Серебряные коньки

DjVu

      ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
      Повесть «Ганс Бринкер, или Серебряные коньки» была опубликована в Нью-Йорке в 1865 г. и сразу вызвала большой интерес у юных читателей. За тридцать лет появилось более ста изданий этой книги, из них многие на иностранных языках.
      Молодой начинающий автор Мери Мейпс Додж (1831—1905) никак не ожидала такого шумного успеха, когда по вечерам рассказывала своим двум сыновьям придуманную ею историю маленького голландца Ганса Бринкера. Заметив, с каким нетерпением ее дети ждут продолжения рассказа, она решила попробовать записать его и послать издателям.
      Мери Додж впервые посетила Голландию вскоре после опубликования своей повести. Между тем, по словам биографа писательницы, когда ее сын однажды зашел в одну из книжных лавок Амстердама и попросил дать ему литературу о голландской жизни, продавец предложил ему книгу его матери, уверяя, что это и есть самая правдивая книга о Голландии.
      Как же могла Мери Додж так хорошо знать жизнь страны, в которой никогда не была? Все ее знания были добыты ею из книг: с детских лет она была упорным и жадным читателем исторических и географических сочинений. Она не только интересовалась жизнью других народов мира, но и относилась к ним с искренним уважением.
      Повесть «Серебряные коньки» сочетает занимательный рассказ о юных голландцах Гансе и Гретель Бринкер, стойких в серьезных недетских испытаниях, с множеством сведений об их родине. Эту часть книги в настоящем облегченном и сжатом изложении пришлось значительно сократить, тем более что многие из приведенных сведений устарели за столетие, отделяющее нас от времени опубликования книги. В этом издании сохранено лишь описание приключений и переживаний героев и их друзей, которые и сейчас привлекают молодых читателей.
      Ободренная успехом, Мерй Додж написала еще ряд книг, также пользовавшихся большой популярностью («Несколько друзей, и как они веселились», 1869; «Дональд и Дороти», 1883; «Страна смелых», 1894 и др.). В 1873 г. она стала редактором нового журнала для юношества и привлекла к сотрудничеству в нем таких выдающихся писателей, как Лонгфелло, Уиттиер и Киплинг.
      На фоне сухой, однообразно-наставительной буржуазной детской литературы XIX в. книги Мери Додж выделялись своей живостью, юмором и демократизмом, хотя и сочетавшимися, в духе времени, с сентиментальностью и религиозностью. В настоящем издании, сокращенном более чем втрое, эти моменты почти полностью исключены, как не представляющие интереса для советских школьников.
     
      ПРОИЗНОШЕНИЕ ИМЕН ДЕЙСТВУЮЩИХ ЛИЦ
     
      Raff Brinker [raef 'brigka]
      Meitje Brinker ['metja 'brigka]
      Hans Brinker [haens 'brirjka]
      Oretel Brinker ['gretal Ъпдкэ]
      Dr. Boekman ['dakta 'bukman|
      Annie Bouman ['aem 'bauman]
      Ben Dobbs [ben dabz]
      Carl Schummel [ka:l 'Jumal)
      Hilda van Gleck ['hilda vaen 'glek]
      Hoogs [hu:gz]
      Katrinka ['kaetrigka]
      Jacob Poot ['djeikab 'pu:t]
      Jan Kolp [dgaen kalp]
      Lambert van Mounen ['laembat vaen 'maunan] Ludwig van Holp ['lu:dwig vaen 'halp]
      Peter van Holp ['pi:ta vaen tialp]
      Rychie Korbes ['ritji 'ka:bz]
      Voostenwalbert Schimmelpenninck ['vustanwal-ba:t 'Jimalpemgk]
     
      HANS AND GRETEL ON THE ICE
     
      On a cold December morning two poorly dressed children, Hans and Gretel, were standing on the bank of a frozen canal2 in Holland.3 It was still very early and almost all the people of the little Dutch4 town of Broek5 were asleep. Only some peasant women skated along the canal, with heavy baskets on their heads.
      The two children, who were brother and sister, wanted to skate a little before their mother called them home. They were so poor that they had only wooden skates. The children tied those wooden skates to their feet with strings and skated as well as they could.6
      «Come quick, Gretel,» cried her brother, skating away, «We have little time before mother calls us.»
      «Oh Hans,» cried the little girl, «I cannot fasten my skate. The string is too short and it hurts my foot.»
      1 Произношение встречающихся в книге имен собственных см. на стр. 6.
      2 canal [ka'nael] — канал.
      3 Holland ['holand] — Голландия.
      4 Dutch [dAtJ] — голландский.
      5 Broek [brink] — Брук (город).
      6 as well as they could — как могли.
      Hans, who was a good brother, ran back to his sister. «You must wear your new shoes. These are too old,» he said.
      «Don’t you remember,1 Hans,» said Gretel with tears in her eyes. «Father threw my new shoes into the fire a few days ago.»
      «Don’t cry, Gretel,» said her brother. «I shall try to tie your skate to this old shoe.» He took off his cap, pulled out the lining and put it over Gretel’s shoe. Then he pulled the short string as hard as he could® in order to tie the skate to the shoe.
      Though the string hurt her foot Gretel did not cry. In a moment3 the two children were laughing and skating along the canal. But soon Hans’s skates began to squeak and before he could stop he fell on his back on the ice.
      «Are you hurt,4 Hans?» cried Gretel and skated up to her brother. «Oh, you are laughing! Well,5 try to catch me,» and she skated quickly from him. Hans was on his feet again, but it was not easy to catch Gretel. When her skates began to squeak too, she turned and skated into her brother’s arms.6
      «I’ve caught you!» cried Hans.
      «No, I’ve caught you,» answered Gretel.
      The children were still laughing and trying to catch each other on the ice when they heard a voice calling, «Hans, Gretel! Come home.»
      «It’s mother,» said Hans becoming serious.7 «Come,Gretel.»
      The brother and sister took off their skates and ran quickly to their cottage, which was not far from the canal.
      1 Don't you remember — Разве ты не помнишь?
      2 as hard as he could — здесь изо всех сил (букв, так крепко, как мог).
      8 In a moment... — Через секунду ...
      4 Are you hurt? — Ты ушибся?
      8 Well... — здесь Ну... («хорошо» по-английски — very well).
      8 ...skated into her brother’s arms — ...подъехала к брату и попала в его объятия.
      7 becoming serious — становясь серьезным.
     
      HANS AND GRETEL AT HOME
     
      Holland is a country where a large part of the land is lower than the level of the sea. There are many dykes everywhere which keep the sea away1 from the land. There are also ditches, canals, rivers and lakes all over* the country. In summer people fish and row in the lakes and rivers, in winter they skate on the rivers and canals, because it is the quickest way to go from place to place.
      Dutch people always have to fight the sea.3 Every year they spend very much money in order to repair the old dykes and build new ones.4 If the dykes are out of order,8 the sea may rush over the land, and many people will be ruined and even killed.
      In spring there is always danger of a flood. Engineers and workmen watch over* the dykes day and night.
      Raff Brinker, the father of Hans and Gretel, had worked on the dykes for many years. One day he was repairing a dyke during a terrible storm. He had a bad fall ’ and hurt his head. For a long time his life was in danger. When he recovered he could not work any more.8 Though he was strong again, his mind and memory were gone.9 His wife, Mrs. Brinker, worked hard for her family. She knitted stockings and grew vegetables, but she could earn little money: she had to look after10 her husband, who was like a little child now.
      1 keep the sea away — сдерживают напор моря.
      * all over... — здесь по всей ...
      8 ...have to fight the sea — .. .приходится бороться с морем.
      4 new ones — новые плотины. (Местоимение ones заменяет слово dykes.)
      6 out of order — не в порядке.
      6 ...watch over... — здесь .. .наблюдают за...
      7 Не had a bad fall — Он упал и сильно расшибся.
      8 ...could not work any more — .. .больше не мог работать.
      9 his mind and memory were gone — сознание и память пропали*
      10 she had to look after.•• — ей приходилось присматри* вать за...
      «Children,» their mother often said, «your father was so good and clever. Do you remember him, when he was well,1 Hans?»
      «Oh, yes, mother, he could do everything and he sang and laughed so often!»
      Both children helped their mother as much as they could.
      Hans, who was fifteen when our story begins, was very clever at cutting things out of wood.® He sold .them and so earned a little money too. In autumn the brother and sister gathered peat for fuel and helped their mother in the garden.
      Gretel, who was twelve, also earned a little money. She looked after the geese of the neighbouring farmers. She could sing and sew and she knew how to take care of3 flowers and vegetables. But she did not like to read. Hans, on the contrary, liked books and was very clever. The boys of his class, who often laughed at Hans’s poor clothes, were very angry that he was the best pupil at school.
      In winter the children went to school every day, but they always had much work to do* at home. That is why* on that cold December morning they hurried home when they heard the voice of their mother.
      1 he was well — он был здоров.
      2 ...was... clever at cutting things out of wood — ...хорошо умел вырезать из дерева; букв. ...был способен к вырезанию... (Слово things здесь не переводится.)
      3 to take care of... — ухаживать за ...
      4 they... had much work to do — у них было много работы.
      6 That is why... — Вот почему...
     
      MORNING ON THE CANAL
     
      While our little friends were helping their mother in their small cottage many merry boys and girls were skating along the canal. They were dressed in bright woolen clothes and had nice warm caps, for they belonged to the rich families of the town. There was the burgomaster’s1 daughter, Hilda van Gleck, and Annie Bouman, a farmer’s daughter. Then there was the proud Rychie Kor-bes, whose father was one of the leading men of Amsterdam.3 There was a small boy with the very long name of Voostenwalbert Schimmelpenninck and many other boys and girls; they were all skating up and down the canal and laughing merrily. Sometimes they ran into3 fat old gentlemen who were skating slowly and heavily towards the town.
      Working people were skating to their shops and factories, and market-women were hurrying to town with heavy baskets on their heads. The merry crowd of boys and girls stopped to talk to a pretty girl who had just appeared4 on the ice. «Oh, Katrinka!» they cried all together. «Have you heard of the race? You must take part in it!»
      «What race?» asked Katrinka,, laughing. «Please don’t talk all at once.8 I can’t understand you.»
      «Don’t you know,»6 said Rychie, «We shall have a great skating match at the end of the month. The best skater will get a wonderful prize.»
      «Yes,» cried many voices, «a pair of silver skates with silver bells!»
      1 burgomaster ['baigo'ma sta] — бургомистр (в Голландии — управляющий городом).
      2 Amsterdam ['aemsta'daem] — Амстердам (крупный портовый город в Голландии).
      8 ...ran into... — ...сталкивались с ...
      4 ...had just appeared — ...только что появилась.
      5 all at once [wahs] — все вместе; (все) сразу.
      6 Don’t you know*.. — Разве ты не знаешь...
      «No,» cried other voices, «they have no bells, but arrows.»
      «Don’t quarrel,» said Hilda quietly. «The girls’ skates will have bells and the boys’ skates arrows on both sides.»
      «Who will take part in the match?» asked Katrinka, who was one of the best skaters of the school.
      «All of us,»1 answered Rychie. «It will be such fun!»1 2
      «There’s the school-bell!» shouted one of the boys and the merry crowd of children quickly skated towards the school-house that stood half a mile away,3 on the bank of the canal. In a moment Katrinka was far ahead. The others tried to catch her, but that was not so easy, for she was the swiftest skater among them.
     
