Big Book of Ancient Gabanian Fables

Book LIL: Hansel and Gretel

Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wifeand his two children. The boy was called Hansel and thegirl Gretel. He had little to bite and to break, and once whengreat dearth fell on the land, he could no longer procure even dailybread. Now when he thought over this by night in his bed, andtossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife, whatis to become of us. How are we to feed our poor children, whenwe no longer have anything even for ourselves. I'll tell you what,husband, answered the woman, early to-morrow morning wewill take the children out into the forest to where it is thethickest. There we will light a fire for them, and give each ofthem one more piece of bread, and then we will go to our work andleave them alone. They will not find the way home again, and weshall 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 wildanimals would soon come and tear them to pieces. O' you fool, saidshe, then we must all four die of hunger, you may as well plane theplanks for our coffins, and she left him no peace until heconsented. But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all thesame, said the man.The two children had also not been able to sleep for hunger, andhad heard what their step-mother had said to their father. Gretelwept bitter tears, and said to Hansel, now all is over with us.Be quiet, Gretel, said Hansel, do not distress yourself, I will soonfind 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 creptoutside. The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles which layin front of the house glittered like real silver pennies. Hanselstooped and stuffed the little pocket of his coat with as many as hecould get in. Then he went back and said to Gretel, be comforted,dear little sister, and sleep in peace, God will not forsake us, andhe lay down again in his bed. When day dawned, but before thesun had risen, the woman came and awoke the two children, sayingget up, you sluggards. We are going into the forest to fetchwood. She gave each a little piece of bread, and said, there issomething for your dinner, but do not eat it up before then, for youwill get nothing else. Gretel took the bread under her apron, asHansel had the pebbles in his pocket. Then they all set outtogether on the way to the forest. When they had walked a shorttime, Hansel stood still and peeped back at the house, and did soagain and again. His father said, Hansel, what are you looking atthere and staying behind for. Pay attention, and do not forget howto use your legs. Ah, father, said Hansel, I am looking at mylittle white cat, which is sitting up on the roof, and wants to saygood-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 beenconstantly throwing one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocketon 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 youmay not be cold. Hansel and Gretel gathered brushwood together,as high as a little hill. The brushwood was lighted, and when theflames were burning very high, the woman said, now, children,lay yourselves down by the fire and rest, we will go into the forestand cut some wood. When we have done, we will come back andfetch you away.Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and when noon came, each atea little piece of bread, and as they heard the strokes of thewood-axe they believed that their father was near. It was not theaxe, however, but a branch which he had fastened to a withered treewhich the wind was blowing backwards and forwards. And as they hadbeen sitting such a long time, their eyes closed with fatigue, andthey fell fast asleep. When at last they awoke, it was already darknight. Gretel began to cry and said, how are we to get out of theforest now. But Hansel comforted her and said, just wait a little,until the moon has risen, and then we will soon find the way. Andwhen the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by thehand, and followed the pebbles which shone like newly-coined silverpieces, and showed them the way.They walked the whole night long, and by break of day cameonce more to their father's house. They knocked at the door, andwhen the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Gretel,she said, you naughty children, why have you slept so long in theforest. We thought you were never coming back at all. The father,however, rejoiced, for it had cut him to the heart to leave thembehind alone.Not long afterwards, there was once more great dearth throughoutthe land, and the children heard their mother saying at night totheir father, everything is eaten again, we have one half loaf left,and that is the end. The children must go, we will take themfarther into the wood, so that they will not find their way outagain. There is no other means of saving ourselves. The man'sheart was heavy, and he thought, it would be better for you to sharethe last mouthful with your children. The woman, however, wouldlisten to nothing that he had to say, but scolded and reproachedhim. He who says a must say b, likewise, and as he had yielded thefirst time, he had to do so a second time also.The children, however, were still awake and had heard theconversation. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel again got up,and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles as he had done before, butthe 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 oftheir beds. Their piece of bread was given to them, but it wasstill smaller than the time before. On the way into the forestHansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often stood still and threw amorsel on the ground. Hansel, why do you stop and look round.Said the father, go on. I am looking back at my little pigeonwhich is sitting on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me,answered Hansel. Fool. Said the woman, that is not your littlepigeon, 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 theyhad never in their lives been before. Then a great fire was againmade, and the mother said, just sit there, you children, and whenyou are tired you may sleep a little. We are going into the forestto cut wood, and in the evening when we are done, we will come andfetch you away. When it was noon, Gretel shared her piece ofbread with Hansel, who had scattered his by the way. Then theyfell asleep and evening passed, but no one came to the poorchildren. They did not awake until it was dark night, and Hanselcomforted his little sister and said, just wait, Gretel, until themoon rises, and then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I havestrewn about, they will show us our way home again. When the mooncame they set out, but they found no crumbs, for the many thousandsof birds which fly about in the woods and fields had picked them allup. Hansel said to Gretel, we shall soon find the way, but they didnot find it. They walked the whole night and all the next day toofrom 