ing,

"Come buy a sweet cake; it costs but a cent,
Come buy, come buy, from the man in the tent."

Vrouw Vedder said,

"I promised a cake to the one who beat in the race. We'll go in here
and get it."

So they went to the tent.

They bought two cakes, and each ate half of one. Kat broke the cakes
and gave them to the others, because she won the race.

When they had eaten the cakes, they skated on. The canals grew more and
more crowded. There were a good many tents; flags were flying, and the
whole place was very gay.

At last they saw a big building, with crowds of merry skaters about it.
Many people were going in and out.

"There's the Vink," said Father Vedder.

"Where?" said Kit and Kat.

He pointed to the building.

"Oh!" said Kit. He never said another word about what they had thought
it was like.

Soon they were inside the Vink. It was a large restaurant. There were
many little tables about, crowded with people, eating and drinking.
Father Vedder found a table, and they all sat down.

"Bring us some pea soup," he said to the waiter. Soon they were eating
the hot soup.

"This is the best thing I ever had," said Kit.

When they had eaten their soup; they went out of the building and
walked through the streets of the town. All the shops were filled with
pretty things. The bake shops had wonderful cakes with little candies
on top, and there were great cakes made like St. Nicholas himself in
his long robes.

Kit and Kat flattened their noses against all the shop windows, and
looked at the toys and cakes.

"I wish St. Nicholas would bring me that," said kit, pointing to a very
large St. Nicholas cake.

"And I want some of those," Kat said, pointing to some cakes made in
the shapes of birds and fish.

Vrouw Vedder had gone with her basket on an errand. Father Vedder and
Kit and Kat walked slowly along, waiting for her. Soon there was a
great noise up the street. There were shouts, and the clatter of wooden
shoes.

"Look! Look!" cried Kit.

There, in the midst of the crowd, was a great white horse; and riding
on it was the good St. Nicholas himself! He had a long white beard and
red cheeks, and long robes, with a mitre on his head; and he smiled at
the children, who crowded around him and followed him in a noisy
procession down the street.

Behind St. Nicholas came a cart, filled with packages of all sizes. The
children were all shouting at once, "Give me a cake, good St.
Nicholas