"What are petticoats?" Margo asked
curiously.
"Well, how about I tell you about the little girl, first?" Oma asked, walking with Margo to the bathroom to begin their good-night ritual. Margo nodded and Oma handed her a toothbrush. "There was a very, very pretty little princess living in Holland many, many years ago. She had a very sweet face, but sometimes, she could be so naughty that her pretty outside looked so ugly. She would go in the fields to play and roll in the grass, getting all her pretty blonde, curly hair tangled." Oma picked up a brush and began untangling Margo's own pretty blonde, curly hair. She smiled down, fondly. "When her nurse would try and comb her hair, the little girl would be angry and stomp and shout. The nurse even called her an aurochs."
"What's an aurochs?" Margo asked, sitting very patiently as Oma picked through her hair with the brush. She was hardly ever so patient, but the story must have subdued her energetic ways.
"It's a terrible beast with a horrible temper!"
"Am I like an aurochs?"
"No, kindje lief, you are being very, very lovely right now. Please hold still while I brush these tangles out." Oma continued brushing, lost in her own story a little bit. "When the nurse and the princess's mother tried to punish her, she only got angrier and meaner. Finally, they had to ask the king for help. He was very upset that his sweet little girl would be so nasty and hateful. He was very scared that she wouldn't make a good queen if she was so unkind. The king, though, was always kind to everyone. He was kind to people and to animals and even to the trees in the forest."
"Did the trees talk like the one the shoemaker talked to?"
"Don't be so impatient. You'll see," Oma said, smiling. "The king, upset about his little girl, went into the forest to think and talked to an old oak tree that told him that soon, the trees would be gone. He made sure that the king wasn't sad, though, because lovely blue flowers would grow in their place and they would be able to make beautiful cloth from the flowers. The tree said that the princess should wear a wooden petticoat. A petticoat is like a skirt that is worn underneath a dress. It makes the dress fuller and prettier. But a wooden petticoat wouldn't be comfortable at all, would it? Would you like to wear a piece of wood around your waist?"
Margo giggled, "No, Oma. Did the princess wear it?"
"Well, when she was bad, she did! But the other wonderful thing that happened is that an aurochs came and said that the king should take his horns and make a comb to brush the girl's pretty, blonde curls. When the nurse used this comb, the girl became so much sweeter. She hardly had to wear the wooden petticoat at all!"
"So the comb made her good? How did it do that?" Margo was finished with her hair, had brushed her teeth and was sitting in bed, waiting impatiently for the story to end, but she was so curious that she couldn't help but ask.
"Don't you remember, Margo? Magic happens sometimes. The comb was magic." Oma tickled Margo's tummy, just a little bit. Margo giggled. "And remember what the tree said about the flowers that would grow?" Margo nodded. "Well, they did. Hundreds of them grew up and they decided to name the place Groen-e'-veld. And the flowers did make beautiful thread that they wove into pretty clothes. They made dresses and soft, beautiful petticoats from the threads. Every time a new petticoat was made, she put it on. Soon, she had twenty at a time! And after that, the rest of the country decided to dress like the beautiful princess and having many petticoats became the fashion."
"So, the princess started off very bad and then, when she got her hair brushed, she was good?" Margo looked confused.
"Sometimes, kindje, growing up is all you need to go from being a naughty girl to a sweet and pretty girl. Do you want to be naughty or sweet and pretty?"
"I want to be sweet and pretty. I don't want to be naughty and wear wood around my tummy."
"I think that maybe you're growing up too fast, griet. I think that one day, before you even realize it, you'll be telling stories like this to your kleindochter. What do you think about that?"
Margo yawned. She was already in bed, with the covers up to her neck. She was almost asleep. "I think that it's time to go to sleep."
"It is, kindje. Ik hou van jouwe."
"Ik hou van jouwe ook."
Author's Note:
I wanted to include Oma in this story a little bit more. My Oma and Opa really impacted my life a lot, but in very different ways. Opa was my playful friend who rode his bicycle with me and played soccer while Oma was more of a talker. I love that in recent years, my Oma and I have grown a lot closer than we used to be. Life can sometimes get in the way of relationships with people, family and friends especially. I am very glad that Oma and I have been able to grow closer. I think that, between Oma and Opa, Oma was definitely the one to tell me no when I was being selfish or rude, which wasn't terribly often. She didn't have to say much to get her point across. I appreciate her more than she knows, I think.
As far as the story is concerned, I left out some details about the aurochs that the king and the princess more or less adopted. I thought that the mention of it between the nurse and princess was enough to make the symbolism come out. I also cut the story off after the princess changed her wicked ways. The original continues to discuss the fashion trends that the princess set and more cultural information about the nation as a whole, but I thought that since my stories and frame tale are more focused on teaching lessons and the relationships between the characters, that it would be unnecessary to include all that extra information. Besides, if Margo is ready to go to sleep, I am, too!
Dutch Words:
kindje - kid, sort of like "kiddo" in English,"keenchuh"
griet - girl, slang for little girl (It's what my Opa calls me), "ghreet"
Ik hou van jouwe - I love you, Ik how fuhn yow
ook - too, also, ohk
Back to Coverpage
Back to Introduction
Back to Homepage
Back to How Klompen Came to Be
Back to Te Veel Kaas
Fourth Story: Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
Bibliography:
Griffis, William E. (1919). Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks.
