Hansel and Gretel
(5th Edition Version)
In front of a large forest lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and his two children; the little boy was called Hansel and the little girl Gretel. He had little to eat, and once when great need arose in the land, he could no longer even get his daily bread. As he was thinking about things in the evening in bed, and was tossing and turning because of his worries, he sighed and said to his wife "what will become of us? how can we feed our poor children, when we have no more for ourselves?" "Do you know what, husband," answered the wife, "we shall take the children out into the forest tomorrow very early, to where it is at its most dense, we'll make a fire for them there and give each one a little piece of bread, then we'll go to our work, and leave them alone. They will not find their way back home again, and we shall be rid of them." "No, wife," said the husband, "I won't do that; how could I find it in my heart to leave my children alone in the forest, the wild animals would soon come and tear them apart." "Oh, you fool," she said, “ then we shall all four have to die of hunger, you can just smooth the boards for the coffins '" and gave him no peace until he agreed. "But I still feel sorry for the poor children," said the husband.
The two children, however, had not been able to go to sleep for hunger, and had heard what the stepmother had said to the father. Gretel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel "now it's all up with us. " "Quiet, Gretel:' said Hansel, "don't grieve, I will help us." And when the grown-ups had gone to sleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the door below, and crept out. The moon was shining quite brightly, and the white pebbles which were in front of the house shone like silver pennies. Hansel bent down and put as many in his little coat pocket as would go in. Then he went back again, said to Gretel "be comforted, dear little sister, and go to sleep in peace, God will not forsake us," and got into his bed again.
When the day broke, still before the sun had risen, the wife came and woke both the children, "get up, you lazy-bones, we will go into the forest and fetch wood." Then she gave each one a little piece of bread, and said "there is something for lunch, but don't eat it up before that, you will get nothing more." Gretel took the bread under her apron, because Hansel had the stones in his pocket. Then they all set out together for the forest. After they had walked for a little while, Hansel stood still, and looked back at the house, and did it again and again. The father said “Hansel why are you looking there, and lagging behind, pay attention and don't forget to use your legs." "Oh, father," said Hansel “I am looking at my little white cat, it is sitting up on the roof and wants to say goodbye to me." The wife said "fool, that is not your little cat, that is the morning sun shining on the chimney." But Hansel had not been looking at the little cat, but had every time thrown one of the white pebbles from his pocket onto the path.
When they had come to the middle of the forest, the father said "now collect wood, you children, I will start a fire so that you don't freeze." Hansel and Gretel gathered firewood together, as high as a little mountain. This was lit, and when the fire burned very high, the wife said "now lie down by the fire, you children, and rest, we are going into the forest to cut wood. When we are finished, we will come back again and fetch you.
Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and when noon came, they both ate their little pieces of bread. And because they heard he blows of the axe, they believed that their father was nearby. But it was not the axe, it was a bough which he had tied to a dead tree and which the wind blew back and forth. And when they had sat in this way for a very long lime, their eyes fell shut in tiredness, and they fell asleep, when they woke up it was already black night. Gretel began to weep and said "how are we to get out of' the forest." Hansel however comforted her, “just wait a little while until tile moon has risen, then we'll find the way. And when the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and went towards the pebbles, with shone like newly minted silver pennies, and showed them the way . They walked through the whole night; and came again to their father’s house as day was breaking. They knocked at the door, and as the wife 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 would not come back at all." The father however, was pleased because he had been sad that he had left them behind so alone.
Not long afterward, there was distress everywhere and the children heard how the mother said to their father in bed at night "everything has been eaten up again, we still have a half loaf of bread, after that the song is over. The children must go, we shall lead them deeper into the forest, so that they don't find their way out again, otherwise there is no escape for us.” The husband felt sad about it, and he thought "it would be better that you shared your last mouthfull with your children." But the wife did not listen to anything that he said, chided him and reproached him. If someone begins something, they have to continue, and because he had given in once, he had to do it again.
The children, however had still been awake, and had listened to the conversation. And when the grown-ups had gone to steep Hansel got up, wanted to go out and pick up pebbles, like the last time, but the wife had bolted the door and Hansel could not get out. But he comforted his little sister, and said "don't weep Gretel and sleep peacefully, the good Lord will help us.
Early the next. day the wife came and fetched the children from their bed. They received their little piece of bread, which was however even smaller than the last time. On the way to the forest Hansel crumbled it in his pocket, often stood still, and threw a crumb onto the ground. "Hansel, why are you standing there, and looking round you," said the father, come along." "I am looking for my little dove, it is sitting on the roof and wants to say goodbye to me," answered Hansel. "Fool," said the wife "that is not your little dove, that is the morning sun that is shining up above on the chimney." But gradually Hansel threw all the little pieces onto the path.
The wife led the children even deeper into the forest, where they had not been in all their days. Then a great fire was made again, and the mother said "just stay sitting there children, and when you are tired, you can sleep a little, we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening when we are finished we'll come and fetch you." When it was noon, Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, who had strewn his piece on the path. Then they fell asleep, and the evening passed, but no one came to the poor children. They did not awake until it was black night, and Hansel comforted his little sister and said, 'Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises, then we'll see the crumbs of bread which I have scattered, they will show us the way home. When the moon came, they got up, but they didn't find any crumbs left, because the many thousand birds which fly in the forest and the fields had pecked them all away. Hansel said to Gretel "we'll soon find the way," but they didn't find it. They walked the whole night and another day from morning to evening, but they didn't get out of the forest and were very hungry, for they had nothing but the few berries that were on the ground. And because they were so tired that their legs would not carry them any longer, they lay down under a tree, and went to sleep.
