Kootwijkerzand - Kootwijk

A mini-Sahara is what they call the Kootwijkerzand. The sand drifts daily, so the landscape is constantly changing. The schoolmaster of Kootwijk also noticed this. In the 19th century, the minister left Kootwijk for Nijkerk. The schoolmaster was did not like this and decided to visit his old preacher over time. It was a four-hour walk, but if he left early he could talk to the pastor for another three hours and then, after another four hours, he would be home just before dark.

Half an hour after his departure, however, a fog came up and the schoolmaster got lost. When he had not passed the Stroe railway after an hour, he listened carefully, but he did not hear a train running. Besides, there was no sound in the silence: no dog barked, no horse neighed, while there were still a lot of farms between Kootwijk and Nijkerk. He realized that he had ended up in the Kootwijkerzand, an area that is different every day due to the sprays. So that didn't give him any landmarks either. But after a few hours of walking, he heard a rooster. With renewed powers he walked in the direction of the sound and saw trees. But he knew those trees! There was his own house and he was called by his own rooster! The schoolmaster, who had actually planned to slaughter the old beast soon, decided that the rooster could live. And he also decided to get used to the new preacher ...