      HANS AND GRETEL FIND A FRIEND
     
      As soon as lessons were over4 the children hurried to the canal again. They all wanted to practise on the ice
      1 All of us — Мы все.
      2 it will be such fun! — Будет так весело!
      3 half a mile away — на расстоянии полумили (миля = 1609 м).
      4 As soon as lessons were over — Как только закончились уроки.
      for an hour, because all were eager to take part in the coming race.1
      «Look,» said one of the boys, Carl Schummel, to Hilda with a laugh,
      «there’s? a pretty pair on the ice. The little beggars! What funny wooden skates they have!»
      «They are good children, Carl,» said Hilda,
      «and you must not laugh at them. It was probably very hard1 2 3 to learn to skate on wooden skates, himself. His mother is very poor and his father is so ill that he cannot work.» With these words Hilda, who was a kind-hearted girl, turned her back on Carl Schummel and skated towards Hans and Gretel, who were sadly watching the group of merry children.
      «What is your name, little girl?» asked Hilda.
      «Gretel,» answered the child, looking timidly at the young girl in fine clothes. «And my brother is called Hans.»
      «You must put on a warmer jacket,» said Hilda, «you look cold.»4 5
      Gretel, who had no other jacket, tried to laugh. «It is nothing,» she answered. «When I skate I am very warm.» 8
      Hilda understood that she must not speak about Gretel’s clothes any more. So she said: «Do you know, that there
      1 ...were eager to take part in the coming race — ...горели -желанием принять участие в предстоящем соревновании.
      2 there’s (= there is) — здесь вот.
      * very hard — здесь очень трудно.
      * you look cold — у тебя замерзший вид.
      5 I am very warm — Мне очень тепло.
      I think that the boy made them
      will soon be a great skating race? You and your brother must take part in it too.»
      Gretel looked at Hans. «Our skates are made of wood,» answered the boy. «They soon become damp and then we fall, so we cannot take part in the race.»
      Hilda had eight small coins in her pocket — the price of one pair of skates. So she asked: «Which of you skates better?»
      «Gretel,» replied Hans quickly.
      «Hans,» answered Gretel at the same time.
      Hilda smiled. «This is enough for only one pair of skates. You must decide yourselves which of you has more hope to win the race.» She put the money into the boy’s hands and quickly skated away from the two children.
      «Miss Hilda,» cried Hans, rushing after her, «we cannot take your money.»
      «Why not?» asked Hilda, stopping.
      «Because we have not earned it,» replied Hans proudly.
      The young girl thought a little and then said: «Gretel has a pretty wooden chain on her neck. Can you make such a chain for me?»
      «With pleasure, Miss Hilda,» said Hans. «You will have your chain to-morrow.»
      «And the money that I have given you will be the price of the chain,» answered Hilda and skated merrily away.
      «Well,» said Hans to Gretel, «I shall work hard to-night,1 and the chain will be ready in the morning.»
      «How wonderful!» cried Gretel. «If mother sends us to the market to-morrow, you can buy the skates, Hans.»
      «No,» said Hans, «I shall buy a warm jacket for you, Gretel.»
      «Ohi» cried Gretel, bI am not cold, 1 am really very warm. I want to see you with a pair of good skates. And some day,2 when I am bigger, I shall skate on them too.»
      1 to-night — сегодня вечером.
      2 some day — когда-нибудь.
      Hans looked at the money thoughtfully. He was sure that with good skates, he could skate better than most of the boys.1 But Gretel, as he knew, could skate better than all the girls, even better than Rychie and Katrinka.
      «No, Gretel,» he answered, «I can wait. You will get the new skates.»
      «No,» said Gretel, «Do you know what you can do? You can buy a pair that is a little too small for you and a little too big for me, and then we can both use them in turn.»2
      This was a very good plan for Hans, but he said decidedly, «Nonsense, Gretel, you cannot skate with a big pair. I shall buy a pair that fits you3 and then you will win the silver skates.»
      On the following day there was not a happier boy4 in all Holland than Hans when he looked at his sister who was skating merrily among the other children.
      «Look at that little girl,» said Peter van Holp to Carl Schummel. «She skates so wonderfully that she can easily win the race.»
      «This girl is a beggar,» answered Carl. «Do you know who has given her these skates? It is Hilda!»
      Peter smiled, for Hilda was his best friend. He cut an 8 on the ice,5 then a big P and also a big H, and ran to find Hilda.
     
      HANS GOES TO AMSTERDAM
     
      Next morning Peter van Holp asked Hans to make a wooden chain just like Hilda’s® for his sister. Now Hans had money for a second pair of skates. When dinner was
      1 most of the boys — большинство мальчиков.
      2 in turn — по очереди.
      2 that fits you — которая подойдет тебе.
      4 there was not a happier boy — не было мальчика счастливее.
      s ...cut an 8 on the ice — ...сделал «восьмерку» на льду.
      6 just like Hilda’s — в точности как у Хильды.
      over that day, Mrs. Brinker told him to go to Amsterdam and buy the skates.
      «Oh mother,» said the boy. «You need many things. How can I buy skates for myself?» «Nonsense, child. You worked hard all night and you have earned the money. Go while the sun is high.» «But, mother, you need wool, and flour, and ...» «Well, my boy,» interrupted Mrs. Brinker, «your silver coins cannot buy all those things. Ah, Hans, if we could only find1 the lost money!»
      «You have looked everywhere, mother dear,» he answered sadly.
      «Yes, I have looked everywhere. It’s hopeless. It was a thousand guilders!»2 continued Mrs. Brinker. «Your father worked so hard in order to save3 that money. He worked overtime for many months. Every week we put a guilder aside. I kept the money in an old stocking. Father and I were so happy, because now we had money and could give you and Gretel a good education.»
      «And do you think that father knows where the money is?» asked Hans.
      «I am sure he does.4 He hid it in the night just before his illness. He had no time to tell me where he put it, because he was called5 to the dyke so suddenly. And
      1 if we could only find — если бы только мы могли найти. а guilder ['gilda] — гульден (голландская монета, примерно равная рублю).
      3 in order to save — чтобы отложить, сберечь.
      4 I am sure he does — Я уверена, что он знает. (Вспомогательный глагол does употребляется, чтобы не повторять глагол knows.)
      5 he was called — его вызвали.
      then the terrible accident happened. Now he remembers nothing.»
      «But why did he want to hide it, mother?»
      «Because there were many thieves in Broek. He wanted to bury the money in a safe place.»
      «Have you tried to ask him where he put it?»
      «Yes, child, many times. But your father only laughs and says things that I do not understand. Last winter when you and Gretel were ill and I could earn nothing, I asked him again and again: ‘Where is our money? Do you know anything about our money?’ But he sat on his chair like a stone and did not say a word.»
      Mrs. Brinker began to cry and Hans tried to comfort her.
      «Don’t cry, mother,» he said. «We must forget that money. 1 am big and strong and can work. Gretel will soon be a big girl. She will work too. We shall have money enough,1 then.»
      «You are right, my son,» said his mother. «Now hurry to town and take this pair of stockings to the market. If you get a good price for them you can buy some cakes, and we shall have a feast.»
      Gretel clapped her hands with joy.1 2 Hans kissed his mother and left the house. He was skating along the canal and thinking of his father’s illness, when suddenly he saw Dr. Boekman who was skating in his direction. Dr. Boekman was the best surgeon in Holland. He had a stem face and eyes that never smiled. Hans was afraid to approach the great doctor, but he said to himself, «Here comes the greatest doctor in Holland. I have no right to buy skates for myself, when I can ask Dr. Boekman to help my father. Now I have money to pay him.»
      1 money enough — достаточно денег (enough часто ставится после существительного).
      2 ...clapped her hands with joy — ...захлопала в ладоши от радости.
      The doctor looked very stern,1 but the boy bravely approached him and said, «Dr. Boekman!»
      The great man stopped and looked angrily at Hans. «Go away,» he said, *1 have no money for beggars.»
      «I am not a beggar, sir,» * said the boy proudly, and he pulled his silver coins out of his pocket. ‘I want to ask you to see my father. He had a bad fall when he was working on the dykes many years ago. He cannot think, his words have no meaning, he has no memory. Oh, sir, please come and see my father! I know that this money is not enough, but I shall earn more. I shall work for you all my life if you cure my father.»
      Now the old doctor’s eyes were 'kind and he laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder. «Take your money, child, I do not want it,» he said kindly. «I shall come and see your father. Where do you live?» 1 2
      1 The doctor looked very stern — У доктора был очень суровый вид.
      2 sir [sa:] — сэр (вежливое обращение к мужчине, чаще всего к старшему или вышестоящемуJ.
      «Not far from Broek, sir, near the canal. It is only a poor cottage, but all the children know it. They call it the idiot’s cottage.»
      «All right, boy. I am going to the Hague1 to-day. In a week 1 shall return, then I shall come to see your father.» With these words the great doctor hurried away. «I am afraid that I can do nothing,» he said to himself, «but the boy is nice, he is like my poor son.» And with a heavy sigh the doctor continued his way.
      Hans was so happy that he was ready to shout with joy.* «Shall I hurry home,» he was thinking, «and tell mother the good news, or shall I get the cakes and the new skates first? Yes, I think I shall go to the market first.»
      And so that evening Hans returned from Amsterdam with a pair of new skates and some cakes for tea.
     
      THE BOYS OF BROEK
     
      Hans and Gretel were very happy that evening. Their mother was so glad when Hans told her about his talk with Dr. Boekman that she let the children leave their work and try® their new skates on the canal before they went to bed. There were many boys and girls on the ice that evening. They were all practising for the race. The brothers van Holp, Peter and Ludwig were there, and Carl Schummel, and Voostenwalbert, the small boy with the very long name, and many others. Carl, who was not a kind boy, grew very angry when he saw Hans and Gretel with their new skates.
      «Look here,4 boys,» he cried. «We must forbid those two beggars from the idiot’s cottage to take part in the
      1 the Hague [da heig] — Гaara (столица Голландии; единственный город, название которого по-английски употребляется с артиклем).
      2 to shout with joy — кричать от радости.
      3 She let the children leave their work and try... — она позволила детям оставить работу и испытать...
      4 Look here... — Послушайте-ка...
      race. Hilda was mad when she invited them. Katrinka and Rychie will not skate with them. If we are men and not babies, we shall not...»
      «...forbid anybody to take part in the race,» finished Peter van Holp, who was the eldest of the boys. «How can we send away two good skaters only because they are poor. A real man will not do such a thing.»
      Carl looked angrily at his friend: «Nobody asked you to speak,» he said.
      «Ha! ha!» laughed little Voostenwalbert, who liked to see a quarrel or a fight.
      As Carl was afraid of Peter, he attacked the little boy: «What are you shouting there, you little monkey with a long name for a tail.»1
      The boys laughed at this rude joke, and Carl was pleased. Just then® another boy appeared. He was the stoutest boy of the school and his name was Jacob Poot. A tall thin fellow came with him.
      «Here is Fatty,»3 cried Carl, «but who is the tall boy? I don’t know him.»
      «It’s his English cousin,» cried little Voostenwalbert, who was very proud to give the information. «His name is Ben Dobbs. He will also take part in the race.»
      «Come, boys,» cried Peter van Holp. «Now that1 you are all here I shall tell you of a fine plan. To-morrow our winter-holidays begin. We have a week to do what we like.5 I propose to skate to the Hague. We shall see many interesting things on our way. We can stop at Haarlem and at Leyden,8 then spend two days at the Hague with
      1 for a tail — здесь вместо хвоста.
      2 Just then... — В эту минуту... (букв. Как раз тогда...)
      3 Fatty — толстяк (букв, жирненький).
      4 Now that — Теперь, когда
      5 to do what we like — чтобы делать все, что нам хочется.
      6 Haarlem [’hcclem] — Гарлем; Leyden flerdn] — Лейден (города в Голландии).
      шу married sister who has a house there. It will be good practice for us before the race.»
      «Oh how wonderful,» cried all the boys. «When shall we start, Peter?»
      «The day after to-morrow, if we are ready. Now let us go home, it is so coldl Good night everybody.»
      «Good night, Peter,» shouted the boys and started merrily for home.1
      But where were Hans and Gretel all this time? They were skating, keeping aparta from the other children, happy to be together. Suddenly they heard a cry. It was a very low and distant cry, but Hans knew well what it meant.
      «Come home, Gretel,» he cried. «We must hurry. Father has done something which has frightened mother.» He pulled off his new skates and ran towards the cottage. Gretel followed him as quickly as she could.
     
