oot.

"My!" said Kit and Kat.

"I think our parents must skate the best of all the people in the
world," said Kat.

"I'm going to some day," said Kit.

"So'm I," said Kat.

After a while Vrouw Vedder said,

"It's time to go home. Not too much the first time." So they all went
back home with their cheeks as red as roses, and their noses too, and
such an appetite for dinner!

But the Twins were a little lame next day.

Every day after that, Kit and Kat went out with their skates to the
ditches and tried and tried to skate as Father and Mother did--they did
so want to skate to town and see the sights before the feast of St.
Nicholas! They worked so hard that in a week they could skate very
well; and then they planned a surprise for their mother.

"If you will watch at the window, you'll see a great sight on the canal
very soon," said Kit to his mother one day.

Of course Vrouw Vedder hadn't the least idea what it would be!

Kit and Kat slipped out through the stable and ran down to the ditch.
They put on their skates and skated from the ditch out to the big canal.

Vrouw Vedder was watching at the window. Soon she saw Kit and Kat go
flying by, hand in hand, on the canal! They waved their hands to her.
Vrouw Vedder was so pleased that she went to call Father Vedder, who
was in the hay-loft over the stable.

"Come and see Kit and Kat," she cried.

Father Vedder came down from the loft and looked too. Then Kit cut a
figure like this, S, and Kat cut one like this, 6. The round spot is
where she sat down hard, just as she was almost around.

When they came into the kitchen Father said,

"I think we could take such a fine pair of skaters as that to the Vink
with us on our way to town! The ice is very hard and thick for so early
in the season, and we will go to-morrow."

"We can see the shops too. St. Nicholas is coming, and the shops are
full of fine things," said Vrouw Vedder.

Kit and Kat could hardly wait for to-morrow to come. They polished
their skates and made everything ready.

"What do you suppose the Vink is?" said Kat to Kit.

"I think it is something like a church," said Kit.

"You don't know what a Vink is, so there," said Kat. "I think it's
something to eat."

Then Kit changed the subject.

"I'll race you to-morrow," he said.

"I'll beat," said Kat.

"We'll see," said Kit.

The next day they started, all four, quite early in the morning: Vrouw
Vedder took her basket on her arm.