“Loads of things,” explained Connie. “We make things and learn about nature. To be a Brownie you can’t be older than nine years. You’re supposed to be in second, third or fourth grade at school.”
“I am all mixed up at school,” Hanny said. “In arithmetic I am fourth grade, but in English I am only second grade. I do not know so many of your words.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Vevi declared. “Attending meetings is what counts. You have to learn the Brownie Promise too.”
“What is that?”
Vevi recited it for her. “I promise to do my best to love God and my country, to help other people every day, especially those at home.”
“I could promise all that,” Hanny said soberly. “I love America very, very much. I want to help people too, especially my uncle, Peter. If it had not been for him, I never could have left The Netherlands.”
The little Dutch girl then went on to tell Vevi and Connie that until recently she had lived in a little village near the city of Amsterdam. Both of her parents were dead.
“I have no one in all the world except Peter,” she said. “He is very good to me.”
Vevi felt so sorry for Hanny that she unpinned her Brownie Scout pin and fastened it to the other’s blouse.
“Now you can pretend you’re a Brownie,” she declared. “When you get a pin of your own, you can return mine.”