      THE BOYS START ON THEIR JOURNEY
     
      «Are we all here?» cried Peter when the boys were gathered on the canal early on the appointed day. They were all ready for their skating journey.
      «You are the eldest, Peter,» said Jacob, «so we have decided that you must be our captain. Call the roll! «4
      «Very well,» answered Peter. «Ben Dobbs!» — «Here.» «Carl Schummel!» — «Here.» «Lambert van Mounen!» — «Here.» «Ludwig van Holp!» — «Here.» «Voostenwalbert Schimmelpenninck!» No answer.
      «The little monkey’s parents have not let him go,»5 said Carl with a laugh.
      «Well, boys,» cried Peter, «it’s just eight o’clock, the weather is fine, the ice is strong. We shall be at Amsterdam
      1 started merrily for home — весело отправились домой.
      2 keeping apart... — держась в стороне...
      3 what it meant — что он означал.
      4 Call the roll! — Сделай перекличку!
      5 ...have not let him go — ...не отпустили его.
      in thirty minutes. One, two, three, start!»
      Indeed, in half an hour the boys had crossed a large dyke and soon after they were in the great city — a city of ninety-five islands and two hundred bridges. Captain Peter cried, «Skates off. There’s the Museum! Let’s go in1 if it is open.»
      It was open and our young friends walked into a fine picture gallery, in which there were many wonderful works of Dutch masters. The boys liked the pictures of war and hunting best and examined them with interest. They spent about an hour at the Museum.
      «Come, boys,» cried Peter. «We must be off2 now. We have a long way before us.»
      1 Skates off. There's the Museum [mju^ziam]! Let’s (= let us) go in — Снимайте коньки. Вот музей! Давайте войдем.
      * We must be oft — Пора отправляться.
      They hurried to the canal. «Skates on!*1 was the command. «Are you ready? One, two, three... but where’s Poot?»
      There was a big hole in the ice quite near the place where they were standing. The boys looked into the black hole, then at each other.
      «Jacob, Jacob,* cried Peter.
      There was no answer. The boys were terribly frightened.
      «Perhaps he is still in the Museum?» said Lambert.
      The boys took off their skates and ran back as fast as they could. In a quiet corner of the picture gallery they found Jacob Poot. He was fast asleep® and was snoring loudly. The laughter that followed this discovery woke fat Jacob. The boys pushed him into the street and they were soon on the canal again. A minute later they were skating quickly towards Haarlem.
      «I hear the noise of a train behind us,» cried Ludwig. «Let us run a race8 with it.»
      The boys skated as fast as they could, but of course the train soon left them far behind.
      «We have skated for an hour,» said captain Peter. «Who is cold? There’s* a farm where we can warm ourselves.»5
      «Ben Dobbs is cold,» answered Ludwig.
      Indeed Ben was quite blue. Peter stopped the boys. They all took off their skates and were soon sitting by a large fire. The farm-girl gave them some milk and gingerbread. How pleased they were to warm themselves near the fire and rest a little! But soon Peter gave the order to start again. They said good-bye to the kind farm-girl and in a few minutes were on the canal again.
      1 Skates on — Надеть коньки.
      2 He was fast asleep — Он крепко спал.
      3 Let us ran a race — Давайте состязаться.
      4 There’s... — здесь Вот...
      5 ... warm ourselves — ... погреться.
     
      A CATASTROPHE1
     
      It was about one o’clock when Peter and his friends reached the old city of Haarlem. They were fresh and merry. Of course Jacob Poot, whom the boys called Fatty, was ready for a long sleep, but even he was in good spirits.
      «Now boys, it is time for lunch. Here is a coffee-house. We must have something better3 than gingerbread. We have enough money here to feed an army,» said captain Peter. He put his hand in his pocket and then grew very pale.
      «Hallo!»4 cried Lambert van Mounen, looking at him. «What’s the matter with you?5 Are you ill?»
      «The purse,» was all that Peter could say.
      «Have you lost it?» cried Carl.
      «I cannot find it and all our money was in it.»
      For a moment® nobody could say a word. Then Carl exclaimed: «I told you that one person must not carry all the money! Look in your other pocket!»
      «It’s not there.»
      «Look again!»
      Peter did so and then took off his hat and looked into
      it too. Then he searched all his pockets again. «I have
      lost it, boys,» he cried, «what shall we do now? We can’t continue our journey without money. Do you know anybody in Haarlem who could lend us7 some money?»
      Nobody answered.
      «I know some people here,» said Carl after some time,
      «but I can’t ask them to give us money: my father does
      not allow me to do that.»
      1 catastrophe [ka'taestrafi] — катастрофа.
      2 in good spirits — в хорошем настроении.
      3 ... have something better... — ... съесть что-нибудь получше...
      4 Hallo [ha'lou] — Алло fвосклицание).
      5 What’s the matter with you? — Что с тобой?
      6 For a moment... — На секунду; в течение секунды...
      7 who could lend us... — кто бы мог одолжить нам...
      The boys looked at each other. They were very hungry. «It was my fault,» said Jacob. «I said: let us give our money to Peter, as he is our captain.»
      «Nonsense,» cried Peter. «It is my fault. I am worse than a baby. I am ready to beat myself for my stupidity.»
      «Do it then,»1 said Carl crossly. «We must have money. You can sell your watch.»
      «Oh no, I cannot sell my watch. It is my mother’s present. I shall sell my coat, my cap, but not my watch.» «Well, well,» said Jacob. «It is not so bad.9 We must go home now, and in two days we can start again.» «Perhaps it is easy for you to get some money again,» said Carl, «but for the others it may be more difficult. If we go home we shall not be able to start again.» *
      * Do it then — Ну, так сделай это.
      * It is not so bad — здесь He так уж это страшно.
      Now Peter was very angry. «Do you think that I shall not give you back your money?» he exclaimed.
      «Oh, I am sorry,»1 said Carl, and then he added, «Still* we must go back hungry.»
      «I know a better plan,» said captain Peter.
      «What is it?» cried all the boys.
      «To go back merrily, like men.»
      «Hurrah for our captain,» * cried his friends.
      «Now, boys,» Peter went on, * «we must say to ourselves that our Broek is the best town in the world and we must be there in two hours. So let us put on our skates and start. Do you agree?»
      «We agree!» shouted the boys.
      «Then, one, two, three, start!» cried Peter. At this signal our young friends were off again* with their captain in the lead.7
     
      HANS
     
      The boys were still quite near Haarlem when suddenly Carl cried angrily: «Look! There is that little beggar from the idiot’s cottage. We always meet him everywhere.»
      Indeed it was Hans. He was skating quickly towards the boys, but he did not see them. His face was very pale.
      «Good day, Hans Brinker!» cried Peter.
      Hans stopped. «Oh, I am so glad to see you,» he said.
      «I am also glad to see you, Hans,» answered Peter. «But why do you look so pale? Are you in trouble?8 Can I help you?»
      1 I am sorry — Извини.
      3 Still... — Все же...
      3 like men — как подобает мужчинам.
      4 Hurrah [hu'rot:] for our captain! — Ура нашему капитану! (Да здравствует наш капитан!)
      5 ... went on — ... продолжал.
      6 ... were off again — ... опять пустились в путь.
      7 in the lead — во главе.
      8 Are you in trouble? — У тебя неприятности?
      «It is true that I am in trouble,* said Hans, «but you cannot help me. I think that this time / can help yoa*
      «How?* cried Peter in surprise.
      «I can give you this* and Hans took Peter’s lost purse out of his pocket.
      «Hurrah!» cried the boys. Peter’s eyes were shining.
      «Thank you, Hans,» he said. «You have really helped me and I shall not forget it. How did you know that the purse was mine?
      «When you paid me for the wooden chain that I made for your sister I saw your purse.»
      «But where did you find it?»
      «I found it on the bank of the canal. It was lying under a log.»
      «Ah, I remember now,* said Peter. «I stopped to take my handkerchief out of my pocket. I suppose it fell out then. Please, Hans, take half the money.»
      «Oh no,» said the boy so decidedly that Peter did not insist. «I must go now,* he added, «for I am in a hurry.1 Good-bye.»
      Peter stopped him: «Where are you going, Hans?» he asked. «What troubles you?»
      1 I am in a hurry — я спешу.
      2 What troubles you? — Какая у тебя беда?
      «I am going to the Hague to see Doctor Boekman. I must not lose a moment.»
      «Wait a minute, Hans. Boys, shall we continue our journey?»
      «Of course,» cried all the boys.
      «Then, Hans,» said Peter, «we shall be at the Hague in two days. We are going to visit my sister who lives there. If you want to tell the doctor something I can do it for you.»
      «I shall be very thankful to you,» 1 said Hans. «It is not hard for me to go so far, but I am afraid to leave my mother alone so long.»
      «Is she ill?» asked Peter.
      «Oh no, it is my father. He is worse.* He does not know what he does. Two days ago, when I was skating on the ice, I heard mother's cry and ran home. Father was trying to push her into the fire. She was screaming, and he was laughing. I wanted to put out the fire,3 but there was no water in the cottage. My sister Gretel and I tried to pull mother away, but father was stronger. What could I do? I struck him and he fell.»
      «This is terrible,» said Peter. «How is he to-day?» 4
      «Father is very ill now,» answered Peter. «He is lying
      on his bed. His head is very hot. He is moaning all the time.»
      «But there are other doctors,» said Peter. «Why do you want to call Dr. Boekman?»
      «Because he promised to come in a week. But now that5 my father is so ill we cannot wait. We think that he is dying. Please, tell the doctor what I have told you, and he will come.»
      1 I shall be very thankful to you — Я буду очень благодарен тебе.
      2 Не is worse — Ему хуже.
      3 to put out the fire — потушить огонь.
      4 How is he to-day? — Как он чувствует себя сейчас (сегодня)?
      5 now that... — теперь, когда..,.
      «I will,»1 said Peter, «Go home to your mother, Hans, but please, take a part of the money that you have found.»
      «Oh no! I cannot do that! I don’t want to take money, I want to earn it. I am looking for8 work, but everywhere they tell me to wait.»
      «When I come back to Broek,» said Peter, «I shall ask father to give you some carving work. He liked the chain that you made for my sister. He will give you work and pay you well.»
      «Oh, thank you, Peter,» cried Hans. «I shall be happy to get some work.»
      «Now, Captain,» cried Carl, «let us hurry back to Haarlem, we are as hungry as wolves.»
      «I am coming!» cried Peter. «Hans, come and have lunch1 * 3 with us.»
      Hans was terribly hungry, but he answered, «Thank you, Peter. I must run home to my mother. Good-bye.» He quickly skated towards Broek while Peter and his friends went back to Haarlem to have a good lunch.
     
