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Next to a great
forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The
boy was called Hansel and the girl Gretel. He had little to bite and to
break, and once when great dearth fell on the land, he could no longer
procure even daily bread. Now when he thought over this by night in his
bed, and tossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife:
"What is to become of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we
no longer have anything even for ourselves?" "I'11 tell you what, husband,"
answered the woman, "early to-morrow morning we will take the children
out into the forest to where it is the thickest; there we will light a
fire for them, and give each of them one more piece of bread, and 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." "No, wife," said the man, "I
will not do that; how can I bear to leave my children alone in the forest--the
wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces." "0, you fool!" said
she, "then we must all four die of hunger, you may as well plane the planks
for our coffins," and she left him no peace until he consented. "But I
feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same," said the man.
The two children
had also not been able to sleep for hunger, and had heard what their step-mother
had said to their father. Gretel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel:
"Now all is over with us." "Be quiet, Gretel," said Hansel, "do not distress
yourself, I will soon find a way to help us." And when the old folks had
fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the door below,
and crept outside. The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles which
lay 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, dear little sister,
and sleep in peace, God will not forsake us," and he lay down again in
his bed. When day dawned, but before the sun had risen, the woman came
and awoke the two children, saying: "Get up, you sluggards! We are going
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 up before
then, for you will get nothing else." Gretel took the bread under her apron,
as Hansel had the pebbles in his pocket. Then they all set out together
on the way to the forest. When they had walked a short time, Hansel stood
still and peeped back at the house, and did so again and again. His father
said: "Hansel, what are you looking at there and staying behind for? Pay
attention, and do not forget how to
use your legs." "Ah, father," said
Hansel, "I am looking at my little white cat, which is sitting up on the
roof, and wants to say good-bye to me." The wife said: "Fool, that is not
your little cat, that is the morning sun which is shining on the chimneys."
Hansel, however, had not been looking back at the cat, but had been constantly
throwing one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocket on the road.
When they had
reached the middle of the forest, the father said: "Now, children, pile
up some wood, and I will light a fire that you may not be cold." Hansel
and Gretel gathered brushwood together, as high as a little hill. The brushwood
was lighted, and when the flames were burning 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 have done, 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,
and 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 which he had
fastened to a withered tree which the wind was blowing backwards and forwards.
And as they had been sitting such 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 are we to get out of the forest
now?" But Hansel comforted her and said: "Just wait a little, until the
moon has risen, and then we will soon find the way." And when the full
moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and followed
the pebbles which shone like newly-coined 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 have you
slept so long in the forest--we thought you were never coming back at all!"
The father, however, rejoiced, for it had cut him to the heart to leave
them behind alone.
Not long afterwards,
there was once more great dearth throughout the land, and the children
heard their mother saying at night to their father: "Everything is eaten
again, 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 of saving ourselves!" The
man's heart was heavy, and he thought: "It would be better for you to share
the last mouthful with your children." The woman, however, would listen
to nothing that he had to say, but scolded and reproached him. He who says
A must say B, likewise, and as he had yielded the first time, he had to
do so a second time also.
The children,
however, were still awake and had heard the conversation. When the old
folks were asleep, Hansel again got up, and wanted to go out and pick up
pebbles as he had done before, but the woman had locked the door, 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. Their piece of
bread was given to them, 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 am looking back at my little
pigeon which is sitting on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me,"
answered Hansel. "Fool!" said the woman, "that is not Your little pigeon,
that is the morning sun that is shining 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, where they had never in their
lives been before. Then a great fire was again made, and the mother said:
"Just sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a little;
we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening when we are
done, we will come and fetch you away." When it was noon, Gretel shared
her piece of bread with Hansel, who had 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, and Hansel comforted his little
sister and said: "Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises, and then we
shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn about, 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 had 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, and 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 would carry them no longer, they
lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep.
It was now three
mornings since they had left their father's house. They began to walk again,
but they always came deeper into the forest, and if help did not come soon,
they must die of hunger and weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a
beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough, which 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, and they followed it until
they reached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted; and 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 that," said Hansel, "and have a good meal. I will eat a
bit of the roof, and you Gretel, can eat some of the window, it will taste
sweet." Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to
try how it tasted, and Gretel leant against the window and nibbled at the
panes. Then a soft voice cried from the parlor:
"Nibble, nibble, gnaw,
Who is nibbling at my little house?"
The children answered:
"The wind, the wind,
The heaven-born wind,"
and went on eating without disturbing themselves. Hansel,
who liked the taste of the roof, tore down a great piece of it, and Gretel
pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself
with it. Suddenly the door opened, and a woman as old as the hills, who
supported herself on crutches, came creeping out. Hansel and Gretel were
so terribly frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands.
