Skip to content

Little Dutch Boy Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Treasure Pirate: archived. Can't get back there to repair.

More
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

Little Dutch Boy

Cache is small container with logbook, pencil and room for small items, located between the Sparklets property and the open field near Alton and Muirlands.


This block wall represents the concrete dam, holding back all the bottled Sparkletts water on the other side. There’s a noticeable crack in the Dam, but unlike the little Dutch boy who stuck his finger in the dyke to stop the leak, I felt it more appropriate to fill this crack with a cache container.
Cache is easily accessible if you park near the Sparkletts parking lot side of the field, on Sterling, since there’s no parking on Alton Parkway.

Congratulations to cache_in_pocket for being FTF, and checking on the status of the cache plug. The Sparkletts leak has slowed to a trickle.

There are no clues in the information below on the legend of the Little Dutch Boy:

Dutch legend has it that there was once a small boy who upon passing a dyke on his way to school noticed a slight leak as the sea trickled in through a small hole. Knowing that he would be in trouble if he were to be late for school, the boy pocked his finger into the hole and so stemmed the flow of water. Some time later a passerby saw him and went to get help. This came in the form of other men who were able to effect repairs on the dyke and seal up the leak.

This story is told to children to teach them that if they act quickly and in time, even they with their limited strength and resources can avert disasters. The fact that the Little Dutch Boy used his finger to stop the flow of water, is used as an illustration of self-sacrifice. The physical lesson is also taught: a small trickle of water soon becomes a stream and the stream a torrent and the torrent a flood sweeping all before it, Dyke material, roadways and cars, and even railway tracks and bridges and whole trains.

This tale originates from the American writer Mary Mapes Dodge and is in fact not a real myth, although many people believe it is. She published this tale in 'Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates' in 1865. The Little Dutch Boy is a very popular myth in the United States (and other countries), but is not well known in the Netherlands and has probably been imported there by American tourists.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ubyl Oybpx

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)