the blue fairy book by andrew lang hansel and gretel once upon a time there
dwelt on the outskirts of a large forest a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children
the boy was called hansel and the girl gretel he had always little enough to live on and once when there was a great famine in the land he
couldn't even provide them with daily bread one night as he was tossing about in bed full of
cares and worry he sighed and said to his wife what's to become of us how are
we to support our p
oor children now that we have nothing more for ourselves
i'll tell you what husband answered the woman early tomorrow morning we'll take the children
out into the thickest part of the wood there we shall light a fire for them and give them
each a piece of bread then we'll go on to our work and leave them alone they won't be able to find
their way home and we shall thus be rid of them no wife said her husband that i won't
do how could i find it in my heart to leave my children alone in the w
ood the wild
beasts would soon come and tear them to pieces oh you full said she then we must all four
die of hunger and you may just as well go and plane the boards for our coffins and
she left him no peace till he consented but i can't help feeling sorry for the poor
children added the husband the children too had not been able to sleep for hunger and had heard
what their stepmother had said to their father gretel wept bitterly and spoke to hensel now it's
all up with us no no gretel sai
d hansel don't fret yourself i'll be able to find a way to escape no
fear and when the old people had fallen asleep he got up slipped on his little coat opened the back
door and stole out the moon was shining clearly and the white pebbles which lay in front
of the house glittered like bits of silver hansel bent down and filled his pocket
with as many of them as he could cram in then he went back and said to
gretel be comforted my dear little sister and go to sleep god will not
desert us an
d he lay down in bed again at daybreak even before the sun was up
the woman came and woke the two children get up you lya beds we're all going to the forest
to fetch wood she gave them each a bit of bread and said there's something for your luncheon but
don't you eat it up before for it's all you'll get gretel took the bread under her apron
as hansel had the stones in his pocket then they all set out together on the way to the
forest after they had walked for little hansel stood still and l
ooked back at the house and this
maneuver he repeated again and again his father observed him and said hansel what are you gazing
at there and why do you always remain behind take care and don't lose your footing oh father
said hansel i am looking back at my white kitten which is sitting on the roof waving me a farewell
the woman exclaimed what a donkey you are that isn't your kitten that's the morning sun
shining on the chimney but hansel had not looked back at his kitten but had always dr
opped one of
the white pebbles out of his pocket onto the path when they had reached the middle
of the forest the father said now children go and fetch a lot of wood and
i'll light a fire that you may not feel cold hansel and gretel heaped up freshwood till they
had made a pile nearly the size of a small hill the brushwood was set fire too and when the
flames leaped high the woman said now lie down at the fire children and rest your cells
we are going into the forest to cut down wood when
we finished we'll come back and fetch
you hansel and gretel sat down beside the fire and at midday ate their little bits
of bread they heard the strokes of the axe so they thought their father was quite near
but it was no axe they heard but a bow he had tied on a dead tree and that was blown about by
the wind and when they had sat for a long time their eyes closed with fatigue and they fell fast
asleep when they awoke at last it was pitch dark gretel began to cry and said how are we ever go
ing
to get out of the wood but hansel comforted her wait a bit he said till the moon is up and then
we'll find our way sure enough and when the full moon had risen he took his sister by the hand and
followed the pebbles which shone like new three penny bits and showed them the path they walked
on through the night and at daybreak reached their father's house again they knocked at the door and
when the woman opened it she exclaimed you naughty children what a time you slept in the wood we
t
hought you were never going to come back but the father rejoiced for his conscience had reproached
him for leaving his children behind by themselves not long afterward there was again great dearth
in the land and the children heard their mother addressed their father thus in bed one night
everything is eaten up once more we have only half a loaf in the house and when that's done it's
all up with us the children must be got rid of and will lead them deeper into the wood this time
so that the
y won't be able to find their way out again there is no other way of saving ourselves
the man's heart smote him heavily and he thought surely it would be better to share the last bite
with one's children but his wife wouldn't listen to his arguments and did nothing but scold and
reproach him if a man yields once he's done for and so because he had given in the first
time he was forced to do so the second but the children were awake and had heard the
conversation when the old people were asl
eep hansel got up and wanted to go out and pick
up pebbles again as he had done the first time but the woman had barred the door and
hansel couldn't get out but he consoled his little sister and said don't cry gretel
and sleep peacefully for god is sure to help us at early dawn the woman came and made the children
get up they received their bit of bread but it was even smaller than the time before on the way
to the wood hansel crumpled it in his pocket and every few minutes he stood still
and dropped a crumb on the ground and so what are you stopping and looking about
you for said the father i'm looking back at my little pigeon which is sitting on the roof waving
me a farewell answered hansel fool said the wife that isn't your pigeon it's the morning sun
glittering on the chimney but hansel gradually threw all his crumbs on the path the woman led the
children still deeper into the forest farther than they had ever been in their lives before then
a big fire was lit again and
the mother said just sit down there children and if you're
tired you can sleep a bit we're going into the forest to cut down wood and in the evening
when we're finished we'll come back to fetch you at midday gretel divided her bread with hansel
for he had strewn his all along their path then they fell asleep and evening passed
away but nobody came to the poor children they didn't wake till it was pitch dark and
hansel comforted his sister saying only wait gretel till the moon rises then we
shall see
the breadcrumbs i scattered along the path they will show us the way back to the house when
the moon appeared they got up but they found no crumbs for the thousands of birds that fly about
the woods and fields had picked them all up never mind said hansel to gretel you'll see we'll
find a way out but all the same they did not they wandered about the whole night and the
