Tanja and Nancy hopped and ran across the lawn. They stopped at a lilac bush, recognized the cute little flowers that were smelling so good in their room.

Suddenly they heard a male voice behind them, "Do they smell good, ladies?"

They startled up and looked into the cheerful face of a tall man wearing overalls.

"They smell wonderful, sir, just like the twigs in our room," Nancy told them.

Sjaak nodded, "That's right, those twigs come from these bushes, the winter lilac."

"Did you put them in our room?" Tanja asked.

"No, Margreet and Lisa did, they take care of the guest rooms."

He pointed to his own house, "That's where I live with Lisa. And that over there is Annerieke and Simon's house. Have you talked to Annerieke yet?"

"Yes, that's the lady from the kitchen, who will bake pie for us every day!" Nancy glowered at the idea.

Sjaak burst out laughing, "Great huh? Well, she lives with Simon in that house and behind it, you can see that when you walk further, is the house of her son Huib. He lives there with Margreet. And between those two houses is a very large barn. That is the work shed of Huib. He makes furniture, like the bookcases in the guesthouse."

"Oh sir, did he also make those umbrella stands that are by the coat rack?" asked Nancy.

"Yes, he did, how do you like those?"

"So cool, just like real squirrels on those corners. I do wish he could make some for me too, he's really good at it."

"Go check out his barn sometime. Maybe he'd like to show you how he does it. But on a different note, my mother and father did not call me sir after my birth, but Sjaak. You can also just call me Sjaak."

"Really, Sjaak? Hahaha, do you have a chocolate factory?" asked Tanja, while Nancy was laughing her head off.

"A chocolate factory?" Sjaak stared at her in surprise. "No, unfortunately not, that would be great, a chocolate factory of your own. Then Annerieke would probably make chocolate cake very often!"

Tanja laughed with relief. She had actually been startled by her own question, had been a little afraid that Sjaak would think it was cheeky.

"I read a book called 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. That story is so funny! By the way, that Charlie, who in Dutch was named something like Sjaak, doesn't have a chocolate factory, he's actually very poor, but he wins a prize from that chocolate factory."

"That was a stroke of luck for that Charlie in that book then," thought Sjaak.

Nancy pulled her sister by her sleeve, "Shall we go on? I want to go by that work shed and see if Huib is working there!"

"Have fun ladies!" laughed Sjaak.

"Sjaak, you are not called sir, but we are not called ladies either! I'm Tanja, and she's called Nancy. But now we go huh, see you another time!"

"Okay, see you another time! Bye Tanya, bye Nancy!"

Sjaak watched them laughing as the girls ran towards Annerieke's house. There they stopped their pace to try and see if they could see anything inside. They peered across the garden, but couldn't really see inside.

"I don't see anything in there, do you?" said Nancy.

"No, but I'm sure that's not the point either, otherwise Annerieke won't have any privacy at all," her older sister thought.

They ran on, to the big barn. The door was open and they heard that someone was busy. They peeked inside, and because they did not want to scare Huib, they knocked on the door to let him know he had visitors.

"Just a minute!" cried Huib, as he continued with his file for a moment longer. Then he turned around and saw both girls standing there. He put on big eyes, at which his eyebrows shot way up.

"How do such nice girls suddenly come here to my work shed? Tell me, who are you? Oh wait, I think I already know, Margreet told me that two teenage girls were coming to stay at the guest house. Is that you?"

They nodded vigorously, "Yes, that's right! And Sjaak said we could find you here. You make really nice things," Nancy said, and continued enthusiastically, "I liked those squirrels on the umbrella stands so much. They are so real, just a little smaller than live squirrels."

"Yes, those turned out nice. I was very happy with them myself! And you," he asked Tanja, "did you like them too?"

Tanja nodded, "Yes, they are really nice, but I like rabbits better myself, especially when they go jumping through the field like that."

Nancy enthusiastically took a step forward, "And that's what I think is so cool with squirrels, when they float from one tree to another! Then they are soooo long!" She pronounced it with a huge outburst, as if to emphasize that they were really long then!

"I totally understand you girls! Too bad I can't make jumping and flying animals... but if you wander around the estate here regularly, and don't make too much noise, chances are you'll see some real squirrels and rabbits. Have you seen Annerieke's vegetable garden? No, that doesn't matter, you will discover it later. Those sweet rabbits loved it that Sjaak had built such a beautiful vegetable garden there. They came to watch regularly..."

"And nibble it surely?" asked Tanja.

"Exactly! That's why I made a wooden fence around it anyway, and Sjaak stapled wire netting to it on the inside, on the side where the vegetables grow, so the rabbits can't get in anymore. Sjaak also made a tile path around it. The rabbits haven't come up with the idea of digging a little tunnel under there..."

The girls laughed at his story and his mischievous face. Suddenly Nancy turned around, "What's that? That sound? Music?"

"That's Lisa," Huib told them, "she plays the violin. She can also play the cello very nicely. And sometimes Sjaak plays on his piano with her."

"Sjaak? The gardener? Can he play the piano?"

"Yes indeed, he can do that very well! Listen, he's just starting to play that."

"So beautiful..." said Nancy dreamily. She had completely forgotten about Huib's woodwork.

"Do you think we could listen a little closer?" asked Tanja.

"That's fine, but please don't disturb them while they are making music," warned Huib.

To chapter 216. Tanja and Nancy at Lisa and Sjaak's house

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