit. He never said another word about what they had thoughtit was like.
Soon they were inside the Vink. It was a large restaurant. There weremany little tables about, crowded with people, eating and drinking.Father Vedder found a table, and they all sat down.
"Bring us some pea soup," he said to the waiter. Soon they were eatingthe hot soup.
"This is the best thing I ever had," said Kit.
When they had eaten their soup; they went out of the building andwalked through the streets of the town. All the shops were filled withpretty things. The bake shops had wonderful cakes with little candieson top, and there were great cakes made like St. Nicholas himself inhis long robes.
Kit and Kat flattened their noses against all the shop windows, andlooked at the toys and cakes.
"I wish St. Nicholas would bring me that," said kit, pointing to a verylarge St. Nicholas cake.
"And I want some of those," Kat said, pointing to some cakes made inthe shapes of birds and fish.
Vrouw Vedder had gone with her basket on an errand. Father Vedder andKit and Kat walked slowly along, waiting for her. Soon there was agreat noise up the street. There were shouts, and the clatter of woodenshoes.
"Look! Look!" cried Kit.
There, in the midst of the crowd, was a great white horse; and ridingon it was the good St. Nicholas himself! He had a long white beard andred cheeks, and long robes, with a mitre on his head; and he smiled atthe children, who crowded around him and followed him in a noisyprocession down the street.
Behind St. Nicholas came a cart, filled with packages of all sizes. Thechildren were all shouting at once, "Give me a cake, good St.Nicholas!" or, "Give me a new pair of shoes!" or whatever each onewanted most.
"Where is he going?" asked Kit and Kat.
"He's carrying presents to houses where there are good girls and boys,"Father Vedder said. "For bad children, there is only a rod in the shoe."
"I'm glad we're so good," said Kit.
"When will he come to our house?" asked Kat.
"Not until to-morrow," said Father Vedder. "But you must fill yourwooden shoes with beans or hay for his good horse, to-night; and thenperhaps he will come down the chimney and leave something in them. It'sworth trying."
Kit and Kat were in a hurry to get home, for fear the Saint would getthere first.
It was growing late, so they all went to a waffle shop for their supper.
In the shop a woman sat before an open fire. On the fire was a bigwaffle iron. She made the waffles, put sugar and butter on them, andpassed a plate of them to each one. Oh, how good they were!
When they had eaten their waffles, Father and Mother Vedder and theTwins went back to the canal and put on their skates. It was late inthe afternoon. They took hold of hands and began to skate toward home,four in a row. Father and Mother Vedder were on the outside, and theTwins in the middle.
It was dark when they reached home. Vrouw Vedder lighted the fire,while Father Vedder went to feed the cow and see that the chickens andducks and geese were all safe for the night.
Kit and Kat ran for their wooden shoes. They each took one and put somehay in it. This was for St. Nicholas to give to his horse. FatherVedder put the shoes on the mantel. Then they hurried to bed to makemorning come quicker.
Father and Mother Vedder sat up late that night. Mother Vedder said itwas to prepare the goose for dinner the next day.
When the Twins woke the next morning, the fire was already roaring upthe chimney, and the kitchen was warm as toast. They hopped out of bedand ran for their wooden shoes. Mother Vedder reached up to the mantelshelf for them. Truly, the hay was gone and there in each shoe was apackage done up in paper!
"Oh, he did come! He did come!" cried Kat. "O Mother, you're sure youdidn't build the fire before he had got out of the chimney?"
"I'm sure," said Vrouw Vedder. "I've made the fire on many a St.Nicholas morning, and I've never burned him yet!"
The Twins climbed up the steps to their cupboard bed and sat on theedge of it to open their packages. In Kit's was a big St. Nicholascake, like the one in the shop window! And in Kat's were three cakeslike birds, and two like fish!
"Just what we wanted!" said Kit and Kat. "Do you suppose he heard ussay so?"
"St. Nicholas can hear what people think," said Vrouw Vedder. "He iscoming to see you to-night at six o'clock, and you must be ready tosing him a little song and answer any questions he asks you."
"How glad I am that we are so good!" said Kat.
"We'll see what the Saint thinks about that," said the mother. "Now getdressed; for Grandfather and Grandmother will be here for dinner, andwe're going to have roast goose, and there
's a great deal to do."
Kit and Kat set their beautiful cakes up where they could see themwhile they dressed.
"I do wish every day were St. Nicholas Day," said Kit.
"Or the day before," said Kat. "That was such a nice day!"
"All the days are nice days, I think," said Kit.
"I don't think the dog-cart day was so very nice," said Kat. "We toreour best clothes, and they'll never, never be so nice again. That wasbecause you didn't mind!"
