The Hero of Haarlem (The Little Dutch Boy)

The Hero of Haarlem by Mary Mapes Dodge – Summary, question and answers. This story is included in the Class-4 English literature syllabus for most schools.

‘Netherlands’ basically means a low-lying country, where the ground is lower than the sea level. As a result, people build dykes all over the country to prevent sea water from rushing in. A Dyke (or dike) is a great thick wall as wide as a road; these walls serve an important purpose of providing safety to the people.

The country ‘Netherlands’ is also known as Holland, and its inhabitants are referred to as the Dutch.

Haarlem is a city in the Netherlands, and this story is about a brave little boy who live in Haarlem.

The Hero of Haarlem: Summary

The Hero of Haarlem is the story of a Little Dutch Boy who on discovering a leak in a Dike decides to plug the hole with his finger in order the save the city from flooding. His heroism saved the entire city because the Dike would have otherwise given away had the hole not been plugged in time.

Story Map of The Hero Of Haarlem

Setting

Where does the story take place? Haarlem, Netherlands
Time (When does the story take place? A long time ago

Characters

Who are the people in the story? Hans, Hans’ mother, Mr. Jansen, a group of people.

Problem or Conflict

What was the problem in the story? There was a hole in the dyke and Hans plugged the hole with his hand.

Solution or Resolution

How was the problem solved? Mr. Jansen saw Hans and called a group of people to repair the dyke.

Question: Fill in the blanks

1. The boy took some cake to the blind man.
2. He strolled along the canals, humming a merry song.
3. The boy heard a faint sound, like the trickling of water upon pebbles.
4. The boy plugged the hole in the wall with his finger.
5. Clergyman found the boy while returning from the church at day-break.
6. The boy saw that the autumn rain had swelled the waters of the canals.
7. Dykes were built so that the sea water could not enter into and wash away the city of Haarlem.
8. Hans’ mother sent cake and bread to Mr Jansen because he was an elderly man whose eyesight was failing and he had no family to care for him.
9. Hans enjoyed Mr Jansen’s company because Mr Jansen enjoyed telling him stories about how things were long ago and they talked and talked for hours.
10. As he walked home, Hans was very cold and wet. This is why he was thinking about a warm dinner and a cosy bed.

Reference to Context

“While the wind turn the windmills, and the rain water the tulips, the strained and swollen dykes kept filling.”

Question: Apart from the dykes which two other things mentioned in these lines tell us where the story is set?
Answer: Besides dykes, the two other things mentioned in these lines are – windmills and the tulips – both are commonly seen in the Netherlands.

Question: What does the author mean by saying the the dykes were ‘swollen’?
Answer: The author meant that the dyke was getting filled with water. The water level of the sea had increased due to the heavy rain and the condition of the dykes were getting worse.

Question: What did Hans wonder when he saw the dykes?
Answer: Hans wondered who would take care of the dykes if something goes wrong while his father was away.

“My lad’, said Mr. Jansen, ‘first I’ll take you home and then I’ll tell everyone of the boy who saved the town!”

Question: Where was Mr Jansen when he said these lines?
Answer: Mr Jansen was near the dykes as he had come out to walk Alfons, his pet dog, when Mr Jansen suddenly spotted little Hans trying to plug in the hole in the dyke.

Question: Who did Mr Jansen call ‘my lad’? Why did he want to get him home?
Answer: Mr. Jansen called Hans as ‘my lad’. Mr. Jansen wanted to escort Hans home as he was out in the cold rain for a long time, trying to stop the leap in the dyke. He wanted Hans to dry himself and get some rest. So, Mr Jansen wanted to take Hans home first after which he was going to tell everyone in the town how bravely Hans had saved the town.

Question: What do you think Mr Jansen had told the people of Haarlem?
Answer: I think Mr Jansen told the people of Harlem about the bravery of Hans and how his efforts saved the town. He would have praised Hans a lot to them.

Read reflect write:

Question: List the words and phrases from the story that describe the weather.
Answer: The words and phrases from the story that describe the weather are – ‘rainy’; ‘spring rain’; ‘heavier than usual’; ‘pouring down hard’; ‘windmills’; ‘tulips’; ‘strained and swollen dykes’; ‘pelted’; ‘piercing cold’; ‘stung’; ‘rain kept pelting’; ‘wind continued swirling’ etc.

Question: What was Hans’ father in charge of?
Answer. Hans’ father was in charge of taking care of the dykes, or the stone walls that kept the sea water from entering into Haarlem and washing it away.

Question: Write the character sketch of Hans?
Ans. Hans was a kind and brave boy. Even though it was a rainy day, he happily agreed to take some bread and cakes to Mr. Jansen. He kept his fist plugged in the dyke’s hole to not let the water seep through the dyke.

