This small tale within Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates has generated numerous versions and adaptations in media. American poet Phoebe Cary—at whose New York City literary gatherings Dodge was a regular guestCary, Alice; and Cary, Phoebe; compiled by Mary Clemmer Ames. A Memorial of Alice and Phoebe Cary With Some of Their Later Poems. New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1873; p. 69.—wrote a lengthy poem about it called "The Leak in the Dike", published posthumously in 1873,Cary, Alice; Cary, Phoebe; and Clemmer, Mary. The Last Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary. Riverside Press, 1873; pp. 223–229. which has been widely anthologized in books of poetry for schoolchildren. Cary also gave the boy a name: Peter.
