STORY-TELLING 



5571 



STORY-TELLING 



One day Hans and his little brother had wan- 

 dered in their playing very far from home so 

 far that Hans had grown tired, and climbed up 

 on the dike to rest. The little brother was play- 

 ing with stones at the foot of the dike. Suddenly 

 he called out. ' 



"Oh, Hans, what a funny little hole !" 

 "A hole," repeated Hans. "Where?" 

 "Right here," said the brother. "There's water 

 in it." 



Hans's heart almost stopped beating as he slid 

 down the dike, and he was still more frightened 

 when he saw the hole. It was a very little hole, 

 to be sure, but the water was oozing through drop 

 by drop ; and Hans knew how quickly the angry 



"YOU SHALL, NOT COME IN," HE SAID 



sea could tear a great hole if it were given the 

 tiniest opening. He looked about, but there was 

 no one in sight. And when he looked back at the 

 hole he could see that it had grown larger, so 

 that now the water was trickling through in a 

 little stream. 



Hans thrust his forefinger into the hole, and 

 found that it fitted exactly. Then he turned to 

 his little brother. 



"Run," he said ; "run home as fast as you can 

 and tell father that the dike is leaking." 



The little fellow started off as fast as his short 

 legs would carry him, and Hans was left alone, 

 waiting and waiting. On the other side of the 

 dike the sea seemed to be muttering to itself as 

 it splash splash splashed against the wall. 



"I will come in I will come in," it seemed to 

 be saying. 



Hans thrust his finger in deeper. 



"You shall not come in you shall not come 

 in," he said aloud. 



That was at first, when he was very brave, but 

 later, when little brother could be seen no longer 

 and when his finger began to grow cold and numb, 

 he just kept very still, with his eyes on the road. 

 Then his hand grew numb, and his arm and 



shoulder, and finally it seemed to him that his 

 whole body was frozen. Sharp cramp pains ran 

 up his arm and down his side, and the sea seemed 

 to be laughing at him for setting his little 

 strength against its great power. Once he al- 

 most pulled his finger out, but then he thrust it 

 in farther than ever, and leaned his head against 

 the dike. 



O, how long it seemed before, far off down the 

 road, he saw a black spot. It was moving it 

 was coming nearer and nearer ; and at last he 

 could see his father and the neighbors, and could 

 hear them shouting, "We're coming ! We're com- 

 ing !" 



Very tenderly they drew out Hans's numb fin- 

 ger, and while they mended the dike with their 

 pickaxes and shovels they praised him for his 

 bravery and told him that he was a real hero. 

 And when the work was done they marched home 

 like an army, two and two, singing, and Hans 

 rode on his father's shoulders. 



And if you lived in Haarlem you would hear 

 to this day the story of the brave boy who held 

 back the sea. 



The Flax 



The Flax stood in blossom ; it had pretty little 

 blue flowers, delicate as a moth's wings and even 

 more delicate. The sun shone on the Flax, and 

 the rain clouds moistened it, and this was just 

 as good for it as it is for little children when 

 they are washed, and afterward get a kiss from 

 their mother ; they become much prettier, and so 

 did the Flax. 



"The people say that I stand uncommonly 

 well," said the Flax, "and that I'm fine and long, 

 and shall make a capital piece of linen. How 

 happy I am ! I'm certainly the happiest of beings. 

 How well I am off ! And I may come to some- 

 thing ! How the sunshine gladdens, and the rain 

 tastes good and refreshes me ! I'm wonderfully 

 happy ; I'm the happiest of beings." 



"Yes, yes, yes !" said the Hedge-stake. "You 

 don't know the world, but we do, for we have 

 knots in us ;" and then it creaked out mourn- 

 fully 



"Snip-snap-snurre, 

 Bassellurre ! 

 The song is done." 



"No, it is not done," said the Flax. "To-mor- 

 row the sun will shine, or the rain will refresh 

 us. I feel that I'm growing. I feel that I'm in 

 blossom ! I'm the happiest of beings." 



But one day the people came and took the Flax 

 by the head and pulled it up by the root. That 

 hurt ; and it was laid in water as if they were 

 going to drown it, and then put on the fire as if 

 it was going to be roasted. It was quite fearful ! 



"One can't always have good times," said the 

 Flax. "One must make one's experiences, and so 

 one gets to know something." 



But bad times certainly came. The Flax was 

 moistened, and roasted, and broken, and hackled. 

 Yes, it did not even know what the operations 

 were called that they did with it. It was put 

 on the spinning wheel whirr ! whirr ! whirr ! it 

 was not possible to collect one's thoughts. 



"I have been uncommonly happy," it thought 

 in all its pain. "One must be content with the 

 good one has enjoyed. Contented ! contented ! 



