Anje at Kermis The Kermess by Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1568

In New Amsterdam, 1664, a little girl named Anya was skipping home from the gristmill.  "Today's Kermis!" she yelled.  She ran all the way to her house on Broadway and up to her Dutch door. Claudia 1

Anya knocked on the top half of the Dutch door      Anya knocked on the top half of the Dutch door. Her brother, Franz, opened just the top half and when he saw that the girl standing in the doorway was his sister, he opened the bottom half. Her father, Hendrick, was sitting in his rocking chair with his leg in a cast.  He said, "I'm sorry, Anya, I broke my leg playing 9 pins. You have to take Pooka to Kermis.  Anje was surprised, but she said obediently: "Yes, Pa." Claudia 2

Anya whistled and Pooka trotted over to her Anya whistled and Pooka trotted over to her.  Pooka yipped softly as if asking, "Where are we going?"  Anya smiled fondly. "We are going to Kermis!"   As Anya walked down the street, she noticed that there were pigs running around in the street.  This was usual, of course; pigs were set free in New Amsterdam. Claudia 3

      Anje arived at Kermis with Pooka. Pooka was trained to go without a leash,and to follow Anya or Franz.  The pair walked  through  the crowd and came to the carousel. Garret 4

 Anya really wanted to go on the carousel, but Pooka was not allowed on it. Anya decided to let Pooka wait outside the ride. "Pooka, wait, "Anya said. Pooka sat down and waited. Garret 5

Anya seamed to be having fun on the carousel Anya seamed to be having fun on the carousel.Pooka was still waiting,when she smelled the delicious aroma of crullers... Garret 6

The ride was fun, but Pooka was more important than a fun ride.     Anya got off the carousel, and Pooka was missing! She had left Pooka there to wait for her to get off the carousel, but it didn't work. Anya had trained Pooka to wait and always follow her around. Now she has no idea what happened! The ride was fun, but Pooka was more important than a fun ride. Nii 7

She finally found the cruller stand and even found some on the ground.      Meanwhile, Pooka was looking for the cruller stand, because she could smell the yummy crullers. She finally found the cruller stand and even found some on the ground. Nii 8

Now Pooka is unrecognizable.   The woman who sold the crullers accidentally knocked the bag of flour on Pooka. Now Pooka is unrecognizable. Nii 9

Pooka went to sleep under the Ferris Wheel to dream of crullers. Amelia 10

Franz came to tell Anya it was time to go home  Franz came to tell Anya it was time to go home. She was worried about Pooka, but they couldn’t look for her.     Amelia 11

When they saw Pooka, they didn’t even recognize her.   Amelia 12

In response Anya just sobbed loudly. Poor Anya! By now, it was dark and she wanted to look for Pooka. But oh no! It was too late to go out again. Of course Anya wanted to cry. "It is okay, Anya, we will find her in the morning, said Hendrick kindly. But now it is time to sleep.“ In response Anya just sobbed loudly. Marielle 13

Pooka woke up confused and stiff Pooka woke up confused and stiff. It was night and she was next to the cruller stand. ”Hmmm, isn't this the place where I got attracted to that delicious smell?” thought Pooka. Mischeiviously, she added, “I wonder if I can have some? They do smell delicious. I mean, it won't do any harm to just see what they are...” Marielle 14

Uh oh! The thought of those delicious crullers was just much too tempting to Pooka. She crept up to the stand and, quietly savoring the moment, she decided to knock down the garbage can and see if the garbage had any left overs. Yay! There was one cruller, but still Pooka was craving extras for her family, too. So she sneaked into the stand and she stole a bag of crullers that was hanging off the table just slightly. Marielle 15

"Who's there?“ Lodewyck shouted. Lodewyck Pos was night patrolling the town when a very sudden noise caught him by surprise.The noise was coming from the cruller stand. "Who's there?“ Lodewyck shouted. Daniel 16

Lodewyck was really scared because he thought that Pooka was a  ghost.  Lodewyck shook his rattle to warn everybody about the ghost he thought he saw. Everybody started to come out of their houses to see what was happening. Daniel 17

“Sorry, everybody, false alarm.” As everybody gathered around the cruller stand, Lodewyck Pos noticed a brown spot on Pooka’s ear. “Sorry, everybody, false alarm.” Daniel 18

Anya didn’t want to punish Pooka, but she had to bring her to Pa. Jeremy 19

Anje found a bag of crullers in Pooka's mouth Anje found a bag of crullers in Pooka's mouth. Pooka looked very, very hungry. Jeremy 20

Anya walked home with Pooka and the bag of crullers     Anya walked home with Pooka and the bag of crullers. When they got home, Anya took out the bag out of Pooka's mouth and gave the bag to Hendrick. Jeremy 21