next day from morning till evening but they could not find a path out of the wood they
were very hungry too for
they had nothing to eat but a few berries they found growing on
the ground and at last they were so tired that their legs refused to carry them any longer so
they lay down under a tree and fell fast asleep on the third morning after they had left their
father's house they set about their wandering again but only got deeper and deeper into the
wood and now they felt that if help did not come to them soon they must perish at midday
they saw a beautiful little snow white bird sitting on a bran
ch which sang so sweetly that
they stopped still and listened to it and when its song was finished it flapped its wings and
flew on in front of them they followed it and came to a little house on the roof of which it perched
and when they came quite near they saw that the cottage was made of bread and roofed with cakes
while the window was made of transparent sugar now we'll set two said hansel and have a regular
blowout i'll eat a bit of the roof and you gretel can eat some of the window w
hich you'll find a
sweet morsel hansel stretched up his hand and broke off a little bit of the roof to see what
it was like and gretel went to the casement and began to nibble at it thereupon a shrill voice
called out from the room inside nibble nibble little mouse who's nibbling my house the children
answered tis heaven's own child the tempest wild and went on eating without putting themselves
about hansel who thoroughly appreciated the roof tore down a big bit of it while gretel pushed
o
ut a whole round window pane and sat down the better to enjoy it suddenly the door opened and
an ancient dame leaning on a staff hobbled out hansel and gretel were so terrified that
they let what they had in their hands fall but the old woman shook her head and said oh
you dear children who led you here just come in and stay with me no ill shall befall you she took
them both by the hand and let them into the house and laid a most sumptuous dinner before them
milk and sugared pancakes with a
pples and nuts after they had finished two beautiful
little white beds were prepared for them and when hansel and gretel lay down in them
they felt as if they had got into heaven the old woman had appeared to be most friendly
but she was really an old witch who had waylaid the children and had only built the little bread
house in order to lure them in when anyone came into her power she killed cooked and ate him
and held a regular feast day for the occasion now witches have red eyes and can
not see far
but like beasts they have a keen sense of smell and know when human beings pass by when hansel and
gretel fell into her hands she laughed maliciously and said jeeringly i've got them now they
shan't escape me early in the morning before the children were awake she rose up and
when she saw them both sleeping so peacefully with their round rosy cheeks she muttered
to herself that'll be a dainty bite then she seized hansel with her bony hand and carried him
into a little stable an
d barred the door on him he might scream as much as he liked it did him
no good then she went to gretel shook her till she will awoke and cried get up you lazy bones
fetch water and cook something for your brother when he's fat i'll eat him up gretel
began to cry bitterly but it was of no use she had to do what the wicked witch bade her
so the best food was cooked for poor hansel but gretel got nothing but crab shells every morning
the old woman hobbled out to the stable and cried hansel pu
t out your finger that i may feel if you
are getting fat but hansel always stretched out a bone and the old dame whose eyes were dim couldn't
see it and thinking always it was hansel's finger wondered why he fattened so slowly when four
weeks had passed and hansel still remained thin she lost patience and determined to wait no
longer hi gretel she called to the girl be quick and get some water hansel may be fat or thin i'm
going to kill him tomorrow and cook him oh how the poor little siste
r sobbed as she carried the
water and how the tears rolled down her cheeks kind heaven helped us now she cried if only
the wild beasts in the wood had eaten us then at least we should have died together just hold
your peace said the old hag it won't help you early in the morning gretel had to go out and
hang up the kettle of full of water and light the fire first we'll bake said the old dame i've
heated the oven already and needed the dough she pushed gretel out to the oven from
which fier
y flames were already issuing creep in said the witch and see if it's
properly heated so that we can shove in the bread for when she had got gretel in she meant
to close the oven and let the girl bake that she might eat her up too but gretel perceived her
intention and said i don't know how i'm to do it how do i get in you silly goose said
the hag the opening is big enough see i could get him myself and she crawled toward
it and poked her head into the oven then gretel gave her a shove that
sent her right in shut
the iron door and drew the bolt gracious how she yelled it was quite horrible but gretel
fled and the wretched old woman was left to perish miserably gretel flew straight to hansel opened
the little stable door and cried hansel we are free the old witch is dead then hansel sprang
like a bird out of a cage when the door is opened how they rejoiced and fell on each other's
necks and jumped for joy and kissed one another and as they had no longer any cause for fear they
went in the old hag's house and here they found in every corner of the room boxes
with pearls and precious stones these are even better than pebbles said hansel and
crammed his pockets full of them and gretel said i too will bring something home and she filled
her apron full but now said hansel let's go and get well away from the witch's wood when they had
wandered about for some hours they came to a big lake we can't get over said hansel i see no
bridge of any sort or kind yes and there'
s no very boat either answer gretel but look their swim
is a white duck if i ask her she'll help us over and she called out here are two children
mournful very seeing neither bridge nor fairy take us upon your white back and row us
over quack quack the duck swam toward them and hansel got on her back and bade his little
sister sit beside him no answer gretel we should be too heavy a load for the duck she shall carry
us across separately the good bird did this and when they were landed safel
y on the other
side and had gone for a while the wood became more and more familiar to them and at length they
saw their father's house in the distance then they set off to run and bounding
into the room fell on their father's neck the men had not passed a happy hour since he
left them in the wood but the woman had died gretel shook out her apron so that the pearls
and precious stones rolled about the room and hansel threw down one handful after the
other out of his pocket thus all their t
roubles were ended and they lived happily ever after
my story is done see there runs a little mouse anyone who catches it may make
himself a large fur cap out of it end a story
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