"Well," said Kit, "I minded as much as I could. How can I mind twothings at one time? You know how well I can think! You know how Ithought about Vrouw Van der Kloot's cakes. But I can't think how I canmind twice at one time."
"I don't suppose you can," said Kat. "But anyway, I'm sorry about mydress."
Just then Vrouw Vedder called them to come and eat their breakfast.
Father and Mother Vedder sat down at the little round table and bowedtheir heads. Kit and Kat stood up. Father Vedder said grace; and thenthey ate their salt herring and drank their coffee; and Kit and Kat hadcoffee too, because it was St. Nicholas morning.
It was snowing when, after breakfast, Kit went out with his father tofeed the chickens and the pigs, and to see that the cow had somethingvery good that she liked to eat. When they had done that, they calledKat; and she helped throw out some grain on the white snow, so thebirds could have a feast, too.
It snowed all day. Kit and Kat both helped their mother get the dinner.They got the cabbage and the onions and the potatoes ready; and whenthe goose was hung upon the fire to roast, they watched it and kept itspinning around on the spit, so it would brown evenly.
By and by the kitchen was all in order, and you can't think how cleanand homelike it looked! The brasses all around the room had littleflames dancing in them, because they were so bright and shiny.Everything was ready for the St. Nicholas feast. The goose was nearlyroasted, and there was such a good smell of it in the air!
After a while there was a great stamping of feet at the door; and VrouwVedder ran with the broom to brush the snow off Grandfather andGrandmother, who had skated all the way from town, on the canal. Whenthey were warmed and dried, and all their wraps put away, Grandfatherand Grandmother Winkle looked around the pleasant kitchen; andGrandmother said to Grandfather,
"Our Neltje is certainly a good house-wife." Neltje was Vrouw Vedder.And Grandfather said,
"There's only one better one, my dear." He meant Grandmother Winkle.
By and by they all sat down to dinner, and I can't begin to tell youhow good it was! It makes one hungry just to think of it. They hadroast goose and onions and turnips and cabbage. They had bread andbutter, and cheese, and sweet cakes.
"Everything except the flour in the bread, we raised ourselves," saidVrouw Vedder. "The hens gave us the eggs; and the cow, the butter. TheTwins helped Father and me to take care of the chickens, and to milkthe cow, and to make the butter; so it is our very own St. Nicholasfeast that we are eating."
"A farmer's life is the best life there is," said Father Vedder.
They sat a long time at the table; and Grandfather told stories aboutwhen he was a boy; and Father Vedder told how Kit and Kat learned toskate; and Kit and Kat told how they saw St. Nicholas riding on a whitehorse, and how he sent them the very things they wanted; and they allenjoyed themselves very much.
After dinner, Grandmother Winkle sat down in the chimney corner andcalled Kit and Kat.
"Come here," she said, "and I'll tell you some stories about St.Nicholas."
The Twins brought two little stools and sat beside her, one on eachside. She took out her knitting; and as the needles clicked in herfingers, she told this story:
"Once upon a time, many years ago, three little brothers went out oneday to the woods to gather fagots. They were just about as big as youare, Kit and Kat."
"Were they all three, twins?" asked Kat.
"The story doesn't tell about that," said Grandmother Winkle; "butmaybe they were. At any rate, they all got lost in the woods andwandered ever so far, trying to find their way home. But instead offinding their way home, they just got more and more lost all the time.They were very tired and hungry; but, as they were brave boys, not oneof them cried."
"It's lucky that none of those twins were girls," said Kit.
"I've even heard of boy twins that cried, when dog carts ran away, orsomething of that kind happened," said Grandmother Winkle. "But youshouldn't interrupt; it's not polite."
"Oh!" said Kit very meekly.
"Well, as I was saying, they were very lost indeed. Night was comingon; and they were just thinking that they must lie down on the groundto sleep, when one of them saw a light shining through the leaves. Hepointed it out to the others; and they walked along toward it,stumbling over roots and stones as they went, for it was now quite dark.
"As they came nearer, they saw that the light came from the window of apoor little hut on the edge of a clearing.
"They went to the door and knocked. The door was opened by a dirty oldwoman, who lived in the hut with her husband, who was a farmer.
"The boys told the old woman that they had lost their way, and askedher if she could give them a place to sleep. She spoke to her husband,who sat crouched over a little fire in the corner; and he told her togive them a bed in the loft.
"The three boys climbed the little ladder into the loft and lay down onthe hay. They were so tired that they fell asleep at once. The old manand his wife whispered about them over their bit of fire.
"'They are fine-looking boys; and well dressed,' said the old woman.
"'Yes,' said the old man, 'and I have no doubt they have plenty ofmoney about them.'
"'Do you really think so?' said the wife.
