"Build a tower!" said Klaasje, with a gurgle of laughter suddenly beholding a beautiful vision.
She sprang up quickly. On a table in a corner of the room she found a box of dominoes. She brought the box, beaming with delight, but the smooth lid slid out of the box and the dominoes rattled on the floor. Klaasje stamped her foot, but the beautiful vision still shone before her and hurriedly and passionately she scrabbled them into her little pinafore. Then she brought them to Granny, like a harvest, like so much booty, and rattled them down at her feet. With a great effort she again pushed one of the heavy books on to Granny's lap; and the old woman helped her, pulling while Klaasje pushed.
"Build tower!" cried the child.
Granny held the book, held it straight, while Klaasje placed two, three, four pieces on their narrow edges. Upon these she went on building the rickety black-and-white tower.
"A door and two windows," the child explained, lost in her game.
But the tower fell in with a crash.
"Granny mustn't move!" she whimpered.
Balancing the heavy book on Granny's knees, she went on building, hurriedly, so as to get very high.
"Granny mustn't move again.... Tower ... with a wall round it.... Higher ... the tower ... one more stone on the wall ... one more stone on the wall...."
But the wall and the tower came down with a crash.