In the early ages, when our far-off ancestors lived in the woods, ate acorns, slept in caves, and dressed in the skins of wild animals, theyhad no horses, cows or cats. Their only pets and helpers were dogs. Themen and the dogs were more like each other than they are now.
However, they knew about bees. So the women gathered honey and from itthey made mead. Not having any sugar, the children enjoyed tasting honeymore than anything else, and it was the only sweet thing they had.
By and by, cows were brought into the country and the Dutch soil beinggood for grass, the cows had plenty to eat. When these animalsmultiplied, the people drank milk and learned to make cheese and butter.So the Dutch boys and girls grew fat and healthy.
The oxen were so strong that they could pull logs of wood or draw aplough. So, little by little, the forests were cut down and grassymeadows, full of bright colored flowers, took their place. Houses werebuilt and the people were rich and happy.
Yet there were still many cruel men and bad people in the land. Sometimes, too, floods came and drowned the cattle and covered thefields with sand, or salt water. In such times, food was very scarce.Thus it happened that not all the babies born could live, or everylittle child be fed. The baby girls especially were often left to die,because war was common and only boys, that grew into strong warriors,were wanted.
It grew to be a custom that families would hold a council and decidewhether the baby should be raised or not. But if any one should give theinfant even a tiny drop of milk, or food of any kind, it was allowed tolive and grow up. If no one gave it milk or honey, it died. No matterhow much a mother might love her baby, she was not allowed to put milkto its lips, if the grandmother or elders forbade it. The young bride,coming into her husband's home, always had to obey his mother, for shewas now as a daughter and one of the family. All lived together in onehouse, and the grandmother ruled all the women and girls that were underone roof.
This was the way of the world, when our ancestors were pagans, and notalways as kind to little babies as our own mothers and fathers are now.Many times was the old grandmother angry, when her son had taken a wifeand a girl was born. If the old woman expected a grandson, who shouldgrow up and be a fighter, with sword and spear, and it turned out to bea girl, she was mad as fire. Often the pretty bride, brought into thehouse, had a hard time of it, with her husband's mother, if she did notin time have a baby boy. In those days a "Herman," a "War Man" and"German" were one and the same word.
Now when the good missionaries came into Friesland, one of the first ofthe families to receive the gospel was one named Altfrid. With hisbride, who also became a Christian, Altfrid helped the missionary tobuild a church. By and by, a sweet little baby was born in the familyand the parents were very happy. They loved the little thing sent from God, as fathers and mothers love their children now.
But when some one went and told the pagan grandmother that the new babywas a girl instead of a boy, the old woman flew into a rage and wouldhave gone at once to get hold of the baby and put it to death. Herlameness, however, made her move slowly, and she could not find hercrutch; for the midwife, who knew the bad temper of the grandmother, hadpurposely hid it. The old woman was angry, because she did not want anymore females in the big house, where she thought there were already toomany mouths to fill. Food was hard to get, and there were not enough warmen to defend the tribe. She meant to get the new baby and throw it tothe wolves. The old grandmother was a pagan and still worshipped thecruel gods that loved fighting. She hated the new religion, because ittaught gentleness and peace.
But the midwife, who was a neighbor, feared that the old woman wasmalicious and she had hid her crutch. This she did, so that if the babywas a girl, she could save its life. The midwife was a good woman, whohad been taught that the Great Creator loves little girls as well asboys.
So when the midwife heard the grandmother storm and rave, while huntingfor her crutch, she ran first to the honey jar, dipped her forefinger init and put some drops of honey on the baby's tongue. Then she passed itout the window to some women friends, who were waiting outside. She knewthe law, that if a child tasted food, it must be allowed to live.
The kind women took the baby to their home and fed it carefully. A holewas drilled in the small end of a cow's horn and the warm milk, freshfrom the cow, was allowed to fall, drop by drop, into the baby's mouth.In a few days the little one was able to suck its breakfast slowly outof the horn, while one of the girls held it. So the baby grew biggerevery day. All the time it was carefully hidden.
