Hans Brinker; Or, The Silver Skates
Hans Brinker; Or, The Silver Skates
Hans Brinker; Or, The Silver Skates is a children's novel by Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. Set in 19th-century Holland, it follows siblings Hans and Gretel Brinker as they navigate their impoverished life and the challenges posed by their father's mental decline. The story centers around their dreams of winning a local ice-skating competition, which offers a pair of coveted silver skates as a prize. The book is notable for introducing Dutch speed skating to American audiences and has remained a beloved classic for over a century.
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“So he is my brother, and yours, too, Carl Schummel, for that matter," answered Peter, looking into Carl's eye. "We cannot say what we might have become under other circumstances. have been bolstered up from evil since the hour we were born. A happy home and good parents might have made that man a fine fellow instead of what he is. God grant that the law may cure and not crush him!””
— Mary Mapes Dodge
“There is an Angel called Charity who often would save our hearts a great deal of trouble if we would but let her in.””
— Mary Mapes Dodge
“Luxuries unfit us for returning to hardships easily endured before.””
— Mary Mapes Dodge
“Latin, Arithmetic, Grammar, all were locked up for an hour in the dingy schoolroom. The teacher might be a noun if he wished, and a proper one at that, but they meant to enjoy themselves. As long as skating was as perfect as this, it made no difference whether Holland were on the North Pole or the Equator; and, as for Philosophy, how could they bother themselves about inertia and gravitation and such things, when it was as much as they could do to keep from getting knocked over in the commotion.””
— Mary Mapes Dodge
“a half-dollar's worth will sometimes do for the poor what hundreds of dollars may fail to do for the rich; it makes them happy and grateful,””
— Mary Mapes Dodge
“...вийшов з дому із тяжким серцем, але що серце він мав молоде й билося воно в юнацьких грудях, то ледь збігло п'ять хвилин, як він уже почав висвистувати Розділ VI Сонячне проміння””
— Mary Mapes Dodge