      HOMES
     
      How different were the lives of the little Dutch boys and girls who are described in this story! Most of them were rich and happy. They could think only of pleasure and they all hoped to win the silver skates at the coming race. Rychie, Katrinka and Hilda could practise on the ice after school, for they did not have to work4 at home. The three girls were friends, though their characters5 were quite different. Hilda van Gleck was a very kind-hearted girl. Rychie Korbes was beautiful, but proud and capricious.
      1 I will — Я сделаю это (подразумевается обязательно).
      2 I am looking for ... — Я ищу...
      3 come and have lunch... — идем завтракать...
      4 didn’t have to work — не приходилось работать.
      5 character ['kaerikta] — характер.
      For her, little Gretel was only •somethingbut not «somebody* because she was poor. Poor girls have no right to be in the company of rich girls, thought Rychie. They can work for the rich, but nothing more. Katrinka was never serious. A pretty face, a gay laugh, that was all.1
      How different were the homes of those three girls from the old cottage where Gretel lived! Rychie lived in a beautiful house, Hilda’s father had the largest house in Broek, and Katrinka’s pretty home was in the country. It stood in a garden which was full of flowers and fruit.
      Katrinka and Rychie were very angry with their friend Hilda when they heard that she had invited Gretel to take part in the race.
      «It is a shame,»8 Rychie said, «that a goose-girl, a dirty beggar like that Gretel, will take part in the race.»
      «It’s a shame,» said Katrinka too. She was like an echo:1 2 3 she always repeated what the others said. Rychie was the richest and the most important among the girls, so they also thought as she did4 * *: a dirty beggar, a goose-girl * must not take part in the race.
      Poor little Gretel: her home was sad and dark. Her father lay on his bed very ill. There was no money in the house. The little girl helped her mother as best she could.
      «You are so tired, mother,» she said, «you haven’t slept for two nights. Please, try to sleep a little, and I shall sit by father.»
      But Mrs. Brinker did not want to leave her husband. So Gretel took her little stool and sat quietly near her mother. Her eyes filled with tears when she thought of the race. She knew that it was impossible for Hans and
      1 that was all — вот и всё.
      2 It is a shame — Позор.
      3 echo f'ekou] — эхо
      4 as she did — как она (did употребляется, чтобы избежать повторения глагола thought).
      5 a goose-girl — девочка, пасущая гусей.
      her to take part in it now, but she could not forget the beautiful silver skates that she wanted so much.1
     
      HAARLEM
     
      After a good lunch the boys came out of the coffeehouse.
      Peter was sad because he was thinking of Hans Brin-ker’s trouble. Then Ludwig cried: «Wake up, captain!» Peter laughed. «I was not asleep,» he said, «I was looking at that house. I see that a boy was recently born in it.» «How do you know that?» asked Ben Dobbs, the English boy.
      «Look at that pretty red pincushion on the door.»
      «Well?»2
      «It’s for a boy.»
      «What do you mean?»3
      «I mean that here in Haarlem, when a boy is born, the parents put a red pincushion on the door. When it is a girl, the pincushion is white.»
      «Look!» cried Ben. «Here is a white pincushion and another one there.4 This street is full of babies: let us go away, or the babies will all begin to cry.»
      The captain laughed. «Let us go and hear some better music at the church of Haarlem. It has a wonderful organ.»5 The boys followed Peter who knew the town well. Soon they were standing in the old church, listening to the wonderful music of the organ.
      «Do you know that Handel,6 the great composer once played this organ,» said Peter when they were in the
      1 ... that she wanted so much — ... которые ей так хотелось иметь.
      2 Well? — здесь Ну и что же?
      3 What do you mean? — Что ты хочешь сказать?
      4 another one there — еще одна (подразумевается подушечка).
      5 organ ['organ] — орган (музыкальный инструмент).
      6 Handel ['haendsl] — Гендель (композитор),
      street again. «One day he was playing in the church when the organist came in. He had never heard such wonderful music before, so he stood and listened to the great composer. When Handel stopped the organist said: ‘Ten fingers cannot play as you did.’1 T know that they cannot/ answered Handel, ‘so sometimes I played with the end of my nose/»
      The boys laughed at this story.
      «Where shall we go now?» asked Jacob. He was very sleepy again, but he did not want to show it to the other boys.
      «I think that our best plan will be to go to Leyden,» said Peter. «It is only ten miles from here,1 2 and we shall easily get there before dark.3 So decide, boys, quickly.»
      «To Leyden,» shouted his friends.
      Soon they were on the canal again. This time they decided to skate slowly and tell each other stories.
      1 Ten fingers cannot play as you did — десять пальцев не могут так играть, как играли вы (did заменяет глагол played).
      2 from here — отсюда.
      8 ... get there before dark — ... добраться туда до наступления темноты (засветло).
      «I know an interesting story,» said Ludwig. «Many years ago a great castle in Holland was taken by storm.1 The enemies entered the castle and their captain said: ‘The women and the children may go, but the men will stay, for they must die!’ Then one of the women asked the captain: ‘May we take anything with us?’ ‘Yes,’ said the captain, ‘each of you may take the thing that you love most.’
      A few minutes later the women walked out of the castle. Each of them was carrying her husband on her back.»
      «I don’t believe this story,» said Carl. «A woman cannot do that.»
      «If a woman really loves a man, she can do anything,» cried Ludwig.
      «I think so too,» said fat Jacob Poot. «I shall never marry a woman who will not be glad to save me in such a way.»2
      «Oh, Fatty,» cried Carl, «three men cannot carry you.»
      The next story was about the little hero of Haarlem. It was a story that all the children of Holland knew and loved. Lambert van Mounen told it specially for Ben Dobbs, the English boy.
      «Many years ago,» said Lambert, «there lived a little boy3 in Haarlem. His father worked on the dykes and the boy knew how important it was to keep the dykes in good order. One afternoon when he was about eight years old, he was walking along the bank of the canal. He saw that the water was very high and he thought: ‘What will happen if this angry water covers our fields and towns?’ It was growing dark,4 but the boy was still far from home. Suddenly he heard a strange sound. Where did it come
      1 a great castle... was taken by storm — большой замок... был взят штурмом.
      2 in such a way — таким образом (букв, таким путем).
      3 there lived a little boy... — жил маленький мальчик...
      4 It was growing dark — Становилось темно.
      from?1 He looked round and saw a small hole in the dyke, and water was flowing through it. The boy understood the danger at once. He said to himself: ‘That little hole will soon grow large and then there will be a terrible catastrophe.’ What could he do? The village where he lived was too far from the dyke. «I must stop the water,» thought the brave boy. So he put his finger into the hole. «The angry water cannot come now,» he said to himself. «I am holding it back.»2
      Night came. It grew very cold. Our little hero shouted loudly for help,3 but nobody heard him. His finger, his hand, his arm hurt'terribly, but he did not move. He was cold and frightened, but he said to himself: «I must wait till somebody comes.»
      Early in the morning a man who was passing by4 5 saw the little boy. ‘What are you doing here, my child?’ he cried in surprise.
      T am holding back the water,’ was the simple answer of the little hero. ‘Tell them to come quick.’
      When Lambert finished his story there was silence for a short time. The boys were thinking of the young hero and asking themselves: ‘Could I do that?’®
      ON THE WAY TO LEYDEN
      The afternoon was fine and our young friends were not alone on the ice. There were very many people on the canal: fine young ladies and pretty peasant girls, old men and women, and very small children holding to their mothers’ skirts. Some women carried their babies on their backs. The old men skated quietly with pipes in their
      1 Where... from? — Откуда?
      2 I am holding it back — Я сдерживаю ее.
      3 ... shouted loudly for help — ... громко звал на помощь.
      4 ... was passing by — ... проходил мимо.
      5 Could 1 do that? — Мог бы я сделать это?
      mouths. There were rich men’s wives who were sitting in chairs that were pushed by servants.
      «Don’t sit down on old ladies’ knees, Ben,» cried Peter with a laugh when Ben Dobbs almost fell into an ice chair1 with a cross old lady in it.
      «I was looking at that ice-boat,» answered Ben, «I did not notice the lady.»
      Indeed the boys did not look much at the people on the canal. They were more interested in the ice-boats. These ice-boats had very large sails and «runners» as well as1 2 rudders. The boys had to be very careful, because the ice-boats were swift and could easily knock them down.3
      «I like these ice-boats,» said Jacob, who was very tired. «Let us take one4 to the Hague.»
      1 ... almost fell into an ice chair — ... чуть-чуть не упал в кресло (на полозьях).
      2 as well as ... — так же как ...
      8 could easily knock them down — легко могли сбить их с ног.
      4 Let us take one — Давайте поедем (букв, возьмем, т. е. наймем) на одном из них.
      «Take a boat!» cried Ben. «We want to skate. We are not small children!»
      A discussion followed, but captain Peter stopped the boys: «I think we must do as Jacob wishes, for he looks tired,»1 he said.
      «Tired?» cried Carl
      with contempt. «We can rest all the night!»
      The other boys were silent, but Jacob saw that they all wanted to skate. «All right,» he said. «Let us skate on.» 1 2
      So the boys started again with new energy. Poor Jacob tried to keep up with3 his friends, but his fat body grew heavier and heavier, and his legs weaker and weaker. Suddenly he fell down on the ice.
      «Jacob! Jacob! are you hurt?» cried Ben and tried to raise him. Jacob’s face was very pale and his eyes were closed.
      Many people now stood around the group of frightened boys. A man who had a bottle of wine with him, poured a few drops into Jacob’s mouth and the boy opened his eyes. He was too weak to stand. An ice-boat was passing at that moment. Peter stopped it and begged the skipper to take them on.4 The skipper agreed and the boys carried their friend into the boat.
      «Don’t sleep, Jacob,» cried Ben. «It’s too cold. You will freeze.»
      1 ... looks tired — ... выглядит усталым.
      2 All right ... Let us skate on — Ладно... Давайте побежим дальше на коньках.
      8 to keep up with ... — здесь не отставать от...
      4 to take them on — взять их (подразумевается на буер).
      «All right,» answered Jacob, «I shall not sleep»... but in two minutes he was snoring. The ice-boat was very swift and the journey was soon over. In a short time the boys found themselves1 in Leyden and Jacob was all right1 2 again.
      «Let's look for an inn,» cried Carl. «I am so hungry!»
      «Here is an inn,» said Peter, «but it looks rather dirty.»
      «Oh, never mind,»3 cried Carl. «We must have our dinner somewhere!»
      The boys were so tired that they could not look for a better place. So they walked into the Red Lion (that was the name of the inn) and ordered dinner. The food was bad, but they ate it, because they were really very hungry. There was a man who sat quietly by the fire. He watched the boys, but did not speak to them. After dinner the young travellers were taken4 5 to a dirty bedroom. As it was already late they decided to go to bed. In a few minutes all the boys were fast asleep.
     
