This is not often seen now, though
poor children sometimes put on their parents' things, and beg from
door to door, calling themselves "the little fathers and mothers."
These winter festivals, when the children have so much liberty and get
so many presents, take the place in Belgium of the Christmas-trees and
parties you have in England.
CHAPTER XII
THE ARCHERS: GAMES PLAYED IN BELGIUM
Let us imagine we are taking a walk along some country road in
Flanders on a summer afternoon. There is a cinder-track for cyclists
on one side, and the lines of a district railway on the other. The
road between them is causeway, very hard, dusty, and hot to walk on.
But we can step on to the railway, and walk between the rails, or take
to the cycle-track. If a train comes up behind, the engine-driver will
whistle to give us warning, but we must keep a sharp lookout for
cyclists, who seldom ring their bells, but rush swiftly and silently
past, and perhaps shout something rude to us for being on their track.
There are no fences or hedges, but a straggling row of tall
poplar-trees on each side of the road, and beyond them square fields
of rye or pasturage divided by ditches of stagnant water.
Pages:
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79