Image Information:
Petticoats
Image Source: Schenz
"Well, how about I tell you about the little girl, first?" Oma asked, walking with Margo to the bathroom to begin their good-night ritual. Margo nodded and Oma handed her a toothbrush. "There was a very, very pretty little princess living in Holland many, many years ago. She had a very sweet face, but sometimes, she could be so naughty that her pretty outside looked so ugly. She would go in the fields to play and roll in the grass, getting all her pretty blonde, curly hair tangled." Oma picked up a brush and began untangling Margo's own pretty blonde, curly hair. She smiled down, fondly. "When her nurse would try and comb her hair, the little girl would be angry and stomp and shout. The nurse even called her an aurochs."
"What's an aurochs?" Margo asked, sitting very patiently as Oma picked through her hair with the brush. She was hardly ever so patient, but the story must have subdued her energetic ways.
"It's a terrible beast with a horrible temper!"
"Am I like an aurochs?"
"No, kindje lief, you are being very, very lovely right now. Please hold still while I brush these tangles out." Oma continued brushing, lost in her own story a little bit. "When the nurse and the princess's mother tried to punish her, she only got angrier and meaner. Finally, they had to ask the king for help. He was very upset that his sweet little girl would be so nasty and hateful. He was very scared that she wouldn't make a good queen if she was so unkind. The king, though, was always kind to everyone. He was kind to people and to animals and even to the trees in the forest."
"Did the trees talk like the one the shoemaker talked to?"
"Don't be so impatient. You'll see," Oma said, smiling. "The king, upset about his little girl, went into the forest to think and talked to an old oak tree that told him that soon, the trees would be gone. He made sure that the king wasn't sad, though, because lovely blue flowers would grow in their place and they would be able to make beautiful cloth from the flowers. The tree said that the princess should wear a wooden petticoat. A petticoat is like a skirt that is worn underneath a dress. It makes the dress fuller and prettier. But a wooden petticoat wouldn't be comfortable at all, would it? Would you like to wear a piece of wood around your waist?"
Margo giggled, "No, Oma. Did the princess wear it?"
"Well, when she was bad, she did! But the other wonderful thing that happened is that an aurochs came and said that the king should take his horns and make a comb to brush the girl's pretty, blonde curls. When the nurse used this comb, the girl became so much sweeter. She hardly had to wear the wooden petticoat at all!"
"So the comb made her good? How did it do that?" Margo was finished with her hair, had brushed her teeth and was sitting in bed, waiting impatiently for the story to end, but she was so curious that she couldn't help but ask.
"Don't you remember, Margo? Magic happens sometimes. The comb was magic." Oma tickled Margo's tummy, just a little bit. Margo giggled. "And remember what the tree said about the flowers that would grow?" Margo nodded. "Well, they did. Hundreds of them grew up and they decided to name the place Groen-e'-veld. And the flowers did make beautiful thread that they wove into pretty clothes. They made dresses and soft, beautiful petticoats from the threads. Every time a new petticoat was made, she put it on. Soon, she had twenty at a time! And after that, the rest of the country decided to dress like the beautiful princess and having many petticoats became the fashion."
"So, the princess started off very bad and then, when she got her hair brushed, she was good?" Margo looked confused.
"Sometimes, kindje, growing up is all you need to go from being a naughty girl to a sweet and pretty girl. Do you want to be naughty or sweet and pretty?"
"I want to be sweet and pretty. I don't want to be naughty and wear wood around my tummy."
"I think that maybe you're growing up too fast, griet. I think that one day, before you even realize it, you'll be telling stories like this to your kleindochter. What do you think about that?"
Margo yawned. She was already in bed, with the covers up to her neck. She was almost asleep. "I think that it's time to go to sleep."
"It is, kindje. Ik hou van jouwe."
"Ik hou van jouwe ook."
Author's Note:
I wanted to include Oma in this story a little bit more. My Oma and Opa really impacted my life a lot, but in very different ways. Opa was my playful friend who rode his bicycle with me and played soccer while Oma was more of a talker. I love that in recent years, my Oma and I have grown a lot closer than we used to be. Life can sometimes get in the way of relationships with people, family and friends especially. I am very glad that Oma and I have been able to grow closer. I think that, between Oma and Opa, Oma was definitely the one to tell me no when I was being selfish or rude, which wasn't terribly often. She didn't have to say much to get her point across. I appreciate her more than she knows, I think.
As far as the story is concerned, I left out some details about the aurochs that the king and the princess more or less adopted. I thought that the mention of it between the nurse and princess was enough to make the symbolism come out. I also cut the story off after the princess changed her wicked ways. The original continues to discuss the fashion trends that the princess set and more cultural information about the nation as a whole, but I thought that since my stories and frame tale are more focused on teaching lessons and the relationships between the characters, that it would be unnecessary to include all that extra information. Besides, if Margo is ready to go to sleep, I am, too!
Dutch Words:
kindje - kid, sort of like "kiddo" in English,"keenchuh"
griet - girl, slang for little girl (It's what my Opa calls me), "ghreet"
Ik hou van jouwe - I love you, Ik how fuhn yow
ook - too, also, ohk
Back to Coverpage
Back to Introduction
Back to Homepage
Back to How Klompen Came to Be
Back to Te Veel Kaas
Fourth Story: Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
Bibliography:
Griffis, William E. (1919). Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks.
Image Information:
Petticoats
Image Source: Schenz