The foolish old grandmother was foiled, for she could never find outwhere the baby girl was, which all the time was growing strong andplump. Her father secretly made her a cradle and he and the babe'smother came often to see their child. Every one called her Honig-je', orLittle Honey.
Now about this time, cats were brought into the country and the childrenmade such pets of them that some of the cows seemed to be jealous of theattentions paid to Pussy and the kittens. These were the days when cowsand people all lived under one long roof. The children learned to tellthe time of day, whether it was morning, noon or night by looking intothe cats' eyes. These seemed to open and shut, very much as if they haddoors.
The fat pussy, which was brought into the house where Honig-je' was,seemed to be very fond of the little girl, and the two, the cat and thechild, played much together. It was often said that the cat loved thebaby even more than her own kittens. Every one called the affectionateanimal by the nickname of Dub-belt-je', which means Little Double;because this puss was twice as loving as most cat mothers are. When herown furry little babies were very young, she carried them from one placeto another in her mouth. But this way, of holding kittens, she nevertried on the baby. She seemed to know better. Indeed, Dub-belt-je' oftenwondered why human babies were born so naked and helpless; for at an agewhen her kittens could feed themselves and run about and play with theirtails and with each other, Honig-je' was not yet able to crawl.
But other dangers were in store for the little girl. One day, when themen were out hunting, and the women went to the woods to gather nuts andacorns, a great flood came. The waters washed away the houses, so thateverything floated into the great river, and then down towards the sea.
What had, what would, become of our baby? So thought the parents ofHonig-je', when they came back to find the houses swept away and no signof their little daughter. Dub-belt-je' and her kittens, and all thecows, were gone too.
Now it had happened that when the flood came and the house crashed down,baby was sound asleep. The cat, leaving its kittens, that were nowpretty well grown up, leaped up and on to the top of the cradle and thetwo floated off together. Pretty soon they found themselves left alone,with nothing in sight that was familiar, except one funny thing. Thatwas a wooden shoe, in which was a fuzzy little yellow chicken hardlyfour days old. It had been playing in the shoe, when the floods cameand swept it off from under the very beak of the old hen, that, with allher other chicks, was speedily drowned.
On and on, the raging flood bore baby and puss, until dark night camedown. For hours more they drifted until, happily, the cradle was sweptinto an eddy in front of a village. There it spun round and round, andmight soon have been borne into the greater flood, which seemed to roarlouder as the waters rose.
Now a cat can see sometimes in the night, better even than in the day,for the darker it becomes, the wider open the eyes of puss. In brightsunshine, at noon, the inside doors of the cat's eyes close to a narrowslit, while at night these doors open wide. That is the reason why, inthe days before clocks and watches were made, the children could tellabout the time of day by looking at the cat's eyes. Sometimes they namedtheir pussy Klok'-oog, which means Clock Eye, or Bell Eye, for bellclocks are older than clocks with a dial, and because in Holland thebells ring out the hours and quarter hours.
Puss looked up and saw the church tower looming up in the dark. At onceshe began to meouw and caterwaul with all her might. She hoped that someone in one of the houses near the river bank might catch the sound. Butnone seemed to hear or heed. At last, when Puss was nearly dead withhowling, a light appeared at one of the windows. This showed that someone was up and moving. It was a boy, who was named Dirck, after thesaint Theodoric, who had first, long ago, built a church in the village.Then Puss opened her mouth and lungs again and set up a regularcat-scream. This wakened all her other relatives in the village andevery Tom and Kitty made answer, until there was a cat concert of meouwsand caterwauls.
The boy heard, rushed down-stairs, and, opening the door, listened. Thewind blew out his candle, but the brave lad was guided by the soundwhich Pussy made. Reaching the bank, he threw off his wooden klomps,plunged into the boiling waters, and, seizing the cradle, towed itashore. Then he woke up his mother and showed her his prize. The waythat baby laughed and crowed, and patted the horn of milk, and kicked upits toes in delight over the warm milk, which was brought, was a joy tosee. Near the hearth, in the middle of the floor, Dub-belt-je', thepuss, was given some straw for a bed and, after purring joyfully, wassoon, like the baby, sound asleep.
