De scheepsjongens van Bontekoe (2007)

The story takes place in the 17th century. Peter Hajo, called Hajo for short, and Padde, who is intellectually disabled, are friends. Hajo fights with Rolf over an opening in the ice for fishing, but they become friends after Padde falls into it and Rolf saves him. To serve as a cabin boy aboard the VOC ship Nieuw-Hoorn under skipper Bontekoe, you have to be at least 16. Since Rolf, who is 15, is allowed to go anyway, Hajo, who is nearly 15, is allowed to go too. At first Hajo’s mother is strongly opposed, because she fears he will not survive, like his father Klaas, who appears in one of Peter’s dreams. But Hajo wants to go so badly that she eventually agrees. Hajo takes a jug with him and promises to bring it back filled with coins. His little sister wants him to bring her an elephant. Hajo promises he will. Padde cannot bear to say goodbye to Hajo, so he jumps aboard the ship too. He can get off at Texel and return on another ship. However, he takes a nap at Texel and only wakes up when the ship is already sailing away. Bontekoe therefore puts him to work as an assistant to the purser until he can transfer to a ship heading back. After there has been no opportunity to do so for a long time, Padde decides he no longer wants to return and would rather stay with Hajo and Rolf. The three boys have formed a close friendship, which comes in handy because the older sailors sometimes bully them. Padde in particular, with his large size and naivety, is a favorite target, but Rolf, who can read, is also sometimes taunted by the illiterate sailors. Hajo stands up for himself when necessary. After Hajo climbs the mast during a storm to take down the sail, Bontekoe rewards him by having Rolf teach him to read and write. A fire breaks out because of Padde’s clumsiness: he spills a lot of brandy, and a burning oil lamp falls over. The liquid catches fire, and the ship, which also contains gunpowder, eventually explodes. The three boys, the corrupt merchant, Pieterszoon, Harmen, and the cross-eyed sailor survive and sail to Sumatra in a small boat. The cross-eyed sailor dies along the way, and the other six reach the local people, with whom they trade mirrors and jewelry for food. Hajo also obtains a small elephant figurine for his sister. The merchant and Pieterszoon try to steal from the local people, and a fight breaks out. Pieterszoon and Harmen are killed. Padde, Hajo, and Rolf continue on with Dolimah, an Indigenous girl. Padde has to be carried for a while because he cannot walk after being bitten by a snake. This goes on longer than necessary: Padde continues to let them carry him even after he can walk again. All three boys find Dolimah attractive, which leads to arguments between them. The girl notices and secretly leaves without saying goodbye. When Hajo climbs a mountain to find a way out, the merchant appears. He demands Hajo’s compass. Hajo refuses, and a fight follows. The merchant loses his balance after making a wrong move. Hajo just manages to grab him, but his grip slips. The merchant falls from the mountain and dies. The boys arrive at a VOC settlement on Java. Bontekoe is there too; it turns out he also survived the shipwreck. They intend to put Padde to death because the ship was wrecked through his fault. Hajo and Rolf try to save him by each claiming to be Padde. All three are released thanks to Bontekoe’s false testimony: he says that none of the three is Padde. Bontekoe pays them, and they board a ship for the return voyage to Hoorn. As promised, Hajo returns with the jug full of coins—his wages. His little sister thinks the elephant is rather small. On the next voyage, Hajo goes along again, this time as a helmsman.