Once upon a time there dwelt near a large wood a poor wood-cutter, with
his wife and two children by his former marriage, a little boy called
Hansel, and a girl named Grethel. He had little enough to break or
bite; and once, when there was a great famine in the land, he could not
procure even his daily bread; and as he lay thinking in his bed one
evening, rolling about for trouble, he sighed, and said to his wife,
"What will become of us? How can we feed our children, when we have no
more than we can eat ourselves?"
"Know, then, my husband," answered she, "we will lead them away, quite
early in the morning, into the thickest part of the wood, and there
make them a fire, and give them each a little piece of bread; then we
will go to our work, and leave them alone, so they will not find the
way home again, and we shall be freed from them." "No, wife," replied
he, "that I can never do;, how can you bring your heart to leave my
children all alone in the wood; for the wild beasts will soon come and
tear them to pieces?"
"Oh, you simpleton!" said she, "then we must all four die of hunger;
you had better plane the coffins for us." But she left him no peace
till he consented, saying, "Ah, but I shall regret the poor children."
The two children, however, had not gone to sleep for very hunger, and
so they overheard what the stepmother said to their father. Grethel
wept bitterly, and said to Hansel, "What will become of us?" "Be quiet,
Grethel," said he; "do not cry--I will soon help you." And as soon as
their parents had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his coat, and,
unbarring the back door, slipped out. The moon shone brightly, and the
white pebbles which lay before the door seemed like silver pieces, they
glittered so brightly. Hansel stooped down, and put as many into his
pocket as it would hold; and then going back he said to Grethel, "Be
comforted, dear sister, and sleep in peace; God will not forsake us."
And so saying, he went to bed again.
The next morning, before the sun arose, the wife went and awoke the two
children. "Get up, you lazy things; we are going into the forest to
chop wood." Then she gave them each a piece of bread, saying, "There is
something for your dinner; do not eat it before the time, for you will
get nothing else." Grethel took the bread in her apron, for Hansel's
pocket was full of pebbles; and so they all set out upon their way.
When they had gone a little distance, Hansel stood still, and peeped
back at the house; and this he repeated several times, till his father
said, "Hansel, what are you peeping at, and why do you lag behind? Take
care, and remember your legs."
"Ah, father," said Hansel, "I am looking at my white cat sitting upon
the roof of the house, and trying to say good-by." "You simpleton!"
said the wife, "that is not a cat; it is only the sun shining on the
white chimney." But in reality Hansel was not looking at a cat; but
every time he stopped, he dropped a pebble out of his pocket upon the
path.
[Illustration: GRETHEL AND THE WITCH
FROM A DRAWING BY MALCOLM PATTERSON]
When they came to the middle of the wood, the father told the children
to collect wood, and he would make them a fire, so that they should not
be cold. So Hansel and Grethel gathered together quite a little
mountain of twigs. Then they set fire to them; and as the flame burnt
up high, the wife said, "Now, you children, lie down near the fire, and
rest yourselves, whilst we go into the forest and chop wood; when we
are ready, I will come and call you."
Hansel and Grethel sat down by the fire, and when it was noon, each ate
the piece of bread; and because they could hear the blows of an axe
they thought their father was near; but it was not an axe, but a branch
which he had bound to a withered tree, so as to be blown to and fro by
the wind. They waited so long, that at last their eyes closed from
weariness, and they fell fast asleep. When they awoke, it was quite
dark, and Grethel began to cry, "How shall we get out of the wood?" But
Hansel tried to comfort her by saying, "Wait a little while till the
moon rises, and then we will quickly find the way." The moon soon shone
forth, and Hansel, taking his sister's hand, followed the pebbles,
which glittered like new-coined silver pieces, and showed them the
path. All night long they walked on, and as day broke they came to
their father's house. They knocked at the door, and when the wife
opened it, and saw Hansel and Grethel, she exclaimed, "You wicked
children! why did you sleep so long in the wood? We thought you were
never coming home again." But their father was very glad, for it had
grieved his heart to leave them all alone.
Not long afterward there was again great scarcity in every corner of
the land; and one night the children overheard their mother saying to
their father, "Everything is again consumed; we have only half a loaf
left, and then the song is ended: the children must be sent away. We
will take them deeper into the wood, so that they may not find the way
out again: it is the only means of escape for us."
