Hans and Gretel Brinker skate on homemade wooden blades while their father, injured years ago on the dikes, lies broken in mind. A great race for a pair of silver skates is announced, and the children long to enter. Interwoven is a tour of Holland itself, as a party of boys skates to Haarlem and beyond, seeing its cities, art and customs.
First published in 1865, it gave American readers their lasting picture of Holland, along with the legend of the boy at the dike. Download the free EPUB.