      DANGER
     
      In the middle of the night Peter van Holp woke up because he was very cold: Jacob Poot, who was sleeping in the same bed, had pulled the blanket to his side and Peter had nothing to cover himself with.3 He tried to pull the blanket away from Jacob, but that was not so easy. Suddenly he heard a strange sound. He lay very still and listened. He heard the sound again. Something was moving on the floor. Peter looked on in silence. He saw a man who was crawling towards the nearest bed. He had a knife
      1 In a short time ... found themselves — Вскоре... оказались.
      2 ... was all right — был здоров.
      3 never mind — неважно, ничего.
      4 the ... travellers were taken ... — ... путешественников провели...
      5 ... had nothing to cover himself with — ... нечем было прикрыться.
      in one hand. Peter did not move. The man came nearer and nearer. Now he laid the knife on the floor and stopped. He was quite near Peter’s bed. The boy lay still. The man stretched his arm towards the chair that stood near the bed. Some clothes were lying on it.
      Now was Peter’s time.1 As quick as lightning he sprang upon the man’s back and seized the knife which was lying on the floor.
      «If you move,» he cried in a terrible voice, «I shall kill you. Boys, boys, wake up! Are you all dead?»
      Dead? Oh, no. Lambert and Ben were on their feet in a moment. «What’s the matter?»a they shouted.
      «I have caught a robber. Your leather belts, quick! We shall bind him.»
      The man struggled under Peter, but Ben and Lambert managed to bind the robber with their belts* and apiece of cord which they found in the corner of the room.2
      1 Now was Peter’s time — Для Питера наступило время действовать.
      2 What’s (= what is) the matter? — Что случилось?
      3 ... managed to bind the robber with their belts — ... удалось связать грабителя своими поясами.
      Just then1 fat Jacob woke up. «What’s the matter?» he asked sleepily. He did not even open his eyes.
      «Get up quick, Jacob,» Ludwig cried. «Here is work for you. Come and sit on this man’s back while we dress. It is so cold in the room!»
      «What man? Oh! I see!»1 2 Jacob jumped out of bed in a moment and sat down heavily on the man’s back beside Peter. How the robber moaned then!
      «Hurrah for Poot!» shouted the boys.
      «Where is Carl?» cried one of the boys. «Carl, Carl, where are you?»
      Carl was not in the room. The boys looked under the beds, but he was not there. Just then they heard a noise on the stairs. Ben opened the door and the landlord ran in with a gun. His daughter followed him with a frying pan in one hand and a candle in the other, and two men carrying sticks came behind. Brave Carl, pale and trembling came in last.4
      «Don’t shoot,» Peter cried to the landlord. «We have tied the man hand and foot.» *
      Ludwig now took the candle from the girl’s hand. «I want to look at the robber,» he said. And then he almost dropped the candle. «Boys,» he cried, «it is the man who sat by the fire when we were having dinner.»
      «We counted our money before him like fools,» said Peter.
      Now Carl came bravely forward. «It’s good that we have caught him,» he said.
      uWe have caught him! Ha! ha!» laughed Ludwig. «Where were you, Mister Carl?»
      «Where was I?» replied Carl angrily. «I went to bring help.»
      1 Just then ... — Как раз в эту минуту...
      2 1 see — здесь Понимаю!
      3 ... came in last — ... вошел последним.
      4 hand and foot — по рукам и ногам.
      The boys looked at each other, but said nothing. They knew now that «brave» Carl was a coward. Very soon some policemen came and the robber was taken away.1 Our young friends went to bed and slept soundlya till morning.
     
      AT THE HAGUE. ON THE WAY HOME
     
      The morning after their great adventure at the inn the boys left Leyden and started for the Hague. They were not as fresh as when they had left Broek, but they were merry and the ice was excellent. They skated on bravely and saw many fine woods and parks on the way. The sun was setting when the young travellers reached the beautiful city of the Hague. Peter and Ludwig van Holp took their friends to their sister’s house. How happy the boys were to sit by a bright fire after an excellent dinner! They decided to stay at the Hague for two days, because there were many interesting museums and historical buildings in the city.
      Next morning after a good rest the boys took a long walk1 2 3 through the town. They visited some museums, the picture gallery and many other great public buildings.4
      Peter went to the house where Dr. Boekman always stopped when he was at the Hague. But he did not find the doctor, so he left a note in which he wrote that Mr. Brinker was much worse.5 Peter also begged the doctor to visit the Brinkers’ cottage as soon as possible.
      It is hard to describe all the interesting things that the boys saw and heard during those two days. Of course poor Jacob met with an accident.6 When the boys were visiting the
      1 the robber was taken away — грабителя увели.
      2 ... slept soundly — ... спали крепко.
      3 ... took a long walk — ... совершили большую прогулку.
      4 public buildings — общественные здания.
      5 Mr. Brinker was much worse — Мистеру Бринкеру стало гораздо хуже.
      6 Jacob met with an accident — с Якобом произошел несчастный случай.
      docks he was knocked down by a large cheese that one of the dockers had thrown to another from a boat.
      «Are you hurt?»1 Ben asked him.
      «It’s nothing,» answered good-natured Jacob.
      «Then why did you make such a face2 when the cheese hit you?»
      «Because the cheese smelt so bad,» said Jacob very seriously, and all the boys laughed.
      The two days of their visit were soon over. It was time to go home. Early on Monday the boys said goodbye to their kind hosts and started on their way home.
      «Boys,» cried Peter, «the ice is fine. Let us imagine3 that this is the great race. Who will be the first? One, two, three, start!»
      The boys went like lightning.4 Even the canal guards shouted to them to stop. But they heard nothing. After
      1 Are you hurt? — Ты ушибся?
      2 why did you make such a face? — почему ты сделал такую гримасу?
      8 Let us imagine ... — Представим себе ...
      4 ... went like lightning — ... двигались с быстротой молнии.
      some time they began to skate more slowly. First Jacob — then Ludwig — then Lambert — then Carl. At last they stopped for a rest. Only Peter and Ben skated on at full speed.1
      «How foolish to skate so fast at the beginning of our journey to Broek,» grumbled Carl, «we shall soon be tired. Look! Peter is behind!»1 2
      «Oh no!» cried Ludwig who always stood for his brother.3 «Nobody can beat Peter!»
      «But I tell you, boy, that Ben is ahead of Peter.»
      Ludwig, who was the youngest of the party, was always cross when his friends called him a boy. So he answered angrily: «Boy! And what are you? Look, sir, Peter is the first.»
      «They have come to a turning,» said Lambert. Now we can see quite clearly: Yes, Peter is the first.»
      «Hurrah for the captain!» shouted Ludwig and Jacob.
      Peter and Ben stopped and their four friends skated up to them. Now Carl was sorry that he had not skated with the two elder boys. He always wanted to be the first everywhere.
      The race was over. After a short rest the boys continued their journey, but the wind was growing stronger and stronger.
      «It’s impossible to skate against such a wind,» said Ludwig, «it cuts like a knife.»
      «That does not matter,» 4 cried Carl, «let us go on.»
      «We must ask the weakest and not the strongest of us,» said Peter.
      Ludwig got angry.5
      1 ... skated on at full speed — ... продолжали бежать на конь-ках полным ходом.
      2 ... is behind — ... отстал.
      3 ... stood for his brother — ... стоял за брата.
      4 That does not matter — здесь Неважно.
      5 ... got angry — ... рассердился.
      «Who’s weak? / am not, but the wind is stronger than we are.»
      Just then the wind almost knocked Carl down.
      «Skates off,» ordered captain Peter. «We shall have supper at an inn and spend the night there.»
      That night Peter and his friends slept soundly, for no robbers came1 to their room this time. The boys ate so much at breakfast next morning that the landlord was frightened. He thought that they had not eaten anything for a week. Our young travellers were quite fresh now and, as the weather was fine and the wind had fallen2, they started merrily on their homeward journey.
     
      BROEK AGAIN
     
      Broek came in sight at last.3 What meetings on the canall Hilda was there and Katrinka, and Rychie. Annie Bouman, the pretty peasant girl, was also there. She had spent her holiday in Amsterdam with her grandmother and was now returning to Broek. She hoped to see her friend Gretel on the ice, but the little girl was not there.
      «Where can Gretel be?» thought Annie. She did not know that Mr. Brinker was so ill. Annie was the only friend that Hans and Gretel had. The rich children did not play with them and even the peasant children laughed at them because of their poor clothes and wooden skates. Anpie was always cross when they called Gretel a goose-girl.
      «A goose-girl, I tell you that Gretel is better than any of you,»4 she cried angrily, when the children laughed at her little friend. «Who of you can help your mothers as well as she does?» 5
      1 no robbers came... — никакие грабители не приходили ...
      2 the wind had fallen — ветер стих (букв. упал).
      8 ... came in sight at last — ... показался наконец.
      4 any of you — любая из вас.
      B as well as she does — так хорошо, как она (подразумевается помогает).
      Annie skated swiftly towards her home thinking of her poor friends.
      Meanwhile our young travellers had reached their homes. Their excursion was over and they were very happy to see their parents again.
      Dr. Boekman did not forget his promise to Hans. As soon as he found Peter’s letter he hurried to Broek. His assistant came with him. They examined poor Raff Brinker carefully and for a long time talked in low voices1 using many Latin words.
      «There must be an operation,» said the great doctor to Hans at last. He did not speak to Mrs. Brinker, because he did not like to speak to women about serious things. He was afraid of their tears. «Only an operation can help your father,» he said.
      «But will he die, sir, if there is no operation?» asked the boy with tears in his eyes.
      «He will die, my friend. He has a tumour, and it presses on his brain. He may die any moment.3 Now speak to your mother, boy, and let her decide.3 My time is short.»4
      Mrs. Brinker grew very pale when Hans repeated the doctor’s words to her. Large tears rolled down her cheeks. Little Gretel, who sat in a dark corner of the room did not understand why her mother was crying and looked anxiously at her brother.
      «Well, Mrs. Brinker,» the doctor asked. «Shall I operate?»5
      1 in low voices — тихо.
      2 He may die any moment — Он может умереть в любой момент.
      а let her decide — пусть она решает.
      * Му time is short — У меня мало времени.
      5 Shall I operate? — Приступать мне к операции?
      «Will it hurt him, sir?» she asked in a trembling voice. «Probably. Please decide quickly.»
      «It may save him, you say, but perhaps...» She did not finish and turned to her son. «Oh, Hans! What shall I say?» «Say yes, mother!»
      She turned to Dr. Boekman. «I agree, sir.»
      The doctor nodded and spoke to his assistant in a low voice. Gretel saw that he took some sharp instruments out of his bag and put them on the table. She jumped up. «Oh, mother! Will they kill father?» she cried.
      «I do not know, child,» answered Mrs. Brinker in a trembling voice.
      «Please, Mrs. Brinker, take the girl and leave the room,» said the doctor sternly. «The boy will help me.»
      But Mrs. Brinker said decidedly: «No, siri I shall stay with my husband.» Her face was very pale, but calm.
      Dr. Boekman looked at her attentively. «All right,* he said «you may stay, but remember — no tears, no cries.1 The little girl must leave the room.»
      Poor Gretel looked at the terrible instruments on the table and ran out of the cottage, crying bitterly.
     
      GRETEL AND HILDA.
     
