There are bridges across the canals for
people to go from one side of the street to the other. In some of the
streets they have no sidewalks, and nothing between the houses but
canals.
[Illustration: Canals in Holland.]
In most of the houses they have no carpets. They scatter white sand on
the floor every morning. They keep their houses very clean. In their
kitchens they have open fireplaces, with fires blazing brightly. Near
the fires they have footstools made of cork. In some houses they have
fire boxes for warming their feet. They can carry these boxes wherever
they like. In cold weather they take their fire boxes to church.
Wherever you go in Holland you see windmills. When you see them far
off they look like giants with their arms stretched out. The arms are
shaped like ladders. The arms have sails on them to catch the wind.
It is the wind that makes the arms go round. With these windmills the
people pump up water, and grind corn, and saw wood. The land is very
flat and low. There are no swift running streams to turn the mills.
So the people build windmills.
[Illustration: Windmills in Holland.]
The great wonder of Holland is the dikes.
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