" said Kat. "We'd rather stay with you."

"You shan't be married until after you are four feet and a half high
and are called Christopher and Katrina anyway," said Vrouw Vedder. "I
promise you that."

The Twins were much relieved. They went out and fed their ducklings.
They felt so much better that they gave them an extra handful of grain,
and they carried a bun to Father Vedder, who was hoeing in the farthest
corner of the garden. He ate it, leaning on his hoe.

When they went back to the house, it was late in the afternoon.
Grandmother was rolling up her knitting.

"I must go home to Grandfather;" she said. "He'll be wanting his
supper."

The Twins walked down the road as far as the first bridge with
Grandmother. There she kissed them good-bye and sent them home.

When their mother put them to bed that night, Kat said,

"Has this been a short day, Mother?"

"Oh, very short!" said Vrouw Vedder, "because you helped me so much."

Then she kissed them good-night and went out to feed the pigs, and shut
up the chickens for the night.

When she was gone, Kit said,

"I don't see how they got along before we came. We help so much!"

"No," said Kat; "I don't think--" But what she didn't think, no one
will ever know, because just then she popped off to sleep.

IV

ONE SUNDAY

One Sunday morning in early fall, Kit and Kat woke up and peeped out
from their cupboard bed to see what was going on in the world.

The sun was shining through the little panes of the kitchen window,
making square patches of light on the floor. The kettle was singing on
the fire, and Vrouw Vedder was already putting away the breakfast
things.

Father Vedder was lighting his pipe with a coal from the fire. He had
on his black Sunday clothes, all ready for church. Father Vedder did
not look at Kit and Kat at all. He just puffed away at his pipe and
said to himself,

"If there are any Twins anywhere that want to go to church with me,
they'd better get dressed and eat their breakfasts."

Kit and Kat tumbled out of the cupboard at once.

Vrouw Vedder came to help them dress.

I can't tell you how many petticoats she put on Kat, but it was ever so
many. And over them all she put a skirt of plaid. There was a waist of
a different color, and over that a kerchief with bright red roses on
it. And over the skirt she put a new, clean apron.

Kit was dressed very splendidly too. He had full baggy trousers of
velveteen that reached t