The old woman, however, nodded her head, and said: "Oh, you dear children,
who has brought you here Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen
to you." She took them both by the hand, and led them into her little house.
Then good food was set before them, milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples,
and nuts. Afterwards two pretty little beds were covered with clean white
linen, and Hansel and Gretel lay down in them, and thought they were in
heaven.
The old woman
had only pretended to be so kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who
lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread
in order to entice them there. When a child fell into her power, she killed
it, cooked and ate it, and that was a feast day with her. Witches have
red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts,
and are aware when human beings draw near. When Hansel and Gretel came
into her neighborhood, she laughed with malice, and said mockingly: "I
have them, they shall not escape me again!" Early in the morning before
the children were awake, she was already up, and when she saw both of them
sleeping and looking so pretty, with their plump and rosy cheeks, she muttered
to herself: "That will be a dainty mouthfull" Then she seized Hansel with
her shriveled hand, carried him into a little stable, and locked him in
behind a grated door. Scream as he might, it would not help him. Then she
went to Gretel, shook her till she awoke, and cried: "Get up, lazy thing,
fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother, he is in the
stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him."
Gretel began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, for she was forced
to do what the wicked witch commanded.
And now the best
food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Gretel got nothing but crab-shells.
Every morning the woman crept to the little stable, and cried: "Hansel,
stretch out your finger that I may feel if you will soon be fat." Hansel,
however, stretched out a little bone to her, and the old woman, who had
dim eyes, could not see it, and thought it was Hansel's finger, and was
astonished that there was no way of fattening him. When four weeks had
gone by, and Hansel still remained thin, she was seized with impatience
and would not wait any longer. "Now, then, Gretel," she cried to the girl,
"stir yourself, and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat or lean, to-morrow
I will kill him, and cook him." Ah, how the poor little sister did lament
when she had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow down her cheeks!
"Dear God, do help us," she cried. "If the wild beasts in the forest had
but devoured us, we should at any rate have died together." "Just keep
your noise to yourself," said the old woman, "it won't help you at all."
Early in the morning,
Gretel had to go out and hang up the cauldron with the water, and light
the fire. "We will bake first," said the old woman, "I have already heated
the oven, and kneaded the dough." She pushed poor Gretel out to the oven,
from which flames of fire were already darting. "Creep in," said the witch,
"and see if it is properly heated, so that we can put the bread in." And
once Gretel was inside, she intended to shut the oven and let her bake
in it, and then she would eat her, too. But Gretel saw what she had in
mind, and said: "I do not know how I am to do it; how do I get in?" "Silly
goose," said the old woman. "The door is big enough; just look, I can get
in myself!" and she crept up and thrust her head into the oven. Then Gretel
gave her a push that drove her far into it, and shut the iron door, and
fastened the bolt. Oh then she began to howl quite horribly, but Gretel
ran away, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death.
Gretel, however,
ran like lightning to Hansel, opened his little stable, and cried: "Hansel,
we are saved! The old witch is dead!" Then Hansel sprang like a bird from
its cage when the door is opened. How they did rejoice and embrace each
other, and dance about and kiss each other! And as they had no longer any
need to fear her, they went into the witch's house, and in every corner
there stood chests full of pearls and jewels. "These are far better than
pebbles!" said Hansel, and thrust into his pockets whatever could be got
in, and Gretel said: "I, too, will take something home with me," and filled
her pinafore full. "But now we must be off," said Hansel, "that we may
get out of the witch's forest."
When they had
walked for two hours, they came to a great stretch of water. "We cannot
cross," said Hansel, "I see no foot-plank, and no bridge." "And there is
also no ferry," answered Gretel, "but a white duck is swimming there; if
I ask her, she will help us over." Then she cried:
"Little duck, little duck, dost
thou see, Hansel and Gretel are waiting for
thee? There's never a plank, or bridge in
sight, Take us across on thy back so white.
The duck came
to them, and Hansel seated himself on its back, and told his sister to
sit by him. "No," replied Gretel, "that will be too heavy for the little
duck; she shall take us across, one after the other." The good little duck
did so, and when they were once safely across and had walked for a short
time, the forest seemed to be more and more familiar to them, and at length
they saw from afar their father's house. Then they began to run, rushed
into the parlor, and threw themselves round their father's neck. The man
had not known one happy hour since he had left the children in the forest;
the woman, however, was dead. Gretel emptied her pinafore until pearls
and precious stones ran about the room, and Hansel threw one handful after
another out of his pocket to add to them. Then all anxiety was at an end,
and they lived together in perfect happiness.
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