Let us begin with Hansel and Gretel:
Hansel and Gretel
Hard by 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'll tell you what,
husband," answered the woman, "early tomorrow 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."
"Oh! 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 neighbourhood, 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 mouthful.
Then she seized Hansel
with her shrivelled 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 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.
My tale is done, there
runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.
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