A day out for Ann-Marie

Beautiful day out 1880...

"Aunt Bess," said Ann-Marie, as she stood at the door, which she had opened to let the cat in, "may I go out and play? The clouds are all gone and the sun shines bright and warm."

"But the grass must be quite soaked after all the rain," said Aunt Bess. "I will tell you what; run to Uncle Pieter and ask him if he will not take us for a drive."

Uncle Pieter was just going out and had his hat in his hand, but he sat down at once to hear what Ann-Marie had to say and promised that he would take them in half an hour, and so Ann-Marie ran upstairs to ask Miss Lily to put her wraps on. By the time the horses were at the door, she was all ready and took her place with great glee.

What a bright afternoon it was; the long rain had made all the grass and leaves look bright and green, and they were rustling in the fresh breeze. Away out at sea, the ships were flying before the wind, looking like great white birds. Ann-Marie's home was at the seaside, and their drive this afternoon would take them for a time on the beach.

The waves, Uncle Pieter said, would be very wild, for the wind was just right to make a heavy surf. Soon they began to come to the fishing village. The houses were small, and on the beach close to each was drawn up a fishing boat. On one of these, a man was hard at work. He was down on his knees in his shirt sleeves, with some sort of tool in his hands, and was so intent on what he was doing that he did not raise his head as they passed.

In the boat itself was a boy. He was leaning over the side and looking down at his father. His hat had blown off, and he looked like such a nice boy that Ann-Marie smiled at him as they went by. He laughed back and made her a little bow, but the horses went by so fast that she saw him for a minute only.

"What was the name of that boat, Uncle Pieter?" she asked.

"Magdalene," said Uncle Pieter.

"Why, that's a girl's name," said Ann-Marie.

Just at that moment, they passed by a small house. The door stood wide open, and in it sat a young girl. She had a pillow in her lap and was working over it, Ann-Marie thought, with a needle. "She is making lace," said Aunt Bess. "It is hard work, because one has to sit still bent over. I suppose she is glad to have the bright sunshine to sit in, for no doubt she has been kept in the house by the rain. I wonder if that is her little brother who is leaning against the side of the house whittling."

Ann-Marie stretched her head out to look and cried, "Why, he is making a boat; what a clever boy! See, the hull is done, and two masts are in place. What fun it would be to have a boat to sail on our little pond."

"Our pond is too deep for it to be safe for you to play about it," said Uncle Pieter; "but when you are older, you shall have a boat without fail."

The road now left the village behind and ran along the top of some high cliffs. At their feet, the sea came in in great waves that were topped with foam and that broke in a mass of spray. There were two or three persons on the beach, and they were walking about and holding up their skirts to keep them from getting wet. It looked like such fun that Aunt Bess asked Uncle Pieter if he would not stop and let her and Ann-Marie have a short run on the sands.

So the horses were brought to a halt, and they got down and made their way through a break in the cliffs to the beach. Then, after they had walked a while, they sat down on a great mass of rock and watched the waves as they rolled and broke at their feet. Ann-Marie was much interested in a piece of board that the waves were tossing about. She played that it was a ship and really felt quite badly when it was dashed against the rocks. How long they would have stayed there, I do not know, but they heard Uncle Pieter shouting that he was tired of waiting. And so they made haste to climb up to where he was and take their seats. Then he spoke to the horses, and on they went. They had not gone far when they found themselves in a green lane. Coming toward them were a little girl and boy. They were on their way home from school, as the bag in the girl's hand showed, for it had books in it. As they drew up by the fence to let our party pass, Ann-Marie said: