Hansel and Gretel

Near a large forest lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children; the boy was named Hansel, and the girl Gretel. He had little to eat and break, and one day, when great famine struck the land, he could no longer afford his daily bread. As he lay in bed one evening, tossing and turning with worry, he sighed and said to his wife, "What will become of us? How can we feed our poor children when we have nothing left for ourselves?" "You know what, husband," answered the woman, "tomorrow morning, early, we will take the children out into the forest where it is thickest. There we will light a fire for them and give each a piece of bread, then we will go to our work and leave them alone. They won't find their way home, and we will be rid of them."

"No, wife," said the man, "I won't do that; how could I bring myself to leave my children alone in the forest! The wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces."
"Oh, you fool," she said, "then all four of us will have to starve; you can only plane the boards for the coffins," and she gave him no peace until he agreed. "But I still feel sorry for the poor children," said the man. The two children hadn't been able to sleep because of hunger either, and they had heard what their stepmother had said to their father. Gretel wept bitter tears and said to Hansel, "Now we're done for." "Hush, Gretel," said Hansel, "don't worry, I'll help us." And when the old people had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the lower door, and crept out. The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles lying in front of the house glittered like coins. Hansel bent down and stuffed as many into his coat pocket as would fit. Then he went back again, said to Gretel, "Be of good cheer, dear little sister, and go to sleep peacefully, God will not abandon us," and lay down in his bed again.

As day broke, before the sun had even risen, the woman came and woke the two children: "Get up, you lazybones, we're going to the forest and fetch some wood." Then she gave each of them a piece of bread and said, "Here's something for your lunch, but don't eat it all before then, you won't get anything else." Gretel put the bread under her apron because Hansel had the stones in his pocket. Afterward, they all set off for the forest together. After they had walked a while, Hansel stood still and looked back at the house, and did this again and again. The father said, "Hansel, why are you looking there and staying back? Be careful and don't forget your legs!" "Ah, father," said Hansel, "I'm looking for my white kitten, who's sitting up on the roof and wants to say goodbye to me." The woman said, "Fool, that's not your kitten; that's the morning sun shining on the chimney." But Hansel had not looked after the kitten, but had always thrown one of the shiny pebbles from his pocket onto the path.

When they reached the middle of the forest, the father said, "Now gather wood, children. I'll light a fire so you won't freeze." Hansel and Gretel gathered brushwood, building up a small pile. The brushwood was lit, and when the flames were burning high, the woman said, "Now lie down by the fire, children, and rest. We're going into the forest to chop wood. When we're finished, we'll come back and get you." Hansel and Gretel sat around the fire, and when midday came, each of them ate his little piece of bread. And because they heard the blows of the wood axe, they thought their father was nearby. But it wasn't the wood axe; it was a branch that he had tied to a dry tree, and which the wind was beating back and forth. And after they had sat there for so long, their eyes closed from weariness, and they fell fast asleep. When they finally awoke, it was already pitch black. Gretel began to cry and said, "How are we going to get out of the forest now?" But Hansel comforted her: "Just wait a little while until the moon has risen, and then we'll find the way." And when the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by the hand and followed the pebbles, which shimmered like newly minted coins and showed them the way. They walked all night long and returned to their father's house at daybreak. They knocked at the door, and when the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Gretel, she said, "You wicked children, why have you slept so long in the forest? We thought you wouldn't come back." But the father was happy, for it had hurt his heart to have left them so alone. Not long afterward, there was again need in every corner, and the children heard their mother say to their father in bed at night: "Everything is gone again, we have half a loaf of bread left, after that the song will end. The children must go; we will lead them deeper into the forest so that they cannot find their way again; there is no other way to save us."

The man's heart was heavy, and he thought: It would be better if you shared the last bite with your children. But the woman listened to nothing he said, scolding and reproaching him. He who says A must say B, and because he had given in the first time, he had to do it a second time as well. The children, however, were still awake and had overheard the conversation. When the old people were asleep, Hansel got up again and wanted to go out and pick up the pebbles like before; but the woman had locked the door, and Hansel couldn't get out. But he comforted his little sister and said: "Don't cry, Gretel, and just sleep peacefully; God will help us." Early in the morning, the woman came and fetched the children from bed. They received their little piece of bread, but it was even smaller than the last time. On the way to the forest, Hansel crumbled it in his pocket, often stopping and throwing a crumb onto the ground. "Hansel, why are you standing there looking around?" said the father. "Go your way!" "I'm looking for my little dove, who is sitting on the roof and wants to say goodbye to me," answered Hansel. "Fool," said the woman, "that isn't your little dove, that is the morning sun shining on the chimney." But Hansel threw all the crumbs onto the path, one by one. The woman led the children even deeper into the forest, where they had never been in their lives. Then a large fire was lit again, and the mother said, "Just sit there, children, and when you're tired, you can sleep a little. We're going into the forest and chopping wood, and in the evening, when we're finished, we'll come and get you." When it was midday, Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, who had scattered his piece on the path. Then they fell asleep, and the evening passed; but no one came to the poor children. They only woke up in the dark night, and Hansel comforted his little sister and said:

"Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises, then we'll see the crumbs of bread I scattered; they'll show us the way home." When the moon came, they set out, but they couldn't find a single crumb, for the many thousands of birds that fly around in the forest and fields had pecked them away. Hansel said to Gretel, "We'll find the way soon enough." But they didn't. They walked all night and another day, from morning to evening, but they couldn't get out of the forest and were so hungry, for they had nothing but the few berries that were on the ground. And because they were so tired that their legs would no longer carry them, they lay down under a tree and fell asleep. Now it was already the third morning since they had left their father's house. They began walking again, but they got deeper and deeper into the forest, and if help didn't come soon, they would perish. At midday, they saw a beautiful, snow-white little bird sitting on a branch, singing so beautifully that they stopped and listened. And when it had finished, it flapped its wings and flew before them, and they followed it until they came to a little house, on whose roof it perched. When they came quite close, they saw that the little house was made of bread and covered with cakes; but the windows were made of light sugar. "We'll get to that," said Hansel, "and have a blessed meal. I'll eat a piece of the roof, Gretel; you can eat from the window; it tastes sweet." Hansel reached up and broke off a bit of the roof to taste it, and Gretel stood by the panes and nibbled at it. Then a soft voice called out from the room: "Nibble, nibble, nibble, who's nibblein' at my little house?" The children answered, "The wind, the wind, the heavenly child," and continued eating without being dissuaded. Hansel, who enjoyed the roof very much, tore off a large piece of it, and Gretel pushed out a whole round windowpane, sat down, and made herself comfortable. Suddenly the door opened, and an ancient woman, leaning on a crutch, crept out. Hansel and Gretel were so terribly frightened that they dropped what they were holding. But the old woman shook her head and said, "Oh, dear children, who brought you here? Just come in and stay with me; no harm will come to you."

She took them both by the hand and led them into her little house. There, a good meal was served: milk and pancakes with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterwards, two beautiful little beds were made with white linens, and Hansel and Gretel lay down in them, thinking they were in heaven. The old woman had only pretended to be friendly, but she was actually a wicked witch who lay in wait for children and had built the bread house solely to lure them. When one of them fell into her power, she killed it, cooked it, and ate it, and that was a feast for her. Witches have red eyes and can't see far, but they have a keen sense of smell like animals and notice when people are approaching. When Hansel and Gretel came near, she laughed maliciously and said mockingly, "I have them; they won't escape me again!" Early in the morning, before the children had awakened, she got up, and when she saw them both resting so sweetly, with their full, rosy cheeks, she murmured to herself, "This will be a good morsel." Then she seized Hansel with her withered hand and carried him into a small stable and locked him in with a barred door. He might scream as much as he wanted, but it was no use. Then she went to Gretel, shook her awake, and called, "Get up, lazybones, fetch some water and cook something good for your brother. He's sitting outside in the stable and he's going to get fat. When he's fat, I'll eat him." Gretel began to weep bitterly; but it was all in vain; she had to do as the wicked witch demanded. Now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Gretel got nothing but crab shells. Every morning, the old woman crept to the stable and called, "Hansel, stretch out your fingers so I can feel if you'll soon be fat." But Hansel stretched out a little bone, and the old woman, who had dim eyes, couldn't see it and thought it was Hansel's fingers, and was amazed that he didn't want to get fat at all. When four weeks had passed and Hansel remained thin, she became impatient and didn't want to wait any longer.

"Hey, Gretel," she called to the girl, "be quick and carry water! Whether Hansel is fat or thin, tomorrow I'll slaughter and cook him." Oh, how the poor little sister wailed as she had to carry the water, and how the tears streamed down her cheeks! "Dear God, please help us," she cried. "If only the wild animals in the forest had eaten us, we would have died together!" "Save your whining," said the old woman, "it won't help you at all." Early in the morning, Gretel had to go out, hang up the kettle of water, and light the fire. "First we'll bake," said the old woman. "I've already heated the oven and kneaded the dough." She pushed poor Gretel out to the oven, from which flames were already blazing. "Creep in," said the witch, "and see if it's heated properly so we can put the bread in." And when Gretel was inside, she wanted to close the oven, and Gretel would roast it in there, and then she would eat it all. But Gretel realized what she had in mind and said, "I don't know how to do it; how can I get in there?" "Stupid goose," said the old woman, "the opening is big enough, you see, I could get in myself," and crawled over and stuck her head into the oven. Then Gretel gave her a shove so that she went right in, closed the iron door, and bolted it. Whoa! Then she began to howl, quite horribly; but Gretel ran away, and the godless witch had to burn miserably. But Gretel ran straight to Hansel, opened his little hutch, and cried, "Hansel, we are freed! The old witch is dead." Then Hansel jumped out like a bird from a cage when the door is opened. How happy they were! They threw their arms around each other, jumped around, and kissed each other! And because they no longer had anything to fear, they went into the witch's house. There, in every corner, stood boxes filled with pearls and precious stones. "These are even better than pebbles," said Hansel, stuffing whatever he could into his pockets. And Gretel said, "I want to bring something home with me too," and filled her apron. "But now we must go," said Hansel, "so we can get out of the witch's forest."

But after they had walked for a few hours, they came to a large body of water. "We can't cross," said Hansel, "I don't see a jetty or a bridge." "There's no boat here either," answered Gretel, "but there's a white duck swimming around. If I ask her, she'll help us across." Then she called out, "Duckling, duckling, there are Hansel and Gretel. No jetty and no bridge. Take us on your white back." The duckling came too, and Hansel sat up and asked his little sister to sit beside him. "No," answered Gretel, "it will be too heavy for the duckling; she must take us across one by one." The good little creature did so, and when they were safely across and had walked for a while, the forest seemed more and more familiar to them, and finally, from afar, they saw their father's house. Then they started running, rushed into the room, and threw their arms around their father's neck. The man hadn't had a happy hour since leaving the children in the forest, and his wife was dead. Gretel shook out her apron so that pearls and precious stones jumped around the room, and Hansel threw handfuls after handfuls from his pocket. Then all their worries were over, and they lived together in pure joy. My fairy tale is over: There runs a mouse; whoever catches it may make a large fur cap out of it.