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Windmills and wooden shoes

Chapter 21: THE DUTCH BEDS
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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 BEDS

The Dutch beds are not like our beds. They are built in the walls of houses like cupboards. They are like little shelves or presses in the wall.

They have feather beds on them. The feather beds are nice and soft.

In summer, the Dutch boys and girls have quilts over them. In the winter, they sleep on one feather bed, and have another feather bed and quilts to cover them. They are very warm.

Katrina has a blue and white quilt on her bed. Jan has a red and green quilt. Their grandmother made the quilts for them.

Their grandmother is a dear little Dutch lady who lives down near the ocean. The children like to go and see her.