Question: Why do you think Mr Jansen was always very happy when Hans came to visit?
Answer: Mr Jansen was an elderly man, who did not have any family to care for him. His eyesight was also very poor. He would become happy when Hans would come to visit because he could talk to him and share his feelings. Mr. Jansen enjoyed telling Hans stories about how things were long ago. Hans used to bring some food for him every time. This made Mr Jansen happy and contented.

Question: What did Hans do to not let the water break through the dykes?
Answer. Hans plugged the dyke’s hole with his fist to not let the water seep through the dyke. He knew that in order to save his town, he would not let the water break through the dyke.

Question: Do you think ‘The Hero of Haarlem’ a good title for this story? Give reason to support your answer. Suggest and other suitable title for the story.
Answer: I think the title ‘The Hero Of Haarlem’ is a good title because the story talks of a young hero who saved the city of Haarlem. The little boy saved the whole town from drowning in the flood and because of his heroic deed, everyone in the town praised this little hero of Haarlem.

Like a true hero, Hans took the initiative when he spotted the danger and stood in the torrential rain plugging the leak in the dyke with his finger. Had he not done that, the dyke could have crashed and the town flooded by the sea water. Hans stood there all alone until Mr. Jansen came there who then got additional help to repair the dyke. Hans completely forgot about his dinner and comfort only to save the town of Haarlem.

Another suitable title of the story could be ‘A Brave Boy of Haarlem’ or “The Brave Lttle Dutch Boy” .

Question: List two qualities of Hans that you admire. How do Hans’ actions in the story show us that he has these qualities?
Answer: The qualities of Hans that I admire are – his obedience, kindness and his bravery.
Hans was a very obedient boy. He agreed to go to Mr Jansen’s house in the rainy and windy weather. He also promised to return home before 6 o’clock.
In the story, we see that Hans is a very kind boy as he goes way out to the edge of the town just to deliver some food to Mr. Jansen who is not able to take care of himself.
Hans was also very brave. He did not ignore the hole in the dike. He stood there in the bad weather plugging his fist into the hole all alone, until help came along and it was repaired.

More question and answers.

Question: What was the occupation of the boy’s father?
Answer: The boy’s father was a sluicer.

Question: What was the sluicer duty?
Answer: The sluicer’s duty was to open and shut the sluices or large oak gates that were placed at regular distances at the entrance of the town’s canals.

Question: Why was it important to close the sluices at night.
Answer: It was important to close the sluices carefully at night else the water could flow into the canals and flood the whole town.

Question: Why did the boy want to visit the poor blind man? Where did the man live?
Answer: The boy wanted to visit the poor blind man to give him some cakes. The poor blind man lived at the other side of the dyke.

Question: What warning did the father give to the boy?
Answer: The boy’s father warned him not to stay out too late.

Question: Did the boy keep his promise given to his father?
Answer: Yes, the boy kept his promise. He did not stay long and left early to return home.

Question: What did the boy find when he went near the dike?
Answer: When the boy went near the sluice, he found a hole in the wall, through which the water was dripping.

Question: What did the boy realise on seeing the hole? What did he do about it?
Answer: The boy realised at once that the water would soon enlarge the hole. The water that was now only dripping could flood the town. He climbed on stones till he reached the hole, and put his finger into it, plugging the flow of the water.

Question: In what condition was the boy found at day-break?
Answer: After a long and terrible night, the boy was discovered at day-break by a clergyman, seated on a stone, shivering and crying.

Make sentences of your own with the following words.

1. chores – I like the simple chore of helping my mother in the garden.
2. swirl – The rain water swirled around the drain.
3. let up – Jane was doing really well and didn’t want to let up now.
4. drowned out – The vehicle’s honking drowned out the beautiful sounds of the nature.
5. pressed on – The boys pressed on, in the flooded waters despite the heavy rains

Vocabulary

Here are the meaning of some difficult words used in this chapter:

• Sluice – a sliding gate for controlling the flow of water.
• Dike – a barrier used to regulate water from a river
• Canals – thin long streams of water that are man-made
• Trickling – flowing in a small stream
• Swelled – became greater in volume
• In vain – without success or result
• Numb – without feeling
• Exclaimed – cried out suddenly

Write Synonyms and Antonym

• Leak: dribble (synonym), contain (antonym)
• hunching: bending (synonym), straighten (antonym)
• stung: hurting (synonym), uninjured (antonym)
• seeped: ooze (synonym), gush (antonym)
• chores: tasks (synonym), inactivity (antonym)