es carefully--but she didn't say a word about their being damp.
And she said to Kat: "To-morrow we will see the shoemaker and have him
make you another shoe."

Then Kit and Kat hugged her and said good-night, and popped off to
sleep before you could wink your eyes.

II

MARKET DAY WITH FATHER

One afternoon Kit and Kat were playing around the kitchen doorstep,
while their Mother sat on a bench by the door, peeling some onions for
supper. It was not yet supper-time, but Vrouw Vedder was always ahead
of the clock with the work.

Kit and Kat had a pan of water and were teaching their ducklings to
swim. They each had one little fat duckling of their very own. The
ducklings squawked when Kit lifted them over the edge of the pan into
the water.

"Don't do that, Kit," said Kat. "The ducklings don't like it. You
didn't like it when you fell into the water, did you?"

"But I'm not a duck," said Kit.

"Well, anyway, they're tired and want to go to their mother," said Kat.
"Let's do something else! I'll tell you what! Let's go out to the
garden and help Father get the boat loaded for market."

"All right," said Kit. "May we, Mother?"

"Yes," said Vrouw Vedder; "and you may ask Father if he will take you
to market with him to-morrow if it's fair. Tell him I said you could
ask."

"Oh, goody, goody!" said Kit and Kat, both at once; and they ran as
fast as their wooden shoes would take them out into the garden.

They found their father cutting cabbages and gathering them into piles.
He was stopping to light his pipe, when they reached him.

"O Father!" said Kit and Kat both together. "May we go on the boat to
market with you to-morrow morning? Mother said we might ask!"

Father Vedder blew two puffs from his pipe without answering.

"We'll help you load the boat," said Kit.

"Yes," said Kat, "I can carry a cabbage."

"I can carry two," said Kit. "We'll both be good," said Kat.

"Very well," said Father, at last. "We'll see how you work! And
to-morrow morning, if it's fair, I'll see! But you must go to bed early
to-night, because you'll have to get up very early in the morning, if
you go with me! Now you each take a cabbage and run along."

Father Vedder went back to his work.

Kit and Kat ran to the cabbage-pile. Kat took one, and Kit took
two--just to show that he could.

"When Father says 'I'll see,' he always means 'yes,'" Kat said to Kit.

Perhaps it seems queer to you that they should go to mar