Thus the cat warned the boy, and the boy saved the baby, that was verywelcome in a family where there were no girls, but only a boy. WhenHonig-je' grew up to be a young woman, she looked as lovely as aprincess and in the church was married to Dirck! It was the month ofApril and all the world was waking to flowers, when the weddingprocession came out of the church and the air was sweet with the openingof the buds.
Before the next New Year's day arrived, there lay in the same cradle,and put to sleep over the same rockers, a baby boy. When they broughthim to the font, the good grandmother named him Luid-i-ger. He grew upto be the great missionary, whose name in Friesland is, even today,after a thousand years, a household word. He it was who drove out badfairies, vile enchanters, wicked spirits and terrible diseases. Best ofall, he banished "eye-bite," which was the name the people gave towitchcraft. Luid-i-ger, also, made it hard for the naughty elves andsprites that delude men.
After this, it was easy for all the good spirits, that live in kindhearts and noble lives, to multiply and prosper. The wolves were drivenaway or killed off and became very few, while the cattle and sheepmultiplied, until everybody could have a woollen coat, and there was acow to every person in the land.
But the people still suffered from the floods, that from time to timedrowned the cattle and human beings, and the ebb tides, that carriedeverything out to sea. Then the good missionary taught the men how tobuild dykes, that kept out the ocean and made the water of the riversstay between the banks. The floods became fewer and fewer and at lastrarely happened. Then Santa Klaas arrived, to keep alive in the heartsof the people the spirit of love and kindness and good cheer forever.
At last, when nearly a hundred years had passed away, Honig-je', oncethe girl baby, and then the dear old lady, who was kind to everybody andprepared the way for Santa Klaas, died. Then, also, Dub-belt-je' thecat, that had nine lives in one, died with her. They buried the old ladyunder the church floor and stuffed the pussy that everybody, kittens,boys, girls and people loved. By and by, when the cat's tail and furfell to pieces, and ears tumbled off, and its glass eyes dropped out, askilful artist chiselled a statue of Dub-belt-je', which still standsover the tomb in the church. Every year, on Santa Klaas day, Decembersixth, the children put a new collar around its neck and talk about thecat that saved a baby's life.
However, they knew about bees. So the women gathered honey and from itthey made mead. Not having any sugar, the children enjoyed tasting honeymore than anything else, and it was the only sweet thing they had.
By and by, cows were brought into the country and the Dutch soil beinggood for grass, the cows had plenty to eat. When these animalsmultiplied, the people drank milk and learned to make cheese and butter.So the Dutch boys and girls grew fat and healthy.
The oxen were so strong that they could pull logs of wood or draw aplough. So, little by little, the forests were cut down and grassymeadows, full of bright colored flowers, took their place. Houses werebuilt and the people were rich and happy.
Yet there were still many cruel men and bad people in the land. Sometimes, too, floods came and drowned the cattle and covered thefields with sand, or salt water. In such times, food was very scarce.Thus it happened that not all the babies born could live, or everylittle child be fed. The baby girls especially were often left to die,because war was common and only boys, that grew into strong warriors,were wanted.
It grew to be a custom that families would hold a council and decidewhether the baby should be raised or not. But if any one should give theinfant even a tiny drop of milk, or food of any kind, it was allowed tolive and grow up. If no one gave it milk or honey, it died. No matterhow much a mother might love her baby, she was not allowed to put milkto its lips, if the grandmother or elders forbade it. The young bride,coming into her husband's home, always had to obey his mother, for shewas now as a daughter and one of the family. All lived together in onehouse, and the grandmother ruled all the women and girls that were underone roof.
This was the way of the world, when our ancestors were pagans, and notalways as kind to little babies as our own mothers and fathers are now.Many times was the old grandmother angry, when her son had taken a wifeand a girl was born. If the old woman expected a grandson, who shouldgrow up and be a fighter, with sword and spear, and it turned out to bea girl, she was mad as fire. Often the pretty bride, brought into thehouse, had a hard time of it, with her husband's mother, if she did notin time have a baby boy. In those days a "Herman," a "War Man" and"German" were one and the same word.
