Here are the little Dutch girls and boys at home. You have read about their wooden shoes, queer hats, and flabby clothes. You can see them for yourself in the picture. Do you wonder why the peasant children wear wooden shoes? The chief reason is that they are cheaper and wear longer than any other kind. It is not easy for a Holland lad to kick out the toes of wooden shoes. And the soles are so thick they do not wear through as your leather ones do. Clumsy as these shoes look, they serve the children well. Holland is a low country, and wet. Leather shoes soon become water-soaked in rain; but thick wooden soles keep the feet dry. Dutch children are taught to be thrifty and clean. Every girl and boy has some work to do; for laziness is a sin in the Netherlands. One of the ambitions of a Dutch child is to help earn the living for the family. The girls learn to sweep, bake, sew, and work in the fields. They help tend the younger children, and assist their mothers with the milk, the butter, and the chickens. A boy helps both mother and father with the daily work. But these boys and girls have a great deal of fun along with their work. In the summer they row on the canals, or fish out the windows of their homes. In the winter they strap on their skates, and get their "shinney" clubs, and great games they have. Perhaps you have read the story of Hans Brinker. If so you know about their life. It was just such a lad as you see in the foreground who sat all night by the dike, and thus saved Holland? Do you know the story? You will notice the clean street and the neat houses. Everybody in Holland has a hatred of dirt. Keystone ID: 6435 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.