Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel lived with the father and stepmother
in a little cottage near a forest.
The father was a poor woodcutter.
Once when food was scarce, he said his wife.
What will become of us?
We have so little to eat. I am afraid the children will starve.
Now the stepmother was really a witch she did not love the children
and she wanted to get rid of them.
After the children went to bed, she said to their father,
Tomorrow morning we will take Hansel and Gretel into the forest
and leave them there.
They will not be able to find their way home again,
and we will not have to worry about
them any more.
Oh, no! cried the father.
I cannot do that to my poor children.
But the wicked stepmother forced him to agree to the plan.
In the next room, the children were still awake.
They heard what their stepmother was
planning to do. We are lost, cried Gretel, weeping bitterly.
But Hansel comforted her.
Don t cry, Gretel, he said, I shall take care of you. I will think of something
Later that night when the house was dark,
Hansel put on his jacket and slipped out the
back door. In the bright moonlight the pebbles
in front of the house glistened like bits
of silver. Hansel stuffed his pockets full of the pebbles
and then went back to bed.
Before the sun rose the next morning,
the stepmother awakened the children,
Getup! she said. We are all going to the forest to cut wood.
Before they left the house,
she gave each of the children a piece of bread.
Save it for your supper, she told them, you will not get any more to eat.
When they started out for the forest Hansel lagged behind the rest.
At every few steps,
he dropped a pebble on the ground behind him. Hansel,
cried the father, looking around,
Why are you so slow?
Oh, I was just turning around to look at my little
white kitten sitting up on the roof,
said Hansel. She is saying good-bye to me.
Come along, cried the stepmother irritably.
That's not a kitten. It's the sunshine
gleaming on the roof.
At last they were deep in the forest.
The father told Hansel and Gretel to gather wood
to make a fire. When the father had made a
good fire, he told the children to sit near
it and keep warm.
We are going to chop wood, said the stepmother.
We will come back later and
get you.
The children sat by the fire,
and to pass the time they sang their favorite song:
Susie, dear susie, come tell me the news,
The geese are all barefoot, they must have
some shoes. The cobbler has leather enough and to spare,
Lets ask him to make our poor goosie a pair.
Then they ate their bread and fell fast asleep.
It was dark when the children woke up.
Gretel was frightened and began to cry.
Don't worry, said Hansel.
When the moon comes up, we will find our way home
by following the pebbles I dropped. And that is just what they did.
When they got home their father was overjoyed to see them.
There is some food in the house again, he said.
And then he gave them a good breakfast.
But the stepmother still wanted to get rid
of the children. She waited until they had
no food left. Then she made her husband agree to take
the children deeper into the forest.
Here is your supper. she said.
And again she gave each of them a crust of bread.
This time Hansel had not been able to gather any pebbles.
So he made crumbs out of his
crust of bread and dropped them along the path.
We will find our way back by following the crumbs.
But alas! When morning came, they could not find any bread crumbs.
The birds had eaten
them.
The children started to walk through the forest.
They walked all day. At last they stopped
to rest beneath a tree. They saw a lovely white bird sitting on a branch,
When the bird flew away, they followed him.
Suddenly Hansel and Gretel came upon a little cottage.
It was made of gingerbread and the
It was made of gingerbread and the
windows were of transparent sugar. There were
windows were of transparent sugar. There were
cookies and cakes and candy all over the outside
of the house and the roof was covered with vanilla icing.
They ran towards it eagerly.
Hansel broke off a chocolate cookies and Gretel
tasted some of the window.
What a fine meal we will have, they
said happily just then a shrill voice called
out from the cottage. Nibble, nibble,
like a mouse Who is nibbling at my house?
The children answered: It's only the wind -
The wind.
Just then the door opened and out came a bent old woman,
leaning on a cane.
Don't be frightened, said the old woman sweetly to the children.
Come inside, and
have a proper meal. I know you must be hungry and tired.
She took the children into the house and gave them each a dish
heaped with pancake and a big glass of milk.
I live here all alone. said the old woman, and
I am happy to have company.
After the children had eaten, she put them to bed.
They soon fell fast asleep in the
two clean beds.
Now this old woman, who seemed to kind was really a wicked witch.
She enticed children
to her gingerbread house and then she kept them prisoners
until she ate them. After Hansel
and Gretel were asleep, the witch sat before her
pot and sang to herself.
My, what a splendid feast I ve got, I ll boil these children in my pot!
First I will fatten up the boy And then the little girl enjoy!
From time to time she would look at the two
rosy-cheeked children, peacefully asleep.
The next day, the witch took Hansel by the hand
and led him to little cage in her stable.
Before he knew what was happening,
she had pushed him in and locked the cage door.
Then the witch said to Gretel, Now you will do my housework.
But first fetch some
water and cook some food to fatten up your brother.
When he is fat enough, I shall eat
him.***
Gretel cried bitterly, but she had to do so she was told.
Every day she gave Hansel the
best food. But she herself got only the leavings and crusts.
Every day the witch went up to the cage to see if Hansel was fat enough.
Stretch out your finger, She would tell Hansel,
So that I can see if you are fat
enough.***
But the witch had very bad eyesight. So instead
of holding out his finger, Hansel held out
a lean chicken bone. He never seemed to be any fatter.
After a few weeks passed, the witch became angry.
Enough! She cried. Gretel, draw the water and boil the pot.
Be he fat or be he
lean, tomorrow I shall feast on him.
Gretel cried and begged, but the old witch had no mercy.
The Next day, the witch said to Gretel,
While the pot is boiling , we will do the baking:
I have heated the oven, Pushing
Gretel to the oven,She said, Climb in and see if it is hot
enough now to bake the bread.
But Gretel knew what the witch had in mind. So she said,
I don't know how to climb in, will you show me how?
Silly Goose! cried the witch. The opening is big enough.
Why I could climb in
myself
And the witch climbed into the oven.
At that moment Gretel slammed the door Shut! Now Gretel
jumped with joy, and sang out:
Now youre in the oven And I'm out here.
I'll let out my brother. And then we'll both cheer.
Gretel rushed to the cage and opened the door to let Hansel out.
They hugged each other
for joy. Then the two children went through
the witch's house and found chests of gold
and jewels. While they were filling their pockets
their father rushed into the cottage.
My children! he cried, I have been searching
all over for you. I have come to
take you home again.
And then he told the children that their stepmother
had gone away forever.
She had probably gone to join the other witches,
he said and that is where
she belongs.
So Hansel and Gretel and their father went home.
With plenty of gold, they never went
hungry again and they all lived happily ever after,
never wishing for anything.