      There was a long recess at school. Arithmetic, Grammar, Geography2 were forgotten and the children skated merrily on the ice of the canal, laughing, shouting and chasing each other.
      Suddenly one of the children cried: «What is that?»
      «What? Where?» asked many voices together.
      «Don’t you see?3 That dark thing by the idiot’s cottage?»
      «It’s a dog,» somebody shouted.
      «It is not a dog,» said the squeaky voice of little Voostenwalbert, «It’s a heap of rags.»
      «Nonsense, Voostenwalbert, it’s the goose-girl, Gretel,» said a little girl.
      «But she looks just like* a heap of rags!» squeaked Voostenwalbert Schimmelpenninck.
      «She is sitting on the snow,» said another girl. «How funny!»
      The children began to laugh and skated on.5
      Indeed it was poor little Gretel, who was sitting on the snow by the door of her cottage. She was terribly frightened and very tired: for many days she had done all the house work while her mother sat at her husband’s bedside® day and
      1 no tears, no cries — никаких слез, никаких криков.
      2 Arithmetic [a'riGmatik], Grammar [’grama], Geography [d3i'D-grafi].
      8 Don’t you see? — Разве вы не видите?
      4 She looks just like ... — она точь-в-точь похожа на ...
      5 and skated on — и продолжали кататься.
      6 while her mother sat at her husband’s bedside — пока ее мать не отходила от кровати мужа.
      night. She heard her father’s moans and knew that something terrible was happening in the cottage, but she could not move. «Oh, why have they sent me away,» she thought.
      «I am not a baby. I can help mother better than Hans.»
      Then she thought of Annie Bouman, «I haven’t seen her for such a long time. And she is the only friend that Hans and I have... Oh, how tired and cold I am!» Then her
      eyes began to close and she heard nothing more.
      «Get up, little girl, get up. You must not lie here, or you will freeze.»
      Somebody was shaking her and a kind voice was talking to her. Gretel slowly raised her head. She was so sleepy that she could not open her eyes.
      «Gretel, Gretel Brinker! You must wake up.» The words were repeated again and somebody helped her to her feet.1 Gretel looked up. Hilda was shaking her and rubbing her hands. Now she was making her walk.1 2 3
      «I have been asleep,» said Gretel, rubbing her eyes.
      «Yes, you have slept too well,» laughed Hilda, but her face was very pale. «Are you better3 now? That’s right.4 Let me take you® to your cottage.»
      «Oh no, Miss Hilda! The doctor is there. He has sent me away.» And Gretel told Hilda about her father’s illness, and the operation. «Do you hear his moans, Miss Hilda?»
      1 ... helped her to her feet — помог ей встать на ноги.
      2 she was making her walk — заставляла ее ходить.
      8 Are you better...? — Ты лучше себя чувствуешь..?
      4 That’s (=that is) right — здесь Вот и хорошо.
      6 Let me take you ... — Давай я отведу тебя...
      she added. «I am afraid he will die.» Hilda listened, but heard nothing. She ran to the window. «You will see nothing there,» cried Gretel. «Let us look through the other window.» Both girls pressed their faces to the glass. «I can see nothing,» exclaimed Gretel, crying bitterly.
      «But / can,» said Hilda quietly. «Don’t cry, Gretel. Your father is lying on his bed. His head is bandaged. He is asleep.»
      «Oh, Miss Hilda,» cried Gretel, running to the door. «I must go to my mother now. Will you come with me?»
      «Not now, Gretel. I must go back to school. I shall come later. Good-bye.» Hilda kissed Gretel and ran quickly in the direction of the school.
     
      AWAKENING
     
      All was very still when Gretel opened the door and went softly into the room. The doctor, his assistant, Mrs. Brinker and Hans were standing round the bed on which her father lay. At last he began to move a little... Slowly the eyes of the man on the bed opened. Then he spoke.
      «Are you there, Meitje?»1 he asked in a very weak voice. «I have been asleep,1 2 I think. Where is little Hans?»
      «Here I am,3 father!» cried Hans and rushed towards the bed. But the doctor pulled him back.
      «He hears us,» cried Mrs. Brinker. «Good God!4 He sees us.» Hans and his mother laughed and cried together and Gretel danced round the room.
      «Hush!»5 said the doctor. «You must be very quiet, for he is weak. All these tears and cries are enough to kill® a stronger man than he is.»
      1 Are you there, Meitje? — Ты тут, Мейтье? (имя).
      8 I have been asleep — Я спал.
      8 Here I am — Вот я. (Я здесь.)
      4 Good God! — Господи боже!
      5 Hush! — Тише!
      6 ... are enough to kill ... — ... достаточны, чтобы убить...
      Just then Mr. Brinker spoke again: «Is the baby asleep, Meitje?»
      «The baby?» repeated Mrs. Brinker. «Oh Gretel, he speaks of you. And he calls Hans ‘little Hans’. Ten years asleep! Oh, Doctor! You have saved him, and us too.»
      Hans followed the doctor who was leaving the room. «God bless you,1 sir,» he said. «I can never thank you enough, but if...»
      «Yes, you can,» interrupted the old doctor crossly. «You can make your mother and sister keep quiet8 if you want to see your father alive. Don’t give him any food to-day. I shall come again to-morrow.» So saying, Dr. Boekman walked quickly out of the cottage and Hans returned to his mother and sister.
      That day Hilda was scolded at school because she was late after the recess and did not answer her lessons as well as usual. But she could not think about her lessons. She could think only of little Gretel and her father.
      Soon all the people of Broek were talking about the Brinkers.1 2 3 4 «Do you know,» they said to one another,* «Dr. Boekman came to the cottage this morning. He has cured the idiot. Now he can speak again. He has recognized his wife and children.»
      When Dr. Boekman came to the Brinkers’ cottage next morning he saw that it was more cheerful. Mr. Brinker was asleep, his wife sat quietly by his bed, knitting a stocking. Gretel was making bread. The doctor asked a few simple questions and then said: «You must begin to give him food, Mrs. Brinker. But it must be the best.»
      1 God bless you — Благослови вас бог.
      2 ...make your mother ... keep quiet — ... заставить мать... не шуметь.
      3 The Brinkers — Бриннеры (употребление фамилии во множественном числе и с определенным артиклем обозначает всю семью — «семейство Бриннеров»).
      4 to one another — друг другу.
      «We have only black bread and porridge, sir,» said Mrs. Brinker, «but he always liked that food.»
      «No, no,» said the doctor sternly. «He must have meat, white bread, good wine. And you must cover him better, with something light and warm. Where is your boy?»
      «He has gone to look for work, sir. Please sit down...»
      But the doctor was in a hurry and left the cottage, promising to come again.
      When Hans came home he found his mother in tears.
      «What’s the matter, mother?» he whispered. «Is father worse?»1
      «No, no,» answered Mrs. Brinker, «but the doctor said that we must give him good food and wine. What shall we do? There is not a guilder in the house!» and she began to cry again.
      «Don’t cry, mother dear,» said Hans cheerfully. «I shall bring meat and wine to-night. If there is no work for me in Broek, I shall go to Amsterdam.»
      «But he must have another blanket too,» Mrs. Brinker said.
      «Take the blanket from my bed. I can sleep in the straw.»
      «Your blanket is too heavy, Hans. It must be light and warm!»
      «Don’t worry, mother, I shall try to get a blanket,» said the boy. He kissed his mother, seized his skates and ran out of the cottage.
      «What shall I do if I cannot find work?» thought Hans as he skated slowly along the canal. «Father must have food and a light, warm blanket. How bad it is that Mr. Van Holp is not in Broek just now.2 Peter told me that he could give me work. He also said: ‘If you want anything, 3 come to me.’ No, I don’t want to ask for anything,
      1 Is father worse? — Отцу хуже?
      2 just now — сейчас.
      3 If you want anything... — Если тебе что-нибудь будет нужно...
      I am not a beggar. I want to earn my money. I must find work in Amsterdam.» Hans skated swiftly in the direction of the town. Then a new idea struck him.1 «Perhaps father will remember where he put the money about which mother is always speaking,» he said to himself. «First I shall try to ask him about it. I can go to Amsterdam later.» And he turned home again.
      THE MONEY WAS NOT THERE!
      When Hans entered the cottage his mother met him at the door. «Oh Hans,» she cried joyfully, «Miss Hilda van deck has just brought meat, jelly, white bread — a whole basket. Then the doctor sent a man from town with wine and a fine blanket for father. He will soon get well1 2 now!» Indeed Mr. Brinker felt so well3 in the evening that he could even sit by the fire. But he was still very weak and could not move without the help of his wife and son.
      «How weak I am after my illness,» he said. Then he looked at Gretel. «I remember a funny little song that you sang when you were a little baby.»
      «And do you remember this, father?» Hans asked, putting a long piece of wood in his hands.
      «I do,4 5 my boy,» Mr. Brinker said with a smile. «It is the boat that I was making for you yesterday — no, not yesterday, many years ago.»
      «I have kept it8 all these years, father; it can be finished, when your hand is strong again.»
      «Yes, but not for you, my boy. It will be for my grandchildren. You are nearly a man. Have you helped your mother, boy, during all these years?»
      1 a new idea struck him — новая мысль пришла ему в голову.
      2 ... will soon get well — ... скоро поправится.
      8 ... felt so well — ... так хорошо себя чувствовал.
      4 I do — здесь Я помню.
      5 1 have kept it — Я хранил ее.
      «He has been a great help,» said his mother proudly.
      «But how long is it since the night1 when the water began to rise? It is the last thing that I remember.»
      «It was ten years ago, Raff dear,» said his wife.
      «Ten years? Have I been ill all the time?»
      «Yes, Raff, you have been very ill. But now you are well again.»
      «I am, dear wife,» he answered. «I shall soon begin to work again.»
      «Just listen to him,»1 2 cried Mrs. Brinker joyfully. «Begin to work! You must lie down on your bed and have a good rest now.»
      «But I tell you that I shall be on the dykes again in a few days,» continued Mr. Brinker. «My friend Hoogs will be glad to see me.»
      Hans looked at his mother. Hoogs had died five years before.
      When Mr. Brinker was in bed again Hans and his mother began to speak about the thousand guilders: «Oh mother, perhaps father remembers where he put the money,» Hans said in a low voice.
      «A thousand guilders,» repeated a weak voice from the bed. «I am sure they helped you, wife, all these years.»
      «I... I,» began Mrs. Brinker. She wanted to tell her husband that she could not find the money, but Hans stopped her.
      «Remember what the doctor said,» he whispered. «Father must not be worried.»
      «Speak to him, boy,» she whispered.
      Hans went to his father’s bed.
      «It is good that I told your mother about the money,» continued Mr. Brinker.
      1 how long is it since the night ... — сколько времени прошло с той ночи...
      2 Just listen to him — Вы только послушайте его.
      8 Father must not be worried — Отца нельзя волновать.
      «Told what?»
      «Told her that I had buried it.»
      Mrs. Brinker jumped up when she heard these words, but Hans stopped her. «We must be very careful, mother,» he whispered. Then he said aloud, «Do you remember where you buried it, father?»
      «Yes, my boy. I buried it near the willow behind the cottage.»
      «It was on the north side of the tree, wasn’t it?»1 asked Hans.
      «No, it was on the south side. Your mother knows the place quite well, because she found the money there. But I am so sleepy now. Good night.»
      «Good night, father,» said Hans ready to dance for joy.
      That night when Mr. Brinker and Gretel were fast2
      1 wasn’t it? — не правда ли?
      2 to dance for joy — плясать от радости.
      asleep Hans and his mother took an old spade and went to the garden. In the moonlight they could see the willow tree quite well.
      It was very cold and the frozen ground was hard as stone. Hans began to dig. It was not easy work, but after some time he managed to make1 a small hole in the ground. Then the work became easier.
      «How happy your father will be when we find the money,» said Mrs. Brinker.
      «We have not found it yet, mother,» answered Hans breathing heavily.
      «We shall find it very soon,» said Mrs. Brinker. «I am sure it is in the old pot that I lost long ago. But you are tired, my boy. Let me help you. «1 2
      They worked in turn.3 The hole became larger and larger.
      «How strange that father put the money so deep,» said Hans. «Let us dig on the other side of the willow. Perhaps it is there.»
      Hour after hour passed. The sky grew light. Mother and son stopped their work and looked at each other in despair. They had dug all round the tree. The money was not there.
     