"'I think I'll find out,' said the wicked farmer. So he climbed up tothe loft and killed the three boys. Then he looked in their pockets formoney; but there was no money there.
"He was very angry. And he was very much afraid, wicked people arealways afraid."
"Are all afraid people wicked?" asked Kat. She wished very much thatshe were brave.
"M-m-m, well, not always," said Grandmother Winkle.
"The wicked farmer was so afraid that he wanted to put the bodies ofthe three boys where no one would find them. So he carried them downcellar and put them into the pickle tub with his pork."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" screamed Kat, and she put her hands over her ears. EvenKit's eyes were very round and big. But Grandmother said,
"Now, don't you be scared until I get to the end of the story. Didn't Itell you it was all about St. Nicholas? You wait and see what happened!
"That very same day the wicked farmer went to market with somevegetables to sell. As he was sitting in the market, St. Nicholasappeared, before him. He had on his mitre and his long robes, just asyou see him in Kit's cake.
"Have you any pork to sell?" St. Nicholas asked the man.
"No," said the farmer.
"What of the three young pigs in your brine tub in the cellar?" saidSt. Nicholas.
The farmer saw that his wicked deed was found out, as all wicked deedsare, sooner or later. He fell on his knees and begged the good Saint toforgive him.
St. Nicholas said, "Show me the way to your house."
The farmer left his vegetables unsold in the market and went home atonce, the Saint following all the way.
When they reached the hut, St. Nicholas went to the pickled-pork tub inthe cellar. He waved his staff over the tub, and out jumped the threeboys, hearty and well! Then the good Saint took them through the woodsand left them in sight of their own home.
"Oh, what a good St. Nicholas!" said Kit and Kat. "Tell us another."
"Well," said Grandmother Winkle, "once upon another time there was avery mean man, who had a great deal of money, that often happens. Hehad, also, three beautiful daughters, that sometimes happens too."
"One day he lost all his money. Now, he cared more for money than foranything else in the world more, even, than for his three beautifuldaugh
ters. So he made up his mind to sell them!"
"St. Nicholas knew of this wicked plan; so that very night he went tothe man's house and dropped some money through a broken window."
"Why did he do that?" asked Kat.
Because the man was selling his daughters to get money. If he had moneyenough, he wouldn't sell them.
The first night St. Nicholas dropped enough money to pay for the eldestdaughter. The next night he took a purse of gold for the seconddaughter, and dropped it down the chimney. It fell down right in frontof the man, as he was getting a coal to light his pipe. The third nightthe man watched; and when St. Nicholas came, the door flew open, andthe man ran out. He caught St. Nicholas by his long robe and held him.
"O St. Nicholas, Servant of the Lord," he said, "why dost thou hide thygood deeds?"
And from that time on, every one has known it is St. Nicholas whobrings gifts in the night and drops them down the chimney.
"Did the man sell his daughter?" asked Kat.
"No," said Grandmother. "He was so ashamed of himself that he wasn'twicked any more."
"Does St. Nicholas give everybody presents so they will be good?" askedKat.
"Yes," said Grandmother; "that's why bad children get only a rod intheir shoes."
"He gave the bad man nice presents to make him good," said Kit. "Whydoesn't he give bad children nice things to make them good too?"
Grandmother Winkle knitted for a minute without speaking. Then she said,
"I guess he thinks that the rod is the present that will make them goodin the shortest time."
The clock had been ticking steadily along while Grandmother had beentelling stories, and it was now late in the afternoon. The sky was allred in the west; there were long, long shadows across the snowy fields,and the corners of the kitchen were quite dark.
"It's almost time to expect him, now," said Vrouw Vedder; and shebrought out a sheet and spread it in the middle of the kitchen floor.She stirred up the fire, and the room was filled with the pleasant glowfrom the flames.
Kit and Kat sat on their little stools. Their eyes were very big. Atfive minutes of six, Vrouw Vedder said,
"He will be here in just a few minutes, now. Get up, Kit and Kat, andsing your song!"
The Twins stood up on the edge of the sheet and began to sing:
"St. Nicholas, good, holy man, Put on your best gown; Ride with it to Amsterdam, From Amsterdam to Spain."
While they were singing, there was a sound at the door, of some onefeeling for the latch. Then the door flew open, and a great shower ofsweet cakes and candies fell onto the sheet, all around Kit and Kat!There in the doorway stood St. Nicholas himself, smiling and shakingoff the snow! His horse was stamping outside. Kit and Kat could hear it.
They stopped singing and hardly breathed, they stood so still. Theylooked at St. Nicholas with big, big eyes. In one hand St. Nicholascarried two large packages; in the other, a birch rod.
"Are there any good children here?" said St. Nicholas.
"Pretty good, if you please, dear St. Nicholas," said Kit in a verysmall voice.
