Now tell us what ’twas all about,”
Young Peterkin, he cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes;

In the above lines, the poet has used the adjectives ‘young’ and ‘little’ to describe Peterkin and Wilhelmine respectively. The poet reflects upon the zeal and enthusiasm associated with young age. The curiosity to know everything and ability to question things are peculiar qualities of kids which fade away with growing age. Moreover, their minds are not yet biased with the propaganda of war that was indoctrinated in the common people. So, they can think freely and raise questions against the validity of war, as we can see in the later part of the poem.