"We must go first to Vrouw de Vet," Grandfather called out. "She takes one quart of milk. Go slowly."
At first Kit went slowly. But pretty soon there was a great rattling behind him; and Hans Hite, a boy he knew, drove right past him with his dog cart! He drove fast; and, as he passed Kit, he stuck out his tongue and called out,
"Milk for sale! Milk for sale!
A milk cart drawn by a pair of snails!"
Kit forgot all about going slowly.
"Get up!" he said to the dogs, and he touched them with his long stick.
Peter and Paul "got up." They jumped forward and began to run!
Kit ran as fast as his legs would go beside the dogs, holding the lines. But the dogs had four legs apiece, and Kit had only two; so you see he couldn't keep up very well.
Kat began to scream the moment that Peter and Paul began to run. The dogs thought that something that made a dreadful noise was after them, and they ran faster than ever. You see, Grandfather Winkle never in the world screamed like that, and Peter and Paul didn't know what to make of it. So they ran and ran and ran.
Kat held on the best she could, but she bounced up ever so far in the air every time the cart struck a bump in the street. So did the milk cans; and when they came down again, the milk splashed out.
Kat didn't always come down in the same spot. All the spots were hard, so it didn't really matter much which one she struck as she came down.