Hansel and Gretel
(manuscript version)
There was once a poor woodcutter, who lived in front of a great forest. He fared so miserably, that he could scarcely feed his wife and his two children. Once he had no bread any longer, and suffered great anxiety, then his wife said to him in the evening in bed: take the two children tomorrow morning and take them into the great forest, give them the bread we have left, and make a large fire for them and after that go away and leave them alone. The husband did not want to for a long time, but the wife left him no peace.
But the children had heard everything that the mother had said the little sister began to weep a lot, the little brother said to her she should be quiet and comforted her. Then he quietly got up and went outside in front of the door, the moon shone there and the white pebbles shone in front of the house. The boy picked them up carefully and filled his little coat pocket with them, as many as he could put there. Then he went back to his little sister into bed, and went to sleep. Early next morning, before the sun had risen, the father and mother came and woke the children up, who were to go with them into the great forest. They gave each a little piece of bread, little sister took it under her little apron, for the little brother had his pocket full of pebbles. Then they set off on their way to the great forest. As they were walking like this, the little brother often stood still, and looked back at their little house. The father said: why are you always standing and looking back; oh, answered the little brother, I am looking at my little white cat, it is sitting on the roof and wants to say goodbye to me but secretly he kept letting one of the little white pebbles drop. The mother spoke: just keep going, it's not your little cat, it is the morning glow which is shining on the chimney, But the boy kept looking back and kept letting another little stone drop.
They walked like this for a long time and at last came to the middle of the great forest. Then the father made a great fire, and the mother says: sleep a while children, we will go into the forest and look for wood, wait until we come back. The children sat down by the fire, and they both ate their little piece of bread. They wait a long time until it was night, but the parents did not come back. Then the little sister began to weep, but the little brother comforted her and took her by the hand. Then the moon shone, and the little white pebbles shone, and showed them the way. And the little brother led the little sister through the whole night. And in the morning they came again in front of the house. The father was glad, for he had not done it willingly; but the mother was angry.
Soon after they had no bread again, and the little brother heard again in the evening in bed, how the mother said to the father, he should take the children out into the great forest again. Then the little sister began again to sob her heart out, and the little brother got up again, and wanted to look for little stones. When he got to the door, however, it was bolted by the mother, then the little brother began to feel sad, and could not comfort the little sister.
They got up again before daybreak, each received a little piece of bread again. When were on their way, the little brother looks back often the father said: my child why are you always standing still and looking back towards the little house? Oh! answered the little brother, I am looking at my little dove, it is sitting on the roof, and wants to say goodbye to me, but secretly he crumbled his little piece of bread, and kept letting a crumb fall. The mother spoke: just keep going, it's not your little dove, it's the morning glow shining on the chimney. But the little brother still kept looking back, and kept letting another little crumb drop.
When they had come to the middle of the great forest, the father again made a great fire, the mother again said the same words and both went away. The little sister gave the little brother a half of her little piece of bread, for the little brother had thrown his onto the path. And they waited until evening, then the little brother wanted to lead the little sister back, by the moonshine. But the little birds had eaten up the little crumbs of bread and they could not find the way. They walked further and further and got lost in the great forest. On the third day they came to a little house that was made of bread, the roof was covered with cake and the windows of sugar. The children were glad when they saw it and the little brother ate some of the roof and the little sister some of the window. As they stood like this and enjoyed it, a delicate voice cried :
nibble, nibble, gnaw !WHO is nibbling at my little house?
The children were badly startled; soon after a small old woman came out, she took the children by the hand in a kindly way, took them into the house, and gave them something good to eat, and put them in a nice bed. But the next morning she put the little brother in a little stable, he was to be a little pig, and the little sister had to bring him water and good food. Every day she went to it then the little brother had to stick out his finger, and she felt if it was already fat. He always stuck out in place of it a little bone, then she thought that he was still not fat, and this went on for a long time. She gave to the little sister nothing to eat but crab-shells, because she was not to be fattened. After four weeks she said in the evening to the little sister, go and fetch water, and heat it tomorrow morning, we will slaughter and boil your little brother, meanwhile I'll make the dough, so that we can also bake as well. The next morning, when the water was hot, she called the little sister to the oven. And said to her: sit on the board, I will push you into the oven, see if the bread is already done; but she wanted to leave the little sister in there and roast her. The little sister notices this and said to her: I don't understand that, sit there first yourself. I will push you in. The old woman sat on it, and the little sister pushed her in, shut the door, and the witch burned to death. Then she went to the little brother and opens his little stable for him. They found the whole little house full of jewels, filled all their pockets with them, and took them to their father, who became a rich man; but the mother was dead.