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 threeberries, which grew on the ground. And as they were so weary thattheir legs would carry them no longer, they lay down beneath a treeand 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 theforest, and if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger andweariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a beautiful snow-whitebird sitting on a bough, which sang so delightfully that they stoodstill and listened to it. And when its song was over, it spread itswings and flew away before them, and they followed it until theyreached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted. And whenthey approached the little house they saw that it was built ofbread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clearsugar. We will set to work on that, said Hansel, and have a goodmeal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and you Gretel, can eat someof the window, it will taste sweet. Hansel reached up above, andbroke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and Gretelleant against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a softvoice 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, wholiked the taste of the roof, tore down a great piece of it, andGretel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, andenjoyed herself with it. Suddenly the door opened, and a womanas old as the hills, who supported herself on crutches, camecreeping out. Hansel and Gretel were so terribly frightened thatthey let fall what they had in their hands. The old woman, however,nodded her head, and said, oh, you dear children, who has broughtyou here. Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen toyou. She took them both by the hand, and led them into her littlehouse. Then good food was set before them, milk and pancakes,with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterwards two pretty little bedswere covered with clean white linen, and Hansel and Gretel lay downin them, and thought they were in heaven.The old woman had only pretended to be so kind. She was in realitya wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built thelittle house of bread in order to entice them there. When a childfell into her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it, and thatwas a feast day with her. Witches have red eyes, and cannot seefar, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware whenhuman beings draw near. When Hansel and Gretel came into herneighborhood, she laughed with malice, and said mockingly, I havethem, they shall not escape me again. Early in the morning beforethe children were awake, she was already up, and when she saw bothof them sleeping and looking so pretty, with their plump and rosycheeks, she muttered to herself, that will be a dainty mouthful.Then she seized Hansel with her shrivelled hand, carriedhim into a little stable, and locked him in behind a grated door.Scream as he might, it would not help him. Then she went toGretel, shook her till she awoke, and cried, get up, lazy thing,fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother, he isin the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, Iwill eat him. Gretel began to weep bitterly, but it was all invain, for she was forced to do what the wicked witch commanded.And now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Gretelgot nothing but crab-shells. Every morning the woman crept to thelittle stable, and cried, Hansel, stretch out your finger that I mayfeel if you will soon be fat. Hansel, however, stretched out alittle bone to her, and the old woman, who had dim eyes, could notsee it, and thought it was Hansel's finger, and was astonished thatthere was no way of fattening him. When four weeks had gone by,and Hansel still remained thin, she was seized with impatience andwould not wait any longer. Now, then, Gretel, she cried to thegirl, stir yourself, and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat orlean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him. Ah, how the poorlittle sister did lament when she had to fetch the water, and howher tears did flow down her cheeks. Dear God, do help us, shecried. If the wild beasts in the forest had but devoured us, weshould at any rate have died together. Just keep your noise toyourself, said the old woman, it won't help you at all.Early in the morning, Gretel had to go out and hang up thecauldron with the water, and light the fire. We will bake first,said the old woman, I have already heated the oven, and kneadedthe dough. She pushed poor Gretel out to the oven, from whichflames 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 lether bake in it, and then she would eat her, too. But Gretel sawwhat 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 bigenough. Just look, I can get in myself, and she crept up andthrust her head into the oven. Then Gretel gave her a push thatdrove her far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened thebolt. Oh. Then she began to howl quite horribly, but Gretel ranaway, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death.Gretel, however, ran like lightning to Hansel, opened his littlestable, and cried, Hansel, we are saved. The old witch is dead.Then Hansel sprang like a bird from its cage when the door isopened. How they did rejoice and embrace each other, and danceabout and kiss each other. And as they had no longer any need tofear her, they went into the witch's house, and in every cornerthere stood chests full of pearls and jewels. These are far betterthan pebbles. Said Hansel, and thrust into his pockets whatevercould be got in, and Gretel said, I, too, will take something homewith me, and filled her pinafore full. But now we must be off, saidHansel, that we may get out of the witch's forest.When they had walked for two hours, they came to a greatstretch of water. We cannot cross, said Hansel, I see nofoot-plank, and no bridge. And there is also no ferry, answeredGretel, but a white duck is swimming there. If I ask her, shewill 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 betoo heavy for the little duck. She shall take us across, one afterthe other. The good little duck did so, and when they were oncesafely across and had walked for a short time, the forest seemed tobe more and more familiar to them, and at length they saw fromafar their father's house. Then they began to run, rushed into theparlor, and threw themselves round their father's neck. The manhad not known one happy hour since he had left the children in theforest. The woman, however, was dead. Gretel emptied herpinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about the room, andHansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket to add tothem. Then all anxiety was at an end, and they lived together inperfect happiness. My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoevercatches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.