Chapter I: Preface

When I began to write these stories about children of all lands I had just returned from Europe whither I journeyed with Marie and Ref. Maybe you don't know Marie and Ref. I'll introduce them: Please meet Marie, my very little daughter, and Ref, my very big reflex camera.

These two are my helpers. Marie helps by being a little girl who knows what other little girls like and by telling me; and Ref helps by snapping pictures of everything interesting that Marie and I see on our travels. I couldn't get along without them.

Several years have gone by since we started our work together and Marie is a bigger girl--but Ref hasn't changed one bit. Ref hasn't changed any more than my interest in writing these books for you. And I hope that _you_ hope that I'll never change, because I want to keep on writing until we'll have no more countries to write about--unless, of course, some one discovers a new country.

Even if a new country isn't discovered, we'll find foreign children to talk about--maybe the children in Mars! Who knows? Nobody. Not even Marie--and Marie usually knows about most things. That's the reason why, you see, though I sign myself

[Handwritten: Madeline Brandeis]

I am really only

Marie's Mother.

DEDICATION

To every child of every land,
Little sister, little brother,
As in this book your lives unfold,
May you learn to love each other.

CONTENTS

Chapter I Page The Craig Family 11

Chapter II Sandy's First Visit 28

Chapter III Pipers 44

Chapter IV Sandy Returns 53

Chapter V Through Scotland With Sandy 71

Chapter VI Ian's Betty 91

Chapter VII Alan Craig Tells a Story 102

Chapter VIII Pipers and Troubles 113

Chapter IX Ian Tries Again 129

Chapter X Spring 138

Chapter XI The Wee Scotch Piper 153

The Wee Scotch Piper