In spite of several attempts in recent times to explain the origins of Murillo's paintings representing children of humble birth playing in the streets, none of the suggestions has ever met unanimous approval, and the question is still open for discussion. Here is put forward the proposal, that the Spanish painter was well informed about contemporary Dutch-Flemish compositions containing a hidden message (the so-called "double entendre" images), and that he created his children scenes under the influence of works by Bernardo Keilhau, the Danish painter who established in 1651 in Italy, where he got known under the name of "Monsù Bernardo".