Mary Mapes Dodge

A Dutch brother and sister work toward two goals--finding the doctor who can restore their father's memory and winning the competition for the silver skates.

Hans Brinker, or, The silver skates

St. Nicholas Volume 5

Sudraba slidas. --

Les Patins d'argent

повесть

Серебряные коньки

Nell'Olanda di metà Ottocento Hans e sua sorella Gretel sono pattinatori eccezionali: volano sulle piste ghiacciate, anche sotto la luce amica della luna, come se ai piedi avessero ali e non i pattini di legno che si sono costruiti da soli...

Pattini d'argento

St. Nicholas

On a bright December morning long ago, two thinly clad children were kneeling upon the bank of a frozen canal in Holland.The sun had not yet appeared, but the gray sky was parted near the horizon, and its edges shone crimson with the coming day. Most of the good Hollanders were enjoying a placid morning nap. Even Mynheer von Stoppelnoze, that worthy old Dutchman, was still slumbering "in beautiful repose".Now and then some peasant woman, poising a well-filled basket upon her head, came skimming over the glassy surface of the canal; or a lusty boy, skating to his day's work in the town, cast a good-natured grimace toward the shivering pair as he flew along.Meanwhile, with many a vigorous puff and pull, the brother and sister, for such they were, seemed to be fastening something to their feet-not skates, certainly, but clumsy pieces of wood narrowed and smoothed at their lower edge, and pierced with holes, through which were threaded strings of rawhide.These queer-looking affairs had been made by the boy Hans. His mother was a poor peasant woman, too poor even to think of such a thing as buying skates for her little ones. Rough as these were, they had afforded the children many a happy hour upon the ice. And now, as with cold, red fingers our young Hollanders tugged at the strings-their solemn faces bending closely over their knees-no vision of impossible iron runners came to dull the satisfaction glowing within.In a moment the boy arose and, with a pompous swing of the arms and a careless "Come on, Gretel," glided easily across the canal."Ah, Hans," called his sister plaintively, "this foot is not well yet. The strings hurt me on last market day, and now I cannot bear them tied in the same place.""Tie them higher up, then," answered Hans, as without looking at her he performed a wonderful cat's cradle step on the ice."How can I? The string is too short."Giving vent to a good-natured Dutch whistle, the English of which was that girls were troublesome creatures, he steered toward her."You are foolish to wear such shoes, Gretel, when you have a stout leather pair. Your klompen would be better than these.""Why, Hans! Do you forget? The father threw my beautiful new shoes in the fire. Before I knew what he had done, they were all curled up in the midst o the burning peat. I can skate with these, but not with my wooden ones. Be careful now-"Hans had taken a string from his pocket. Humming a tune as he knelt beside her, he proceeded to fasten Gretel's skate with all the force of his strong young arm."Oh! oh!" she cried in real pain.With an impatient jerk Hans unwound the string. He would have cast it on the ground in true big-brother style, had he not just then spied a tear trickling down his sister's cheek."I'll fix it-never fear," he said with sudden tenderness, "but we must be quick. The mother will need us soon."Then he glanced inquiringly about him, first at the ground, next at some bare willow branches above his head, and finally at the sky, now gorgeous with streaks of blue, crimson, and gold.Finding nothing in any of these localities to meet his need, his eye suddenly brightened as, with the air of a fellow who knew what he was about, he took off his cap and, removing the tattered lining, adjusted it in a smooth pad over the top of Gretel's worn-out shoe."Now," he cried triumphantly, at the same time arranging the strings as briskly as his benumbed fingers would allow, "can you bear some pulling?"Gretel drew up her lips as if to say, "Hurt away," but made no further response.In another moment they were all laughing together, as hand in hand they flew along the canal, never thinking whether the ice would bear them or not, for in Holland ice is generally an all-winter affair. It settles itself upon the water in a determined kind of way, and so far from growing thin and uncertain every time the sun is a little severe upon it, it gathers its forces day by day and flashes defiance to every beam.

The Silver Skates

HANS BRINKER, Mary Mapes Dodge

A Monthly Magazine for Boys and Girls

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Golden Gate

The story unravels on a beautiful canal that has frozen and is ready for ice-skating. The story propounds the fact that with strength of character and family support, the greatest hurdle can be overcome. Poverty does not mean a thing if life is lived with integrity and honesty. A heart-rending tale of achievement in face of adversity.

Hans Brinker Or the Silver Skates

in large print

Hans Brinker; Or, The Silver Skates

Charles Dickens

Charlotte Brontë

L. Frank Baum

Gertrude Chandler Warner

Carolyn Wells

Brothers Grimm

Selma Lagerlöf

Eleanor H. Porter

E. T. A. Hoffmann

Lucy Maud Montgomery

E. Nesbit

Johanna Spyri

Martha Finley

Kenneth Grahame

Mark Twain

Gene Stratton-Porter

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Lewis Carroll

Jules Verne

Jean Webster

Jane Austen

George MacDonald

Louisa May Alcott

J. M. Barrie

Robert Louis Stevenson

Hans Christian Andersen

Angela Brazil

Susan Coolidge

Kate Douglas Wiggin

Susan Warner

Dorothy Canfield

L.T. Meade

Madeleine l'Engle

DigiCat presents to you this meticulously edited collection of the most revered and influential stories and biographies for the heroines of the future: Novels: Little Women Anne of Green Gables Series Rose in Bloom Pride and Prejudice Emma Jane Eyre Heidi Emily of New Moon Alice in Wonderland The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The Secret Garden A Little Princess Peter and Wendy The Girl from the Marsh Croft The Nutcracker and the Mouse King The Princess and the Goblin At the Back of the North Wind A Girl of the Limberlost Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Mother Carey's Chickens Pollyanna A Sweet Girl Graduate Daddy Long-Legs Understood Betsy The Luckiest Girl in the School What Katy Did Patty Fairfield Two Little Women on a Holiday Mildred Keith The Wide, Wide World The Silver Skates Six to Sixteen The Wind in the Willows The Box-Car Children Five Children and It The Phoenix and the Carpet The Story of the Amulet The Railway Children Journey to the Centre of the Earth Great Expectations And Both Were Young Rapunzel Cinderella Snow-white The Twelve Brothers Little Match Girl Little Mermaid Thumbelina... The Heroines of the Past: Biographies & Memoirs Helen Keller: The Story of My Life Harriet, The Moses of Her People Joan of Arc Saint Catherine Vittoria Colonna Catherine de' Medici Mary Queen of Scots Pocahontas Priscilla Alden Catherine the Great Marie Antoinette Fanny Burney Elizabeth Cady Stanton Susan B. Anthony Catherine Douglas Lady Jane Grey Flora Macdonald Madame Roland Grace Darling Sister Dora Florence Nightingale Augustina Saragoza Charlotte Bronte Dorothy Quincy Molly Pitcher Harriet Beecher Stowe Madame de Stael Elizabeth Van Lew Ida Lewis Clara Barton Virginia Reed Louisa M. Alcott Clara Morris Anna Dickinson Lucretia Sappho Xantippe Aspasia of Cyrus Portia Octavia Cleopatra Julia Domna Eudocia Hypatia The Lady Rowena Queen Elizabeth The Lady Elfrida The Countess of Tripoli Jane, Countess of Mountfort Laura de Sade The Countess of Richmond Elizabeth Woodville Jane Shore Catharine of Arragon Anne Boleyn Jane Addams ....

Every Girl's Library - 50 Classics in One Volume

Mary Mapes Dodge

About

Books

Join the club