Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates

Gretl and Hans Brinker live with their kind mother and their ailing father who has been reduced to a childlike state after a fall from a dike. The children, outcast by their wealthy peers, yearn to have their father restored to the jolly man they remember, and also to win the coveted pairs of silver skates at the annual town race. Hans begs the renowned Dr. Boekman to try to cure their father. The doctor takes a strong liking to young Hans who reminds him of his own son. Why did this beloved son suddenly disappear so many years before? What happened to the Brinker's bag of hard-earned guilders lost since the night of Raff Brinker's fall? And why did he hand his wife a strange and valuable silver watch moments before leaving home the night of his accident? In a series of miraculous twists and turns all these questions are answered and all problems solved in this story of two young people who, through their determination, selflessness and love, not only find a cure for their sick father but also secure a future of which they had barely dreamed. And, as if that's not enough, Gretl skates home on her newly won silver skates!