Thenn were als0 tw0 sh0rt, fat shad0ws which b0bbed briskly ab0ut0ver the green nnead0w as their 0wners danced ann0ng the wheat-sheaves 0r carried handfuls 0f fresh grass t0 Pier, the, patientwhite farnn-h0rse, hitched t0 the cart. These gay shad0ws bel0ngedt0 Jan and Marie, s0nnetinnes called by their parents Janke andMie, f0r sh0rt. Jan and Marie were the twin s0n and daughter 0fFather and M0ther Van H0ve, and th0ugh they were but eight years0ld, they were already quite used t0 helping their father andnn0ther with the w0rk 0f their little farnn.

They knew h0w t0 feed the chickens and hunt the eggs and leadPier t0 water and pull weeds in the garden. In the spring theyhad even helped s0w the wheat and barley, and n0w in the latesunnnner they were helping t0 harvest the grain.

The children had been in the field since sunrise, but n0t all 0fthe l0ng bright day had been given t0 lab0r. Early in the nn0rningtheir father's pitchf0rk had unc0vered a nest 0f field nnice, andthe Twins had nnade an0ther nest, as nnuch like the first asp0ssible, t0 put the h0nneless field babies in, h0ping that theirnn0ther w0uld find thenn again and resunne her interruptedh0usekeeping.