dder. "But it comes very soon."

He put on his own skates and Kit's, and the mother put on her own and
Kat's.

"I'm sure we can do it almost right away," said Kat.

"Now we'll show you how to skate," said Father Vedder. He stood the
Twins up on the ice. They held each other's hands. They were afraid to
move. Father Vedder took Mother Vedder's hand.

"See," he said, "like this!" And away they went like two swallows,
skimming over the ice. In a minute they were ever so far away.

Kit and Kat felt lonesome, and very queer, when they saw their father
and mother flying along in that way. They weren't used to see them do
anything but work, and move about slowly.

"It looks easy," said Kit. "Let's try it. We must not be afraid."

He started with his right leg, pushing it out a little in front of him.
But it was very strange how his legs acted. They didn't seem to belong
to him at all! His left leg tried to follow his right, just as it ought
to; but, instead, it slid out sidewise and knocked against Kat's
skates. Then both Kat's feet flew up; and she sat down very hard, on
the ice. And Kit came down on top of her.

They tried to get up; but, each time they tried, their feet slid away
from them.

"Oh dear," said Kat, "we are all mixed up! Are those your feet or mine?
I can't tell which is which!"

"They don't any of them mind," said Kit. "I can't stand up on any of
them. I've tried them all! We'll just have to wait until Father and
Mother come back and pick us out."

"Ice is quite cold to sit on, isn't it?" said Kat.

Soon Father and Mother Vedder came skimming back again. When they saw
Kit and Kat, they laughed and skated to them, picked them up, and set
them on their feet.

"Now I'll take Kit, and you take Kat," said Vrouw Vedder to her
husband, "and they'll be skating in no time." So Kat's father took her
hands, and Kit took hold of his mother's, and they started off.

At first the Twins' feet didn't behave well at all. They seemed to want
to do everything they could to bother them. They would sprawl way
apart; then they would toe in and run into each other.

Many times Kit and Kat would have fallen if Father and Mother Vedder
had not held them up; but before the lesson was over, both Kit and Kat
could skate a little bit alone.

"See, this is the way," said Vrouw Vedder; and she skated around in a
circle. Then she cut a figure like this 8 in the ice. Then Father
Vedder did a figure like this S all on one f