or, The Silver Skates 9

one could stand almost anywhere in Middle Holland without
seeing a mound or a ridge between the eye and the “¢ jumping-
off place.”

None had better cause to know the nature of these same
dikes than Dame Brinker and the panting youngsters now
running at her call. But, before stating why, let me ask you
to take a rocking-chair trip with me to that far country, where
you may see, perhaps for the first time, some curious things
that Hans and Gretel saw every day.