But her husband felt heavy at heart, and thought, "It were better to
share the last crust with the children." His wife, however, would
listen to nothing that he said, and scolded and reproached him without
end.
He who says A must say B too; and he who consents the first time must
also the second.
The children, however, had heard the conversation as they lay awake,
and as soon as the old people went to sleep Hansel got up, intending to
pick up some pebbles as before; but the wife had locked the door, so
that he could not get out. Nevertheless he comforted Grethel, saying,
"Do not cry; sleep in quiet; the good God will not forsake us."
Early in the morning the stepmother came and pulled them out of bed,
and gave them each a slice of bread, which was still smaller than the
former piece. On the way, Hansel broke his in his pocket, and, stooping
every now and then, dropped a crumb upon the path. "Hansel, why do you
stop and look about?" said the father, "keep in the path." "I am
looking at my little dove," answered Hansel, "nodding a good-by to me."
"Simpleton!" said the wife, "that is no dove, but only the sun shining
on the chimney." But Hansel still kept dropping crumbs as he went
along.
The mother led the children deep into the wood, where they had never
been before, and there making an immense fire, she said to them, "Sit
down here and rest, and when you feel tired you can sleep for a little
while. We are going into the forest to hew wood, and in the evening,
when we are ready, we will come and fetch you."
When noon came Grethel shared her bread with Hansel, who had strewn his
on the path. Then they went to sleep; but the evening arrived and no
one came to visit the poor children, and in the dark night they awoke,
and Hansel comforted his sister by saying, "Only wait, Grethel, till
the moon comes out, then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have
dropped, and they will show us the way home." The moon shone and they
got up, but they could not see any crumbs, for the thousands of birds
which had been flying about in the woods and fields had picked them all
up. Hansel kept saying to Grethel, "We will soon find the way;" but
they did not, and they walked the whole night long and the next day,
but still they did not come out of the wood; and they got so hungry,
for they had nothing to eat but the berries which they found upon the
bushes. Soon they got so tired that they could not drag themselves
along, so they lay down under a tree and went to sleep.
It was now the third morning since they had left their father's house,
and they still walked on; but they only got deeper and deeper into the
wood, and Hansel saw that if help did not come very soon they would die
of hunger. As soon as it was noon they saw a beautiful snow-white bird
sitting upon a bough, which sang so sweetly that they stood still and
listened to it. It soon left off, and spreading its wings flew off; and
they followed it until it arrived at a cottage, upon the roof of which
it perched; and when they went close up to it they saw that the cottage
was made of bread and cakes, and the window-panes were of clear sugar.
"We will go in here," said Hansel, "and have a glorious feast. I will
eat a piece of the roof, and you can eat the window. Will they not be
sweet?" So Hansel reached up and broke a piece off the roof, in order
to see how it tasted; while Grethel stepped up to the window and began
to bite it. Then a sweet voice called out in the room, "Tip-tap,
tip-tap, who raps at my door?" and the children answered, "The wind,
the wind, the child of heaven;" and they went on eating without
interruption. Hansel thought the roof tasted very nice, and so he tore
off a great piece; while Grethel broke a large round pane out of the
window, and sat down quite contentedly. Just then the door opened, and
a very old woman, walking upon crutches, came out. Hansel and Grethel
were so frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands; but
the old woman, nodding her head, said "Ah, you dear children, what has
brought you here? Come in and stop with me, and no harm shall befall
you;" and so saying she led them into her cottage. A good meal of milk
and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts was spread on the table, and
in the back room were two nice little beds, covered with white, where
Hansel and Grethel laid themselves down, and thought themselves in
heaven. The old woman behaved very kindly to them, but in reality she
was a wicked witch who waylaid children and built the breadhouse in
order to entice them in; but as soon as they were in her power she
killed them, cooked and ate them, and made a great festival of the day.