      HANS LOOKS FOR WORK
     
      Annie Bouman, the pretty peasant girl, was skating home from Amsterdam, when she suddenly saw Hans. He was skating quickly towards the town, but when he saw her he stopped.
      «Good morning, Annie,» he said. «Do you know, that there are great changes in our house? Dr. Boekman has cured my father.»
      1 he managed to make ... — ему удалось сделать (выкопать)...
      2 Let me help you — Дай, я тебе помогу.
      3 in turn — по очереди.
      «Really?» cried Annie. «Oh Hans, you must tell me all about it. «1
      Annie was such a good friend that Hans decided to tell her not only the good news about his father’s recovery, but also about the money difficulties1 2 of the family.
      «I’m going to Amsterdam to sell my skates,» he added, «for there is no money in the house and I have no work.»
      «Sell your skates!» cried Annie. «But Hans, you are the best skater in Broek. Have you forgotten that the race will take place in five days?»
      «I know,» he answered quietly, «but my mother must have money to-night.3 I shall use my old wooden skates again. Good-bye, Annie,» and Hans quickly skated away.
      «Hans, Hans, come back!» called Annie.
      He returned at once.
      «If you really want to sell your skates I know somebody who will buy them.»
      «Is it Jan Kolp?» asked Hans quickly. Jan Kolp was a boy whom he did not like.
      «Oh no!» she answered. «We are not friends with him.»
      «But he often skates with you.»
      Annie laughed: «That is true, but I don’t like him. No, Hans, I really know somebody who will be glad to buy your skates. You will get only half the price for them at Amsterdam. Please, give them to me. I’ll bring you the money this evening.»
      Hans took off his skates, wiped them and gave them to Annie.
      «If your friend does not want them,4 please, bring them to me to-day. I must buy meat and flour for mother early to-morrow morning.»
      1 you must tell me all about it — ты мне должен все рассказать.
      2 money difficulties — денежные затруднения.
      8 to-night — сегодня вечером.
      4 if your friend does not want them... — Если твоему приятелю они не понадобятся,..
      «Oh, my friend will take them,» laughed Annie and skated away.
      Hans sighed. He knew that now it was impossible for him to take part in the race. That day he walked along the streets of Amsterdam in search of work, but he earned only a few pennies when he helped a man to drive some mules into the city. At the factories the answer was always the same: «We don’t want boys.»1 Late in the day Hans was returning to Broek, feeling very sad.
      «Good evening, Hans,» saida pleasant voice. «How lucky that I have met you. I wanted to see you.» It was Peter, who was walking in the direction of the Brinkers’ cottage. «How is your father now? I hope he is better.»a
      «Oh yes, he is much better, thank you,» answered Hans.
      «It is wonderful! Dr. Boekman is a great man!» exclaimed Peter.
      «He is not only great, but also very good,» said Hans warmly.1 2 3 «He saved my father’s life. I think that surgery is the greatest science in the world.»
      «Yes,» answered Peter, «but I don’t like it. And the doctor is always so cross. It is true he has lost his only son. But tell me, Hans, why do you look so troubled?»
      «1 wanted to find work in Amsterdam...»
      «But Hans,» interrupted Peter, «that is just why 14 was going to your house. Father has Come back; he says that you may begin some carving5 in our summer-house at once, if you like.»
      «Oh thank you, Peter,» cried Hans joyfully. «I shall gladly begin to-morrow.»
      «Very well, Hans, but don’t forget to practise for the race. You must try to win the silver skates.»
      1 We don’t want boys — Нам не нужны мальчики.
      2 he is better — ему лучше.
      8 warmly — здесь с жаром.
      4 that is just why I... — как раз поэтому я...
      * you may begin some carving — можешь начать работу по резьбе.
      «I shall not take part in the race,» said Hans in a changed voice.
      «Not take part in the race! But why, Hans?»
      «Because I cannot,» said the boy so decidedly that Peter felt he must not ask any more questions.
      «How strange,» thought Peter, when they had said good-bye. «.Why has he put on his old skates? Where are his new ones?»1
     
      THE FAIRY
     
      The sun had set when Hans approached the small house that the people of Broek had called for ten years the idiot’s cottage. Gretel and Annie were talking at the door. Hans ran towards them.
      «Hurrah, girls, 1 have found work!» he cried.
      «And 1,» said Annie, «have sold your skates, and here is the money.»
      «Seven guilders!» cried the boy in surprise. «It’s too much!»
      «Well, the person who bought them wanted to pay so much. Take the money. It is yours,4 Hans. Come, Gretel, I want to tell you something.»
      The two girls ran into the yard and Hans went to find his mother.
      «You are a good son,» exclaimed Mrs. Brinker, when he gave her the money, «but I am so sorry that you cannot take part in the race, my boy. If only we could find3 the thousand guilders!»
      «Don’t think about it, mother dear. To-morrow I shall begin to work and we shall have money. Where are the girls? I want to speak to Annie.»
      1 Where are his new ones? — Где же его новые (подразумевается коньки)? Местоимение ones заменяет существительное skates. 8 It is yours = It is your money.
      8 If only we could find... — Если бы мы только могли найти...
      «They are behind the cottage,» said Mrs. Brinker, looking out of the window.
      Annie was sitting on an old tree-stump when Hans joined the girls. She was really very pretty in her white fur cap.
      «You look just like a fairy,1 Annie,» said Hans.
      «I am a fairy,» she answered. «Tell me your wish and I shall fulfil it.» She looked so serious that Hans said quite seriously too.
      «1 wish to find something that is lost.»
      The fairy jumped up and stamped her foot on the ground three times. «Your wish shall be fulfilled,»1 2 she said solemnly. «Here is a glass bead, bury it where I have stamped my foot and you will find what you wish.»
      Gretel laughed, but her friend looked sternly at her.
      1 You look just like a fairy [Теэп] — Ты в точности похожа на фею.
      2 ... shall be fulfilled — ...будет выполнено. (Форма будущего времени shall в сочетании со 2-м и 3-м лицом подчеркивает, что действие, о котором идет речь, непременно должно совершиться.)
      «You bad girl,» she said. «You are laughing at a fairy and your wish will not be fulfilled.»
      «Wait till I ask you for something,1 fairy. I have not wished for anything yet.»
      Annie looked still more stern. «Good night, children she said, «I have no time to waste1 2 here.»
      «Good night, fairy,» answered the brother and sister together. When Annie had gone Hans took a spade and began to dig a hole where the pretty fairy had stamped her foot.
      «1 shall bury this glass bead here just for fun,»3 he said to himself.
     
      * * *
     
      Raff Brinker was asleep. His wife threw the last piece of peat into the fire. Then she opened the door. «Come home, children,» she called, «it is late. What are you doing there, Hans?»
      «Mother, mother, come quick,» cried Hans in an excited voice.4
      «What is the matter?» exclaimed Mrs. Brinker and hurried to the place where the boy was digging.
      «The old tree-stump! It is the place where the money is buried, look! You cut that old willow down5 last year, mother. That young willow was not there when father... Hurrah! Here it is!»6 He put his hand into the hole and pulled out the pot with the money! What joy! What laughter! What tears!
      That evening Mrs. Brinker put cold meat, white bread and jelly on the table. «Eat, children, eat as much as you
      1 ... ask you for something — ... попрошу тебя о чем-нибудь.
      2 1 have no time to waste — Я не могу тратить время попусту.
      3 just for fun — просто ради забавы.
      4 in an excited voice — взволнованно.
      4 ... cut that old willow down — ... срубила эту старую иву.
      5 Here it is! — Вот они (подразумевается деньги)!
      like.1 We shall buy more food for your father to-morrow,» she said.
      And the children had a fine supper indeed, the best in ten years.
      When Annie was going to bed that night she thought of her friends at the cottage. «What has Hans lost?» she said to herself. «Is it his knife?1 2 How funny it will be if he really finds it at the place where I stamped my foot.»
     
      THE RACE
     
      The twentieth of December came at last. It was a bright winter day. The sun was shining, but the ice was strong. Crowds of people, men, women and children, dressed in their best clothes were standing on the bank of the canal. There were town-people and peasants, fine ladies and poor working men. Many of the women were in national Dutch costumes3 — wooden shoes, blue skirts and jackets with white aprons. The men were wearing their Sunday clothes and smoking their pipes. Some boys and girls were standing on stilts. That was a good idea! They could see everything over the heads of the tallest men. The most important people of the town were sitting in special pavilions. 4 * In the centre was Mrs. van Gleck, the burgomaster’s wife. In the next pavilion sat the van Holps.8 Peter’s married sister had come from the Hague specially to see the race. There was also a pavilion for the musicians,6 another for the judges. On the ice there were posts with bright flags. They marked half a mile.
      1 as much as you like — столько, сколько хочется.
      2 Is it his knife? — He ножик ли?
      3 costume ['kastjumj — костюм.
      4 pavilion [po'viljori] — павильон.
      5 См. прим. 3 на стр. 49.
      6 musician [m]u'zijn] — музыкант.
      The skaters were to skate to1 those posts and then return to the starting line.
     
      * * *
     
      But where are our young skaters?2
      They are all there, at the starting post — forty boys and girls dressed in their best clothes. They are whispering and laughing. They cannot stand still, they are so excited. Here are our young friends: Lambert, Ludwig, Peter, Carl — all ready for the race, all eager to win.3 Hans is also there. He will take part in the race, for he has his skates again. Fairy Annie was the friend who had bought them. And then she sold them back to Hans. Carl is very angry, of course. He knows that Hans is a very good ska-
      1 ... were to skate — ... должны были бежать.
      2 Здесь и дальше настоящее время используется вместо прошедшего для оживления повествования.
      3 eager to win — стремятся выиграть.
      ter and he is afraid to lose the race. Hilda, Rychie and Katrinka are among the girls. Hilda is speaking to a girl in a brown skirt and a new red jacket. It is little Gretel. How pretty she looks1 in her new clothes! Annie Bouman is also there.
      Twenty girls are standing in a line.* The music stops. A man whom we shall call the crier reads the rules in a loud voice: the boys and girls must race in turn until one girl and one boy has won twice. They must start in a line, skate to the white posts, turn and skate back to the starting line. The distance there and back is a mile. Now a flag is waved by the judge. Mrs. Van deck rises from her seat. She has a white handkerchief in her hand. When she drops it the signal will be given to start.
      The handkerchief has fallen. They are off.* No, back again.4 Some of them started before the others. The signal
      1 How pretty she looks...! — Какая она хорошенькая...!
      2 in a line — в ряд.
      3 They are off — здесь Они помчались (отправились).
      4 back again — опять вернулись.
      is repeated. Off again. There is no mistake this time. How fast they go! Now there are loud cheers! Five girls are ahead. Who is first? Nobody can see yet. Something red, that is all. There is something blue near it, and now something yellow. Now we can see. Katrinka is ahead! She passes the pavilion of the van Holps. Now Hilda is ahead of the others. Two girls are quite near. Who is that in red and brown? Hurrah! It is Gretel! She hears her father’s voice, for he is also there: «Well done,1 little Gretel.» Now the girl in yellow comes quicker than lightning. She passes all the others, all except Gretel. The judges do not raise their eyes from their watches. Cheer after cheer fills the air. Gretel has come first. She has won.
      «Gretel Brinker — one mile!» shouts the crier. The judges write something down2 while the girls are resting. Some of them are congratulating little Gretel, some look angrily the other way.3
      Now the boys are standing in a line. Mr. Van Gleck drops the handkerchief this time. The boys start. See! They have already reached the white posts. How fast they skate! Why are the people laughing? Ah, they are laughing at that fat boy who is far behind the others! Does he know that he is quite alone? Yes, he knows it. He stops. He wipes his hot forehead, looks round. The other boys are far away. He sees that it’s no use4 and joins the lookers on! It is our friend Jacob Poot, of course.
      Now four boys are coming. We can see them: Carl, Ben, Peter, Hans. Hans is ahead of the others. But Carl is quite near him. The others are coming behind them. A tall boy shoots past.* It is Peter. «Peter must win,»
      1 Well done — Молодцом! (букв, хорошо сделано!).
      2 ... write something down — ... что-то записывают.
      3 ... look angrily the other way — ... сердито смотрят в другую сторону.
      4 it’s (= it is) no use — это бесполезно.
      5 ... shoots past — ... пулей пролетает мимо (проносится мимо).
      thinks Hilda. «Hans must win,» think Annie and Gretel. A second more1 and Hans will win. But at the last moment Carl gathers all his strength. He passes both Peter and Hans1 2 and comes first. «Carl Schummel — one mile!» shouts the crier.
     
