Description of Figure/Doll

This Dutch milkmaid is made from Delft Blue pottery, which is made in Delft, a city about an hour from Amsterdam. She is wearing a Dutch cap and apron with a windmill painted on it. The yoke on her shoulders holds two milk buckets on strings. She is designed to depict the culture of the Netherlands.

Link to higher resolution images at ClipPix

Netherlands

Location: Europe

Capital: Amsterdam

Main language: Dutch, Frisian

Currency: Euro

Figure/Doll

Construction: Delftware china

Height in Centimeters: 13

Height in Inches: 5

A Dutch Milkmaid: Where Are You Going My Pretty Maid

Reading Level: 4.80

“Gretta, it’s time to milk the cows,” called my father. I couldn’t believe it was morning already. It seemed like I had just gone to bed! But I knew that the cows had to be milked twice a day, and I knew it was my job to carry the milk. I rolled out of bed and dressed quickly before I headed to the barn.

We live on a small farm in the Netherlands (a country between Belgium and Germany). The town is called Delft, and it is famous for blue and white pottery (Delftware). Some Delftware is hundreds of years old and very expensive. Other pieces are sold as souvenirs to tourists who visit the Netherlands.

We don’t see many tourists on the farm, but sometimes I ride my bicycle into Delft to sell cheese at the market. Milk and dairy products have always been very important to the Netherlands (along with tulips and other flowers). In fact, there are many nursery songs and rhymes about milkmaids. Have you ever heard this nursery rhyme? It’s over 100 years old!

WHERE ARE YOU GOING MY PRETTY MAID?

‘O where are you going, my pretty maid,

With your red rosy cheeks and your coal black hair?’

‘I’m going a-milking, sir,’ she said;

‘And it’s dabbling in the dew makes the milkmaids fair.’

‘May I go with you, my pretty maid,

With your red rosy cheeks and your coal black hair?’

‘O you may go with me, sir,’ she said;

‘And it’s dabbling in the dew makes the milkmaids fair.’

‘I, may I marry you, my pretty maid,

With your red rosy cheeks and your coal black hair?’

‘Wait till you’re wanted, sir,’ she said;

‘And it’s dabbling in the dew makes the milkmaids fair.’


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