Hans was a cheesemaker and he lived with his wife kaatje. They had a small farm near the crossroads by the Old Inn outside the Dutch town of Haarlem. Every week Hans would go to market in Amsterdam with his great big round cheeses, and he would come back with some coins jingling in his pocket, and a few bulbs for his wife to plant in her little garden. Kaatje was a dreamer but Hans loved her very much.