It was now the third morning since they had left their father's house. They began to walk again, but they only got deeper and deeper into the forest. When it was noon, they saw a beautiful snow-white little bird sitting on a bough, which sang so beautifully that they stood still and listened to it. Then it flapped its wings, and flew in front of them, and they followed it, then they saw that it alighted on a little house, and as they came up to it, they saw that the little house was completely made out of bread and covered with cake, but the windows were of pure sugar. "We'll start on that," said Hansel, "and have a good meal. I'll eat a piece of the roof, Gratel, you eat some of the window, it's sweet." Hansel reached up high, and broke off a piece of the roof, to see how it tasted, and Gratel went to the panes and nibbled at them. Then a delicate voice called out of the room,
“nibble, nibble, gnaw
who is nibbling at my little house?”
the children answered:
"the wind, the wind,
the heavenly child,"
and continued eating without letting themselves be put out. Hansel, who liked the taste of the roof, pulled down a large piece of it, and Gretel picked out a whole round window pane, sat down with it, and enjoyed it. Then suddenly the door opened and a very old woman who leaned on a crutch came creeping out. Hansel and Gretel were startled so badly that they let fall what they had in their hands. The old woman, however, shook her head and said, "well, you dear children, who brought you here? just come in and stay with me, you'll be all right." She took both of them by the hand and led them into her little house. Then a good meal was served, milk and pancakes with sugar, apples and nuts. After that two nice little beds were made with white covers, and Hansel and Gretel put themselves into them, and thought they were in heaven.
The old woman had only pretended to be so kind, she was a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and she had only built the little house of bread to lure them there. If one got into her power, she killed it, cooked it, and ate it, and that was for her a day to celebrate. When Hansel and Gretel had come near to the house, she had laughed wickedly, and cried out scornfully "they shall not escape me." Early in the morning, before the children had awoken, she got up, and when she saw both sleep so sweetly, with full red cheeks, she murmured to herself', "that will be a nice morsel." Then she seized Hansel with her thin hand, and carried him into a little stable. No matter how he screamed, it didn't help him; she locked him in with an ironbarred door, and then went to Gretel, jolted her awake, and cried "will you get up, lazy-bones, you shall fetch water and cook something good for your brother, he is in the stable and must get fat. And when he is fat, I'll eat him." Gretel began to weep bitterly, but all was in vain, she had to do what 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 up to the little stable, and cried "Hansel, stick your fingers out, in order that I can feel if you are already fat." But Hansel stuck out a little bone for her, and the old woman, whose eyes were dim could not see it,and thought it was Hansel’s finger, and was puzzled that he would not get fat at all. When four weeks had passed by, and Hansel still stayed thin, she was overtaken by impatience and would not wait any longer. "Hey, Gretel," she cried to the girl, "be lively and carry water: whether Hansel is fat or thin, tomorrow I will slaughter and boil him. Oh, how the poor little sister lamented when she had to carry water, and how the tears flowed down her cheeks! "Dear God, help us, "she cried out, "if only the wild animals in the forest had eaten us, we should still have died together." "Just stop your noise," said the old woman, "all that won't help you."
Early next morning Gretel had to go out, hang the cauldron full of water, and light the fire. "First, we'll bake," said the old woman, I have already heated the oven and kneaded the dough," She pushed Gretel out to the oven, out of which the flames were already coming. "Crawl inside," said the witch, "and see if it is well heated, so that we can shove the bread inside." And when Gretel was inside, she was going to shut the oven, and Gretel was to roast inside, and then she wanted to eat her too. But Gretel saw what she had in mind, and said I don't know how to do that; how do I get in "Silly goose," said the old woman, ',the opening is big enough, look now, I could get in myself" scuttled up to it and stuck her head in the oven. Then Gretel gave her a push, so that she went right inside, shut the iron door and bolted it. whoo! then she began to how[, quite horribly; but Gretel ran off, and the godless witch had to burn to death wretchedly.
Gretel, however, ran straight away to Hansel, opened his little stable, and cried "Hansel, we are saved, the old witch is dead." Then Hansel jumped out, like a bird out of the cage when the door is opened. How they rejoiced, jumped up and down, and kissed each other. And because they did not need to be afraid any more, they went into the witch's house, there stood boxes of pearls and Jewels everywhere. "These are much better than pebbles" said Hansel, and put as much in his pockets as would 'go in and Gretel said "I too want to take something home," and filled her little apron full. "But now we must go," said Hansel, “so that we get out of the witch's forest. When they had walked a few hours, however, they came to a large stretch of water. "We can't get across," said Hansel, "I can't see a footpath or a bridge."
"There won t be any little ship either said Gretel, "but there a white duck swimming, if I ask, it will help us across. Then she cried:
"Little duck, little duck,
here are Gretel and Hansel.
No footpath and no bridge,
take us on your little white back."
The little duck came to them, and Hansel got on it, and told his little sister to sit next him. "No," answered Gretel, "that will be too heavy for the little duck, it shall take us over one after the other." The good little animal did this, and when they were safely across, and had walked a little while, the forest seemed more and more familiar, and at last they saw from afar their father's house. Then they began to run, burst into the room and am braced their father. The husband had not had a joyful moment, since he had left his children in the forest, but the wife had died. Gretel shook out her little apron, so that the pearls and jewels bounced around in the room, and Hansel threw after them one handful after another out of his pockets. Then all their troubles were at an end, and they lived together in pure happiness. My tale is at an end, there runs a mouse, who catches it can make himself a big, big fur cap out of it.