"Oh! they are throwing the 'suikers' now; run faster, Wilhelmina,"
panted Pieter; and, sure enough, as the carriage went by, a shower of
candies fell all about them. One piece dropped right in Wilhelmina's
mouth, which of course was open, because she had been running so hard.
But there was no time to laugh, as the children were all scrambling hard
to pick up the sweets. Then they tried to catch up with the carriage
again, but it was nearly out of sight by this time, and so one by one
the young folk stopped to count up their gains, and compare them with
one another.
This was a wedding-party returning from church. In the carriage sat the
bride and groom. The carriage sat high up on its two great wheels, and
was gaudily painted and gaily decked with flowers and ribbons.
Pieter and Wilhelmina had been on the lookout for this bridal party with
more than usual interest, for two relatives of the bride had come to
their mother a few days before to invite her to the wedding ceremony,
and the children thought these young men had looked very fine in their
best clothes, with flowers stuck in the sides of their caps.
The bride had her arms full of candies, and, as was the custom, she
threw them out to the children as they drove along. The little Dutch
children call these candies "suikers." As you may imagine, this is a
great treat for them, and accordingly the children of Holland take more
of an interest in weddings than do the children of other countries.
"Put all the 'suikers' in my apron, Pieter," said Wilhelmina, "and let
us go and show them to the mother," and the children quickly ran back
home.
Wilhelmina and Pieter were twins, so it does not matter whether we say
Wilhelmina or Pieter first, and they looked so much alike that when they
stood together in the high grass by the side of the canal which ran in
front of their home, it was hard to tell one from the other if it had
not been for Pieter's cap.
They both had round, rosy faces, and round, blue eyes, and yellow hair,
only you would not know that Wilhelmina had any hair at all, for it was
completely hidden by her cap. They both wore little wooden shoes, and it
was a marvel how fast they could run in them, for they seem to be on the
point of dropping off most of the time, but, strange to say, they never
do.
Holland is the dearest little wee country in the world. Uncle Sam could
put it in his vest pocket. It looks like a country just made to play in.
Its houses are so small and trim, all set about with neat little gardens
and trees, which look as if they had been cut out of wood, like the
trees in the "Noah's arks." There are little canals and little bridges
everywhere, and little towns scattered here and there all over the
broad, flat country. You could go to all of the principal cities of this
little land in one day, and you can stand in one of the church towers
and see over half the country at a glance. The only things that look big
are the windmills.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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