▁came ▁close ▁enough ▁to ▁the ▁di ke ▁for ▁a ▁by stand er ▁to ▁pick ▁up ▁the ▁cr ad le , ▁he ▁saw ▁that ▁a ▁baby ▁was ▁quietly ▁sleep ing ▁inside ▁it , ▁nice ▁and ▁dry . ▁The ▁cat ▁had ▁kept ▁the ▁cr ad le ▁bal anced ▁and ▁af loat . ▁This ▁fol kt ale ▁and ▁legend ▁has ▁been ▁published ▁as ▁" The ▁Cat ▁and ▁the ▁C rad le " ▁in ▁English . ▁ ▁History ▁ ▁Early ▁years ▁▁ ▁In ▁the ▁Alb lass er wa ard , ▁problems ▁with ▁water ▁became ▁more ▁and ▁more ▁apparent ▁in ▁the ▁ 1 3 th ▁century . ▁Lar ge ▁can als , ▁called ▁w eter ingen ▁in ▁Dutch , ▁were ▁d ug ▁to ▁get ▁rid ▁of ▁the ▁excess ▁water ▁in ▁the ▁p old ers . ▁However , ▁the ▁dra ined ▁soil ▁continued ▁to ▁sub side , ▁while ▁the ▁level ▁of ▁the ▁river ▁rose ▁due ▁to ▁the ▁river ' s ▁sand ▁depos its . ▁After ▁a ▁few ▁centuries , ▁an ▁additional ▁way ▁to ▁keep ▁the ▁p old ers ▁dry ▁was ▁required . ▁ ▁Const ruction ▁▁ ▁It ▁was ▁decided ▁to ▁build ▁a ▁series ▁of ▁wind m ills , ▁with ▁a ▁limited ▁capacity ▁to ▁bridge ▁water ▁level ▁differences , ▁but ▁just ▁able ▁to ▁p ump ▁water ▁into ▁a ▁res er voir ▁at ▁an ▁intermediate ▁level ▁between ▁the ▁soil ▁in ▁the ▁pol der ▁and ▁the ▁river . ▁ ▁The ▁res er voir ▁could ▁be ▁p ump ed ▁out ▁into ▁the ▁river ▁by ▁other ▁wind m ills ▁whenever ▁the ▁river ▁level ▁was