"Children who always mind their mothers and fathers and grandfathersand grandmothers?" said St. Nicholas, "and who do not quarrel?"
Kat couldn't say anything at all, though the Saint looked right at her!Vrouw Vedder spoke.
"I think, dear St. Nicholas, they are very good children," she said.
"Then I will leave these for them and carry the rod along to some badlittle boy and girl, if I find one," said St. Nicholas. "There seem tobe very few about here. I haven't left a single rod yet." And he handedone big package to Kit, and another to Kat.
"Thank you," said Kit and Kat.
St. Nicholas smiled at them and waved his hand. Then the door shut, andhe was gone!
Kit and Kat dropped on their knees to pick up the cakes and candies.They passed the cakes and candies around to each one. Vrouw Vedderlighted the candles, and then they all gathered around to see Kit andKat open their bundles.
"You open yours first," said Vrouw Vedder to Kat.
Kat was so excited that she could hardly untie the string. When she gotthe bundle open, there was a beautiful new Sunday dress much prettierthan the torn one had ever been! Oh, how pleased Kat was! She huggedher mother and her grandmother and her father and her grandfather.
"I just wish I could hug dear St. Nicholas, too," she said.
Then Kit opened his bundle; and there was a beautiful new velveteensuit, with his very own silver buttons on it! It had pockets in it! Heput his hand in one pocket. It had a penny in it! Then he put his handin the other pocket. There was another penny!
"I'm going to see if there's a pocket in mine," said Kat.
She hunted and hunted and hunted. By and by she found a pocket. Andsure enough, there was a penny in that too!
Then some presents came from somewhere for Father and Mother Vedder andfor Grandfather and Grandmother Winkle; and such a time as they allhad, opening the bundles and showing their presents!
Then Mother Vedder tried on Kit's suit and Kat's dress, to see if theywere the right size. They were just right exactly.
"St. Nicholas even knows how big we are," said Kat.
"Oh, I wish St. Nicholas Day would last a week," said Kit.
"That reminds me," said Vrouw Vedder, and she looked at the clock."Half-past ten, and these children still up! Bless my heart, this willnever do! Come here, Kit and Kat, and let me undo your buttons!"
"May we take our new clothes to bed with us?" Kat asked.
"Yes, just this once," said Mother Vedder, "because this is St.Nicholas night."
They kissed their Grandfather and Grandmother good-night, and theirMother and Father, and said their prayers like good children; and thenthey climbed up into their little cupboard bed, and Vrouw Vedder drewthe curtains, so they would go to sleep sooner.
"Good-night, dear little Twins," she said.
And so say we.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS
This book is the first of a series of stories for supplementary readingthe purpose of which is to give children a correct idea of life indifferent countries, both in the spirit and atmosphere of the story,and in the actual descriptions. These books will also further a spiritof friendliness and good will for children of other nationalities.Respect for and an understanding of the life and customs of otherraces, are not only educationally valuable, but are fundamentallyimportant in this "crucible of nations," where different races arefusing themselves together as never before in the history of the world.Tradition is a precious heritage, and the traditions of other nationsshould be the natural inheritance of the American child, since here asnowhere else all the nations of the earth are entering into ournational life.
The author has recognized from the start that the purpose of a book ofthis kind would fail of realization if the narrative does not appealstrongly to children. The delight with which the book has been receivedby children is evidence that the important element of interest has notbeen left out of the narrative.
To make the reading of this story most valuable as a school exercise,it is suggested that children be allowed at the outset to turn thepages of the book in order to get glimpses of "Kit" and "Kat," in thevarious scenes in which they are portrayed, in the illustrations, thusarousing their interest. With a globe, or a map of the world, point outHolland, and tell the children something about the unique character ofthe country.
The text is so simply written that any third or fourth grade child canread it without much preparation. In the third grade it may be well tohave the children read it first in the study period in order to workout the pronunciation of the more difficult words. In the fourth gradethe children can usually read it at sight, without the preparatorystudy.
In connection with the reading of the book, have children readselections from their readers and other books about Holland and itspeople. The legend of "The Hole in the Dike" is an illustration of thiskind of collateral reading. Let children also bring to
class postcardsand other pictures illustrating scenes in Holland.
The unique illustrations in the book should be much used, both in thereading of the story and in other ways. Children will enjoy sketchingsome of the pictures; their simple treatment makes them especiallyuseful for this purpose. An excellent oral language exercise would befor the children, after they have read the story, to take turns tellingthe story from the pictures; and a good composition exercise would befor each child to select the picture that he would like to write upon,make a sketch of it, and write the story in his own words.
These are only a few of the number of ways that will occur toresourceful teachers of making the book a valuable as well as aninteresting exercise in reading.
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends