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“I’ll tell you what to do, husband”, answered the woman, “early tomorrow morning we will take the children out into the forest. There we will light a fire for them, and give each of them a piece of bread. Then we will go to our work and leave them alone. They will not find the way home again, and we shall be rid of them[1]”.

      “No, wife,’ said the man, ‘I will not do that! How can I leave my children alone in the forest? The wild animals will soon come and tear them to pieces”.

      “O, you fool!” said she, “then we must all four die of hunger[2]. You may plane the planks[3] for our coffins!”

      She left him no choice and he consented.

      “But I feel very sorry for the poor children”, said the man.

      The two children did not sleep, and heard what their stepmother said to their father. Gretel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel:

      “Now we will die”.

      “Be quiet, Gretel”, said Hansel, “do not distress yourself, I will soon find a way to help us”.

      And when the old wood-cutter and his wife fell asleep, Hansel got up, put on his little coat, opened the door below, and crept outside. The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles in front of the house glittered like real silver pennies. Hansel stooped and stuffed the little pocket of his coat with as many as he could get in. Then he went back and said to Gretel:

      “Be comforted[4], dear little sister, and sleep in peace. God will not forsake us”.

      Then he lay down again in his bed. When day dawned, the woman came and awoke the two children. She said:

      “Get up, you sluggards! We will go into the forest to fetch wood”.

      She gave each a little piece of bread, and said:

      “There is something for your dinner, but do not eat it fast. You will get nothing else”.

      Gretel took the bread under her apron, as Hansel had the pebbles in his pocket. Then they all went together to the forest.

      Soon Hansel stood still and peeped back at the house, and did so again and again. His father said: “Hansel, what do you do? Go! Do not forget how to use your legs”.

      “Ah, father”, said Hansel, “I look at my little white cat, which is on the roof. The cat wants to say goodbye to me”.

      The wife said:

      “Fool, that is not your little cat, that is the morning sun on the chimneys”.

      Hansel, however, did not look back at the cat, but threw one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocket on the road.

      When they reached the middle of the forest, the father said:

      “Now, children, pile up some wood, and I will light a fire”.

      Hansel and Gretel gathered brushwood together, as high as a little hill. The brushwood was lighted, and when the flames burnt very high, the woman said:

      “Now, children, lay yourselves down by the fire and rest, we will go into the forest and cut some wood. When we do it, we will come back and fetch you away”.

      Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and when noon came, each ate a little piece of bread. As they heard the strokes of the wood-axe, they believed that their father was near. It was not the axe, however, but a branch.

      And as they sat a long time, their eyes closed with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep. When at last they awoke, it was already dark night. Gretel began to cry and said:

      “How will we get out of the forest?”

      But Hansel comforted her and said:

      “Just wait a little, until the moon rises. Then we will soon find the way”.

      And when the full moon rose, Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and followed the pebbles which shone like silver pieces, and showed them the way.

      They walked the whole night long, and by break of day came once more to their father’s house. They knocked at the door, and when the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Gretel, she said:

      “You naughty children, why do you sleep so long in the forest? We thought you stayed there for ever!”

      The father, however, rejoiced, for he was very sorry for his children.

      Not long afterwards, there was once more great dearth throughout the land. The children’s stepmother said at night to their father:

      “We have nothing to eat. We have one half loaf left, and that is the end. The children must go, we will take them farther into the wood, so that they will not find their way out again. There is no other means!”

      The man’s heart was heavy, and he thought:

      “It will be better for you to share the last mouthful with your children”.

      The woman, however, did not listen to him, but scolded and reproached him. But he who says A must say B.

      The children, however, were still awake and heard the conversation. When the old wood-cutter and his wife were asleep, Hansel again got up, and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles. But the door was locked, and Hansel could not get out. Nevertheless he comforted his little sister, and said:

      “Do not cry, Gretel, go to sleep quietly, the good God will help us”.

      Early in the morning came the woman, and took the children out of their beds. She gave them their piece of bread, but it was still smaller than the time before. On the way into the forest Hansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often stood still and threw a morsel on the ground.

      “Hansel, why do you stop and look round?” said the father, “go on!”

      “I want to look back at my little pigeon which is on the roof, and wants to say goodbye to me”.

      “Fool!” said the woman, ‘that is not your little pigeon, that is the morning sun on the chimney”. Hansel, however little by little, threw all the crumbs on the path.

      The woman led the children still deeper into the forest. Then they made a great fire again, and the stepmother said:

      “Just sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a little. We will go into the forest to cut wood. We will come in the evening and fetch you away”.

      When it was noon, Gretel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, who scattered his by the way. Then they fell asleep and evening passed, but no one came to the poor children. They did not awake until it was dark night. Hansel comforted his little sister and said:

      “Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises, and then we shall see the crumbs of bread. They will show us our way home again”.

      When the moon came they set out, but they found no crumbs, for the many thousands of birds which fly about in the woods and fields picked them all up. Hansel said to Gretel:

      ‘We shall soon find the way,’ but they did not find it.

      They walked the whole night and all the next day too from morning till evening, but they did not get out of the forest. They were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but two or three berries, which grew on the ground. And as they were so weary that their legs carried them no longer, they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep.

      They spent three mornings in the wood. They began to walk again, but they always came deeper into the forest. If help doesn’t come soon, they will die of hunger and weariness!

      When it was midday, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird on a bough. The bird sang so delightfully that they stood still and listened to it. And when its song was over, it spread its wings and flew away before them. The children followed it until they reached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted. When they approached the little house they saw that it was built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear sugar.

      “We will set to work on thatСкачать книгу