“O, what shall I do?” said Peter. He ran to see if there was any one coming. But he could see no one. So he ran back to the hole in the dike and put his little hand over the hole. His hand stopped the water from coming in.
Poor Peter called and called, but no one heard. He became very stiff and lame, but he did not take his hand from the hole in the dike.
At last the sun went down, and it began to grow dark. Peter’s father and mother came to look for him. They found him cold and frightened with his little hand over the leak in the dike.
Men came with their tools and mended the dike.
“Brave, brave Peter,” they said. “You have saved your country from a great flood.”
All the people thought Peter was very brave indeed. They came to see him and brought him gifts. Even the king thanked Peter and sent him a bag of gold.
“I think Peter was very brave and very unselfish,” said Jan. “He did not think of himself, though he was cold and stiff and frightened. He thought of all the people who would lose their homes and lives, and so, though he was only a little boy, he was brave and strong enough to save his country from the sea.”