Many a day has the story-teller wandered along the dykes, which overlook the Zuyder Zee.

Ages ago, when the giants were numerous on the earth, there lived a big fellow named Antigonus.

Above all countries in Europe, this bird, wise in the head and long in the legs, loves Holland.

For centuries, more than can be counted on the fingers of both hands, the maidens and mothers of Friesland have worn a helmet of gold covering the crown and back of their heads, and with golden rosettes at each ear.

"Gold makes a woman penny-white," said the Dutch, in the days when fairies were plentiful and often in their thoughts.

When the cow came to Holland, the Dutch folks had more and better things to eat.

Who is Santa Klaas? How did he get his name? Where does he live? Did you ever see him?

There was once a Dutchman, who lived in the province called Drenthe.

Once upon a time, some Dutch hunters went to Africa, hoping to capture a whole family of lions.

In years long gone, too many for the almanac to tell of, or for clocks and watches to measure, millions of good fairies came down from the sun and went into the earth.

Across the ocean, in Japan, there once lived curious creatures called Onis.

Long, long ago, before the oldest stork was young and big deer and little fawns were very many in the Dutch forests, there was a pond, famous for its fish, which lay in the very heart of Holland, with woods near by.

When the young queen Wilhelmina visited Brabant and Limburg, they amused her with pageants and plays, in which the little fellows called kabouters, in Dutch, and kobolds in German, played and showed off their tricks.

The elves are the little white creatures that live between heaven and earth.

In the far-off ages, all the lands of northern Europe were one, for the deep seas had not yet separated them.

Long, long ago, there were brave fighters and skilful hunters in Holland, but neither men nor women ever dreamed that food was to be got out of the ground, but only from the trees and bushes, such as berries, acorns and honey.

Long, long ago, before the Romans came into the land and when the fairies ruled in the forest, there was a maiden who lived under an oak tree.

In the early ages, when our far-off ancestors lived in the woods, ate acorns, slept in caves, and dressed in the skins of wild animals, they had no horses, cows or cats.

Long, long ago, before ever a blue flax-flower bloomed in Holland, and when Dutch mothers wore wolf-skin clothes, there was a little princess, very much beloved by her father, who was a great king, or war chief.

Klaas Van Bommel was a Dutch boy, twelve years old, who lived where cows were plentiful.

Long ago, in Dutch Fairy Land, there lived a young mermaid who was very proud of her good looks.