Now when the good missionaries came into Friesland, one of the first ofthe families to receive the gospel was one named Altfrid. With hisbride, who also became a Christian, Altfrid helped the missionary tobuild a church. By and by, a sweet little baby was born in the familyand the parents were very happy. They loved the little thing sent from God, as fathers and mothers love their children now.
But when some one went and told the pagan grandmother that the new babywas a girl instead of a boy, the old woman flew into a rage and wouldhave gone at once to get hold of the baby and put it to death. Herlameness, however, made her move slowly, and she could not find hercrutch; for the midwife, who knew the bad temper of the grandmother, hadpurposely hid it. The old woman was angry, because she did not want anymore females in the big house, where she thought there were already toomany mouths to fill. Food was hard to get, and there were not enough warmen to defend the tribe. She meant to get the new baby and throw it tothe wolves. The old grandmother was a pagan and still worshipped thecruel gods that loved fighting. She hated the new religion, because ittaught gentleness and peace.
But the midwife, who was a neighbor, feared that the old woman wasmalicious and she had hid her crutch. This she did, so that if the babywas a girl, she could save its life. The midwife was a good woman, whohad been taught that the Great Creator loves little girls as well asboys.
So when the midwife heard the grandmother storm and rave, while huntingfor her crutch, she ran first to the honey jar, dipped her forefinger init and put some drops of honey on the baby's tongue. Then she passed itout the window to some women friends, who were waiting outside. She knewthe law, that if a child tasted food, it must be allowed to live.
The kind women took the baby to their home and fed it carefully. A holewas drilled in the small end of a cow's horn and the warm milk, freshfrom the cow, was allowed to fall, drop by drop, into the baby's mouth.In a few days the little one was able to suck its breakfast slowly outof the horn, while one of the girls held it. So the baby grew biggerevery day. All the time it was carefully hidden.
The foolish old grandmother was foiled, for she could never find outwhere the baby girl was, which all the time was growing strong andplump. Her father secretly made her a cradle and he and the babe'smother came often to see their child. Every one called her Honig-je', orLittle Honey.
Now about this time, cats were brought into the country and the childrenmade such pets of them that some of the cows seemed to be jealous of theattentions paid to Pussy and the kittens. These were the days when cowsand people all lived under one long roof. The children learned to tellthe time of day, whether it was morning, noon or night by looking intothe cats' eyes. These seemed to open and shut, very much as if they haddoors.
The fat pussy, which was brought into the house where Honig-je' was,seemed to be very fond of the little girl, and the two, the cat and thechild, played much together. It was often said that the cat loved thebaby even more than her own kittens. Every one called the affectionateanimal by the nickname of Dub-belt-je', which means Little Double;because this puss was twice as loving as most cat mothers are. When herown furry little babies were very young, she carried them from one placeto another in her mouth. But this way, of holding kittens, she nevertried on the baby. She seemed to know better. Indeed, Dub-belt-je' oftenwondered why human babies were born so naked and helpless; for at an agewhen her kittens could feed themselves and run about and play with theirtails and with each other, Honig-je' was not yet able to crawl.
But other dangers were in store for the little girl. One day, when themen were out hunting, and the women went to the woods to gather nuts andacorns, a great flood came. The waters washed away the houses, so thateverything floated into the great river, and then down towards the sea.
What had, what would, become of our baby? So thought the parents ofHonig-je', when they came back to find the houses swept away and no signof their little daughter. Dub-belt-je' and her kittens, and all thecows, were gone too.
Now it had happened that when the flood came and the house crashed down,baby was sound asleep. The cat, leaving its kittens, that were nowpretty well grown up, leaped up and on to the top of the cradle and thetwo floated off together. Pretty soon they found themselves left alone,with nothing in sight that was familiar, except one funny thing. Thatwas a wooden shoe, in which was a fuzzy little yellow chicken hardlyfour days old. It had been playing in the shoe, when the floods cameand swept it off from under the very beak of the old hen, that, with allher other chicks, was speedily drowned.
On and on, the raging flood bore baby and puss, until dark night camedown. For hours more they drifted until, happily, the cradle was sweptinto an eddy in front of a village. There it spun round and round, andmight soon have been borne into the greater flood, which seemed to roarlouder as the waters rose.
Now a cat can see sometimes in the night, better even than in the day,for the darker it becomes, the wider open the eyes of puss. In brightsunshine, at noon, the inside doors of the cat's eyes close to a narrowslit, while at night these doors open wide. That is the reason why, inthe days before clocks and watches were made, the children could tellabout the time of day by looking at the cat's eyes. Sometimes they namedtheir pussy Klok'-oog, which means Clock Eye, or Bell Eye, for bellclocks are older than clocks with a dial, and because in Holland thebells ring out the hours and quarter hours.
Puss looked up and saw the church tower looming up in the dark. At onceshe began to meouw and caterwaul with all her might. She hoped that someone in one of the houses near the river bank might catch the sound. Butnone seemed to hear or heed. At last, when Puss was nearly dead withhowling, a light appeared at one of the windows. This showed that someone was up and moving. It was a boy, who was named Dirck, after thesaint Theodoric, who had first, long ago, built a church in the village.Then Puss opened her mouth and lungs again and set up a regularcat-scream. This wakened all her other relatives in the village andevery Tom and Kitty made answer, until there was a cat concert of meouwsand caterwauls.
The boy heard, rushed down-stairs, and, opening the door, listened. Thewind blew out his candle, but the brave lad was guided by the soundwhich Pussy made. Reaching the bank, he threw off his wooden klomps,plunged into the boiling waters, and, seizing the cradle, towed itashore. Then he woke up his mother and showed her his prize. The waythat baby laughed and crowed, and patted the horn of milk, and kicked upits toes in delight over the warm milk, which was brought, was a joy tosee. Near the hearth, in the middle of the floor, Dub-belt-je', thepuss, was given some straw for a bed and, after purring joyfully, wassoon, like the baby, sound asleep.
Thus the cat warned the boy, and the boy saved the baby, that was verywelcome in a family where there were no girls, but only a boy. WhenHonig-je' grew up to be a young woman, she looked as lovely as aprincess and in the church was married to Dirck! It was the month ofApril and all the world was waking to flowers, when the weddingprocession came out of the church and the air was sweet with the openingof the buds.
Before the next New Year's day arrived, there lay in the same cradle,and put to sleep over the same rockers, a baby boy. When they broughthim to the font, the good grandmother named him Luid-i-ger. He grew upto be the great missionary, whose name in Friesland is, even today,after a thousand years, a household word. He it was who drove out badfairies, vile enchanters, wicked spirits and terrible diseases. Best ofall, he banished "eye-bite," which was the name the people gave towitchcraft. Luid-i-ger, also, made it hard for the naughty elves andsprites that delude men.
After this, it was easy for all the good spirits, that live in kindhearts and noble lives, to multiply and prosper. The wolves were drivenaway or killed off and became very few, while the cattle and sheepmultiplied, until everybody could have a woollen coat, and there was acow to every person in the land.
But the people still suffered from the floods, that from time to timedrowned the cattle and human beings, and the ebb tides, that carriedeverything out to sea. Then the good missionary taught the men how tobuild dykes, that kept out the ocean and made the water of the riversstay between the banks. The floods became fewer and fewer and at lastrarely happened. Then Santa Klaas arrived, to keep alive in the heartsof the people the spirit of love and kindness and good cheer forever.
At last, when nearly a hundred years had passed away, Honig-je', oncethe girl baby, and then the dear old lady, who was kind to everybody andprepared the way for Santa Klaas, died. Then, also, Dub-belt-je' thecat, that had nine lives in one, died with her. They buried the old ladyunder the church floor and stuffed the pussy that everybody, kittens,boys, girls and people loved. By and by, when the cat's tail and furfell to pieces, and ears tumbled off, and its glass eyes dropped out, askilful artist chiselled a statue of Dub-belt-je', which still standsover the tomb in the church. Every year, on Santa Klaas day, Decembersixth, the children put a new collar around its neck and talk about thecat that saved a baby's life.
