," they said.

Father Vedder got the bag down and took out two pairs of skates. They
had long curling ends on the runners. The Twins sat down on the floor.
Father Vedder tried on the skates.

"They are still pretty large; but you will grow," he told the Twins.
"You may have them if you will be very careful and not let them get
rusty. By and by we will teach you to skate."

The Twins practiced standing in the skates on the kitchen floor; and,
when bedtime came, they took the skates to bed with them.

"O Kit," said Kat, "I never supposed we'd get them so soon. Did you?"

"Well," said Kit, "you see, we're pretty big and very good. That makes
a difference."

"It's very nice to be good when people notice it, isn't it?" said Kat.

"Yah," said Kit. "I'm going to be good now right along, all the time;
for very soon St. Nicholas will come, and he leaves only a rod in the
shoes of bad children. And if you've been bad, you have to tell him
about it."

"Oh! Oh!" said Kat. "I'm going to be good all the time too. I'm going
to be good until after the feast of St. Nicholas, anyway."

Not many days after Kit and Kat got their skates, there came a cold,
cold wind. It blew over the fields and over the canals all day and all
night long; and in the morning, when the Twins looked out, the canal
was one shining roadway of ice.

Father Vedder came in from the stable with a great pail full of milk.

"Winter is here now, for good and all," he said, as he set the pail
down. "The canals are frozen over, and soon it will be the day for the
feast of St. Nicholas."

Kit and Kat ran to him and said, both together,

"Dear Father Vedder, will you please teach us to skate before St.
Nicholas Day?"

"I'll see if the ice is strong enough to bear," said Father Vedder; and
he went right down to the canal to see, that very minute. When he came
in, he said,

"Yes, the ice is strong; and we will go out as soon as you are ready,
and try your skates."

Vrouw Vedder said, "I should like to go too"; and Father Vedder said to
Kit and Kat,

"Your mother used to be the finest skater in the whole village when she
was a young girl. You must not let her beat you."

They hurried through with their work, Kit and Kat helped. Then they all
put on their heavy shoes and wraps, took their skates over their
shoulders, and started for the canal.

"If you learn to skate well enough, we will take you to town before the
feast of St. Nicholas," said Father Ve