Windmills and wooden shoes

Chapter 10: THE DUTCH MOTHER

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About This Book

The narrative follows Dutch siblings Jan and Katrina and their friends as they carry out everyday life in a small Dutch community: chores like milking cows, churning butter, selling milk; play and games; visits to windmills and barges; cultural details such as wooden shoes, storks' nests, blue-and-white dishes, dikes and canals; seasonal events including sleigh rides, St. Nicholas and Christmas; songs and simple illustrated scenes intended for classroom use. Episodes are short and episodic, combining practical descriptions of customs and landscape with domestic scenes to familiarize young readers with Holland's rhythms and material culture.

THE DUTCH MOTHER

Katrina’s mother has some cows. They are black and white. The Dutch mother gets up early in the morning to milk the cows.

She puts the milk into shining pans. Then she waits for the cream to rise. She takes the cream and from it she makes butter and cheese.

Katrina helps her mother. She churns the butter. Sometimes she puts the cheeses on the shelves.

Katrina’s mother makes brown bread and white bread. Katrina likes the brown bread, but Jan likes the white bread best. He likes to eat it with butter and honey.