Witches have red eyes, and cannot see very far; but they have a fine
sense of smelling, like wild beasts, so that they know when children
approach them. When Hansel and Grethel came near the witch's house she
laughed wickedly, saying, "Here come two who shall not escape me." And
early in the morning, before they awoke, she went up to them, and saw
how lovingly they lay sleeping, with their chubby red cheeks; and she
mumbled to herself, "That will be a good bite." Then she took up
Hansel with her rough hand, and shut him up in a little cage with a
lattice-door; and although he screamed loudly it was of no use. Grethel
came next, and, shaking her till she awoke, she said, "Get up, you lazy
thing, and fetch some water to cook something good for your brother,
who must remain in that stall and get fat; when he is fat enough I
shall eat him." Grethel began to cry, but it was all useless, for the
old witch made her do as she wished. So a nice meal was cooked for
Hansel, but Grethel got nothing else but a crab's claw.
Every morning the old witch came to the cage and said, "Hansel, stretch
out your finger that I may feel whether you are getting fat." But
Hansel used to stretch out a bone, and the old woman, having very bad
sight, thought it was his finger, and wondered very much that he did
not get more fat. When four weeks had passed, and Hansel still kept
quite lean, she lost all her patience, and would not wait any longer.
"Grethel," she called out in a passion, "get some water quickly; be
Hansel fat or lean, this morning I will kill and cook him." Oh, how the
poor little sister grieved, as she was forced to fetch the water, and
fast the tears ran down her cheeks! "Dear good God, help us now!" she
exclaimed. "Had we only been eaten by the wild beasts in the wood, then
we should have died together." But the old witch called out, "Leave off
that noise; it will not help you a bit."
So early in the morning Grethel was forced to go out and fill the
kettle, and make a fire. "First, we will bake, however," said the old
woman; "I have already heated the oven and kneaded the dough;" and so
saying, she pushed poor Grethel up to the oven, out of which the flames
were burning fiercely. "Creep in," said the witch, "and see if it is
hot enough, and then we will put in the bread;" but she intended when
Grethel got in to shut up the oven and let her bake, so that she might
eat her as well as Hansel. Grethel perceived what her thoughts were,
and said, "I do not know how to do it; how shall I get in?" "You stupid
goose," said she, "the opening is big enough. See, I could even get in
myself!" and she got up, and put her head into the oven. Then Grethel
gave her a push, so that she fell right in, and then shutting the iron
door she bolted it. Oh! how horribly she howled; but Grethel ran away,
and left the ungodly witch to burn to ashes.
[Illustration: "SHE LED THEM INTO HER COTTAGE"]
Now she ran to Hansel, and, opening his door, called out, "Hansel, we
are saved; the old witch is dead." So he sprang out, like a bird out of
his cage when the door is opened; and they were so glad that they fell
upon each other's neck, and kissed each other over and over again. And
now, as there was nothing to fear, they went into the witch's house,
where in every corner were caskets full of pearls and precious stones.
"These are better than pebbles," said Hansel, putting as many into his
pocket as it would hold; while Grethel thought, "I will take some home
too," and filled her apron full. "We must be off now," said Hansel,
"and get out of this enchanted forest;" but when they had walked for
two hours they came to a large piece of water. "We cannot get over,"
said Hansel; "I can see no bridge at all." "And there is no boat
either," said Grethel, "but there swims a white duck, I will ask her
to help us over;" and she sang:
"Little Duck, good little duck,
Grethel and Hansel, here we stand;
There is neither stile nor bridge,
Take us on your back to land."
So the Duck came to them, and Hansel sat himself on, and bade his
sister sit behind him. "No," answered Grethel, "that will be too much
for the Duck, she shall take us over one at a time." This the good
little bird did, and when both were happily arrived on the other side,
and had gone a little way, they came to a well-known wood, which they
knew the better every step they went, and at last they perceived their
father's house. Then they began to run, and, bursting into the house,
they fell on their father's neck. He had not had one happy hour since
he had left the children in the forest: and his wife was dead. Grethel
shook her apron, and the pearls and precious stones rolled out upon the
floor, and Hansel threw down one handful after the other out of his
pocket. Then all their sorrows were ended, and they lived in happiness.
My tale is done. There runs a mouse; whoever catches her may make a
great, great cap out of her fur.
[Illustration: Reproduced by special permission of the Artist
TWINS
FROM A PAINTING BY JOSEPH T. PEARSON, JR.]
[Illustration: STORIES BY FAVORITE AMERICAN WRITERS]