Set against a backdrop of frozen canals in a winter wonderland, the year's most exciting event in a little Dutch village is about to take place. But will Hans Brinker and his sister Gretel, with their hand-carved wooden skates, be able to compete against their well-trained young friends who own fine steel blades? The desperately poor heartwarming need a miracle in this heart-warming story that has captivated readers since it was first published in 1865.