This little work aims to combine the instructive features of a book of travels with the interest of a domestic tale.Throughout its pages the descriptions of Dutch localities,customs, and general characteristics have been given with scrupulous care. Many of its incidents are drawn from life, and the story of Raff Brinker is founded strictly upon fact.
In this classic winter tale, set against a backdrop of frozen canals in a land of windmills and wooden shoes, the year’s most thrilling event is about to take place--the race to win the coveted Silver Skates.
For youngsters of the Dutch village, the time is especially exciting.But Hans and Gretel Brinker, with their hand-carved wooden blades,can hardly expect to compete against their well-trained young friends who own costly steel skates. Raff Brinker, their father, is seriously ill, and the desperately poor family is struggling to survive.To win the race, the siblings will need a miracle--and a helping hand.
First published in 1865, Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates was greeted with instant popular acclaim. The heartwarming tale continues to delight countless readers today with its messages of virtue rewarded and the importance of maintaining courage in the pursuit of one’s dreams.
1. Hans and Gretel
2. Holland
3. The Silver Skates
4. Hans and Gretel Find a Friend
5. Shadows in the Home
6. Sunbeams
7. Hans Has His Way
8. Introducing Jacob Poot and His Cousin Ben
9. The Festival of Saint Nicholas
10. What the Boys Saw and Did in Amsterdam
11. Big Manias and Little Oddities
12. On the Way to Haarlem
13. A Catastrophe
14. Hans
15. Homes
16. Haarlem--the Boys Hear Voices
17. The Man with Four Heads
18. Friends in Need
19. On the Canal
20. Jacob Poot Changes the Plan
21. Mynheer Kleef and His Bill of Fare
22. The Red Lion Becomes Dangerous
23. Before the Court
24. The Beleaguered Cities
25. Leyden
26. The Palace and the Wood
27. The Merchant Prince and the Sister-Princess
28. Through The Hague
29. A Day of Rest
30. Homeward Bound
31. Boys and Girls
32. The Crisis
33. Gretel and Hilda
34. The Awakening
35. Bones and Tongues
36. A New Alarm
37. The Father’s Return
38. The Thousand Guilders
39. Glimpses
40. Looking for Work
41. The Fairy Godmother
42. The Mysterious Watch
43. A Discovery
44. The Race
45. Joy in the Cottage
46. Mysterious Disappearance of Thomas Higgs
47. Broad Sunshine
48. Conclusion