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There is a beautiful country in Europe called
the Netherlands. The people in this country speak a language
called Dutch. In the Dutch language Netherlands means lowlands.
The land there is lower than the sea, not like in other countries
where the sea is lower than the land.
To stop the land being flooded and washed away, the Dutch people
build huge dykes. These dykes are enormous banks which are very
high and as wide as roads.
A
long time ago, in a town called Haarlem, there lived a boy called
Hans. One day he went out to play with this little brother,
Dieter. They walked a long way out of the town to where there
were huge green fields with many pretty wild flowers. They spent
the time playing tag and chasing butterflies.
Later, Hans climbed up to the top of the dyke and sat looking
down at his brother at the bottom. Suddenly, his brother said,
"Hans, Hans, I can see bubbles coming out of the dyke!"
Hans slid down to see if his brother had made a mistake. He
knew it would be a disaster if water came through the dyke.
He looked closely and saw a little hole with water dripping
from it. Hans thought to himself, "If the hole gets bigger
the town will be destroyed."
He looked around frantically for someone to help, but it was
getting late. Hans and his brother had been out playing for
a long time and there was no one else around. In desperation,
Hans put his finger into the hole - it just fitted and the water
stopped coming through. He shouted to his brother, "Dieter,
run home quickly and tell them to come at once because the water
is coming through. Tell them I am trying to stop the water but
they must hurry."
Dieter ran off and as soon as he had disappeared from sight,
Hans felt very lonely. He knew he had to stop the water and
stay at the dyke until help came.
After a while, Hans felt his arm going numb with the cold. He
rubbed it with his other hand but it didn't help. He felt tired
and weak as he rested his head against the dyke, exhausted.
As he heard the roar of the sea he remembered all the frightening
sea stories his grandfather had told him. He felt terrified.
He wanted to pull his finger out and run away but he realised
the safety of the townspeople depended on him. He gritted his
teeth and shouted loudly at the sea, "I will not let you
break through the dyke!"
His whole body felt very cold and he wanted to cry. He kept
looking towards the town to see if anyone was coming. At last,
he saw torch-light in the distance. The townsfolk were coming,
carrying pick-axes and shovels. When at last they arrived, they
worked all through the night to mend the dyke. When they had
finished, exhausted but happy, the men cheered loudly and proclaimed
Hans the Hero of Haarlem.
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