      THE RACE (Continued)
     
      Soon Mrs. van deck rises again. She drops her handkerchief, the signal is given and the girls are off. They fly like twenty arrows. It is hard to say who will win. They are too far. Now they are coming back. Nearer, nearer. Katrinka is ahead of the others. Now Hilda has passed her. Rychie and Gretel are behind. Now they have passed Katrinka. They try to catch Hilda up,3 but she is still ahead. She is quite near the end. The crier’s voice is heard again. — «Hilda van deck — one mile!» «Hurrah! Hurrah!» shout the people. Some minutes pass. The boys are getting ready for the second time. The handkerchief falls, they start. There are three boys ahead this time — Hans, Peter, Lambert. But look! Carl is catching them up. Will that proud boy win again? No! Peter and Hans are ahead of the others. Which of them will come first? Hilda, Annie and Gretel jump up from their bench and watch the boys with beating hearts. Look! Carl has fallen. Now he cannot win. Nobody is sorry for him, he is too proud and too selfish. He is not hurt and is soon on his feet again. But now Hilda is happy. Peter has won. «Peter van Holp — one mile!» calls the crier.
      Now the girls must skate the third mile. They are ready to start again. The signal is given for the third
      1 A second more... — Еще секунда ...
      2 ... passes both Peter and Hans — ... обгоняет как Питера, так и Ганса.
      3 to catch Hilda up — догнать Хильду.
      time. How fast they are going! Again everybody tries to see who is ahead. Look, they are already coming back. Who will be the first this time? Not Katrinka, not Rychie, not Hilda, not the girl in the yellow dress. It is Gretel, little Gretel in her pretty red jacket. She is flying like an arrow. The crier calls, but nobody hears him. All the people are shouting «Hurrah!» Gretel has won the silver skates. Oh how happy she is! The girls are around her. Hilda kisses her. Nobody will call poor little Gretel a goose-girl now; she is the queen of the skaters.
      But what is the matter with Peter? He is bending over his foot. Hans at once runs to him. «Is your foot hurt?» he asks.
      «No, Hans, but my fun is over.1 I tried to make a new hole in my skate strap — this stupid knife has cut the strap nearly in two.»4
      «Take mine,» says Hans, taking off his skate.
      «Never, Hans,» cries Peter, «though 1 thank you warmly. Go to your place, my friend, the signal will be given in a minute.»
      «Peter,» begs Hans, «you call me friend. Then take this strap — quick, you cannot lose a moment I will not skate this time. You must take the strap.»
      «Come, Peter,» cries Lambert. «We are waiting for you.»
      «I cannot win this race, because I have not practised,» cries Hans, and he bends down and fastens the strap to Peter’s skate.
      «You are a noble boy,» cries Peter, rushing off.8 He is just in time,4 for the handkerchief has fallen.
      This time the boys fly quicker than the wind. Now Ben is the first. No, it is Carl this time! But look! There
      1 my fan is over — мое веселье кончено.
      2 in two — пополам.
      3 rushing off — бросаясь прочь.
      4 just in time — как раз вовремя.
      comes Peter.1 He is far ahead of the others. Ben and Carl come after him. Now the crowd is cheering. Hurrah! Hurrah! Peter has come first. He has won the silver skates. The musicians play a loud march. All the boys and girls form in a line. Peter is the tallest, he comes first, Gretel is the smallest, she ends the line.
      They skate in time to the music.8 The line moves like one body,3 slowly first, then quicker, quicker until they stand in a circle before Mrs. van deck’s pavilion.
      Peter and Gretel are in the centre, Hilda and Carl come behind them.
      Something wonderful is put into Gretel’s hands. She is happy. «Oh how beautiful,» she cries. She is holding the silver skates!
      Then Peter’s sister gives each winner a bouquet.4 Hilda and Carl also get a bouquet each. When the queen of the skaters sees the flowers she cannot wait any more. She presses the silver skates and the flowers to her heart and runs to find her father and mother.
     
      JOY IN THE COTTAGE
     
      The evening of that great day the Brinkers5 were sitting before a bright fire and having a nice supper. Somebody knocked at the door.
      1 There comes Peter — Вот бежит Питер.
      * in time to the music — под музыку.
      2 like one body — подобно одному целому.
      * bouquet [bu'kei] — букет.
      6 См. прим. 3 на стр. 49.
      «It’s the doctor,» cried Mrs. Brinker.
      It was not the doctor, but our three friends, Peter, Ben and Lambert.
      «Good evening, Mrs. Brinker,» said the three boys, bowing.
      «Good evening, young gentlemen,» answered Mrs. Brinker.
      «We are on our way to a lecture in Amsterdam and I came in to return Hans his strap,» said Peter.
      «Thank you, Peter,» answered Hans, «there was no hurry.» 1
      «I must thank you, Hans. It was very kind of you9 to give me that strap. I did not know before how I wanted to win that race. But really I am so sorry you did not skate the third mile because of1 2 3 4 me.»
      «Don’t speak of it, Peter,» cried Hans. «There was no hope for me to win the race — I had not practised for many days.»
      «No, no, Hans. I know that you could have won.‘The silver skates belong more to you than to me. Please take them!»
      «How can you say so!» cried Hans. «You won the race, not I. The skates are yours. I tell you, there was no hope for me. But what is this pretty case that you are holding in your hands?»
      «It is for Gretel’s silver skates,» answered Peter. «She ran away so quickly that Mrs. van Gleck had no time to give it to her.» ‘To the swiftest’ was written in silver letters on the leather case. How proud Gretel felt.5
      1 there was no hurry — это было не к спеху.
      2 It was very kind of you — Это было очень мило с твоей стороны.
      8 because of ... — из-за...
      4 you could have won... — ты мог выиграть...
      5 How proud Gretel felt! — Какое чувство гордости испытывала Гретель!
      Then Peter said: «My father is very pleased with your carving, Hans. He wants to give you some more work,1 but I have told him that you are going to school again.»
      «Yes,» said Raff Brinker decidedly, «Hans must go to school at once, and Gretel too. I am well and can work again.»
      The boys now said good-bye to the Brinkers and left the cottage. Soon after they had gone Dr. Boekman came to see Mr. Brinker. «This is the last time I come,» he said. «I don’t think I can do anything for you now, as you are quite well again.»
      «We can never thank you enough, sir, for what you have done,» said Mrs. Brinker.
      «At least we have money to pay the doctor now,» said her husband. And he told Dr. Boekman about the 1000 guilders that they had lost and found again.
      «I am very glad for you, my friend,» said the old doctor, «but I don’t want your money.1 2 3 I did it because I was interested in the operation, And then I like your boy,» he added in a low voice.
      «I noticed that you liked Hans, sir,» said Mrs. Brinker proudly. «I am sure you have fine sons too.»
      «I lost my only son when he was a little older than yours is3 now, Mrs. Brinker,» answered the old doctor sadly. «I was teaching him medicine4 and hoped that he would help me5 in my work.»
      «And now that young man who came with you the first time is helping you?» asked Gretel shyly.
      «Yes, he is my assistant, but I don’t like him,» said the doctor crossly. «He has good hands, but he only thinks of money.»
      1 some more work — еще работу.
      2 1 don’t want your money — мне не нужны ваши деньги.
      2 ... than yours is — ... чем ваш.
      4 medicine ['medsin] — медицина.
      5 ... hoped that he would help me — ... надеялся, что он мне поможет.
      «I cannot understand that,» cried Hans. «He is your assistant, and yet he thinks only of money! How can he! Surgery is such a noble profession. If I...» he stopped, ashamed of* his long speech.
      The doctor looked at him sternly and attentively. «You do not know what you are talking about,» he said after a long pause. «Surgery is very hard work. You must be very patient to do that kind of work.»1 2 3
      «I understand that, sir,» Hans answered. «I know how hard it is. But it is so wonderful to save lives, to do what you have done for my father.»
      The doctor was silent. «How old are you, Hans Brin-ker?» he asked at last.
      «Fifteen, sir.»
      «Would you like to become8 a doctor?»
      «Oh yes, sir.»
      1 ashamed of ... — стыдясь...
      2 to do that kind of work — чтобы выполнять такого рода работу.
      3 Would you like to become...? — Хотел ли бы ты стать...?
      «Are you ready to study much, to go to the University and later be my assistant?»
      «Oh yes, sir,» Hans could hardly answer* the doctor, he was so excited.
      «And you will not change your mind* later?» continued Dr. Boekman.
      This time Mrs. Brinker answered. «Hans is like a rock, sir, when he decides to do something,» she cried. «And he loves his books.»
      The doctor smiled. «Well, Hans, then it is settled, * if your father agrees, of course.»
      «You are very good, sir. We haven’t enough money now, but with a pair of strong hands I shall soon earn it,» said Mr. Brinker.
      «No, no,» interrupted the doctor. «If I take your son from you I shall pay for his education. Come to me tomorrow morning, Hans, and we shall settle everything.»
     
      * * *
     
      And now our story comes to an end. It is time to say good-bye to our friends who are no longer4 young, for many years have passed. Let us see what they are doing before we part with them.
      Hans Brinker has become a surgeon, one of the best surgeons in Amsterdam. He is married to pretty Annie Bouman, the fairy who helped him to find the lost money.
      Peter van Holp and his wife Hilda are happy and well. They are very good friends with Hans and Annie.
      Katrinka and Rychie are not married. They are so selfish that they love nobody and nobody loves them.
      Carl Schummel has a hard life. He has no friends. His father has lost all his money and Carl now works as
      1 could hardly answer — едва мог отвечать.
      2 you will not change your mind...? — ты не передумаешь...?
      3 then it is settled — значит, это решено.
      4 no longer... — больше не...
      a bookkeeper in the trading house of Voostenwalbert Schim-melpenninck. Proud Carl has to be1 very respectful to «the little monkey with a long name for a tail,® as he used to call® the little boy.
      Lambert, Ludwig and Ben are doing well.3
      Good-natured, kind-hearted Jacob Poot is the only one of our friends who died young. Everybody was sorry to hear of his death, because everybody who knew him liked him.
      Raff Brinker and his wife live with their daughter Gretel who is happily married. She has not forgotten the race and loves to think of5 the day when she won the silver skates and became the queen of the skaters.
      1 Proud Carl has to be ... — Гордому Карлу приходится быть...
      2 he used to call... — он, бывало, называл...
      3 Lambert... and Ben are doing well — У Ламберта... и Бена дела идут хорошо.
      4 the only one — единственный.
      5 to think оf ... — здесь вспоминать...