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Grimms' Fairy Tales
Hansel
and Gretel
Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter
with his wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel
and the girl Gretel. He had little to bite and to break,
and once when great scarcity fell on the land, he could
no longer procure daily bread. Now when he thought over
this by night in his bed, and tossed about in his anxiety,
he groaned and said to his wife, "What is to become
of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we no
longer have anything even for ourselves?" "I'll
tell you what, husband," answered the woman, "Early
to-morrow morning we will take the children out into the
forest to where it is the thickest, there we will light
a fire for them, and give each of them one piece of bread
more, and then we will go to our work and leave them alone.
They will not find the way home again, and we shall 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 wild animals would soon come and tear
them to pieces." "O, thou fool!" said she,
"Then we must all four die of hunger, thou mayest as
well plane the planks for our coffins," and she left
him no peace until he consented. "But I feel very sorry
for the poor children, all the same," said the man.
The two children had also not been able to sleep for hunger,
and had heard what their step-mother had said to their father.
Gretel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel, "Now
all is over with us." "Be quiet, Gretel,"
said Hansel, "do not distress thyself, I will soon
find 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 crept outside. The moon shone brightly,
and the white pebbles which lay in front of the house glittered
like real silver pennies. Hansel stooped and put as many
of them in the little pocket of his coat as he could possibly
get in. Then he went back and said to Gretel, "Be
comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in peace, God will
not forsake us," and he lay down again in his bed.
When day dawned, but before the sun had risen, the woman
came and awoke the two children, saying "Get up, you
sluggards! we are going into the forest to fetch wood."
She gave each a little piece of bread, and said, "There
is something for your dinner, but do not eat it up before
then, for you will get nothing else." 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. When they had walked a short time, Hansel stood
still and peeped back at the house, and did so again and
again. His father said, "Hansel, what art thou looking
at there and staying behind for? Mind what thou art about,
and do not forget how to use thy legs." "Ah, father,"
said Hansel, "I am looking at my little white cat,
which is sitting up on the roof, and wants to say good-bye
to me." The wife said, "Fool, that is not thy
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 been constantly throwing one of
the white pebble-stones out of his pocket on 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 you may not be cold." Hansel and
Gretel gathered brushwood together, as high as a little
hill. The brushwood was lighted, and when the flames were
burning very high, the woman said, "Now, children,
lay yourselves down by the fire and rest, we will go into
the forest and cut some wood. When we have done, we will
come back and fetch you away."
Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and when noon came,
each ate a little piece of bread, and as they heard the
strokes of the wood-axe they believed that their father
was near. It was not, however, the axe, it was a branch
which he had fastened to a withered tree which the wind
was blowing backwards and forwards. And as they had been
sitting such a long time, their eyes shut with fatigue,
and they fell fast asleep. When at last they awoke, it was
already dark night. Gretel began to cry and said, "How
are we to get out of the forest now?" But Hansel comforted
her and said, "Just wait a little, until the moon has
risen, and then we will soon find the way." And when
the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by
the hand, and followed the pebbles which shone like newly-coined
silver pieces, and showed them the way.
They walked the whole night long, and by break of day came
once more to their father's house. They knocked at the door,
and when the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel
and Gretel, she said, "You naughty children, why have
you slept so long in the forest? -- we thought you were
never coming back at all!" The father, however, rejoiced,
for it had cut him to the heart to leave them behind alone.
Not long afterwards, there was once more great scarcity
in all parts, and the children heard their mother saying
at night to their father, "Everything is eaten again,
we have one half loaf left, and after that there is an end.
The children must go, we will take them farther into the
wood, so that they will not find their way out again; there
is no other means of saving ourselves!" The man's heart
was heavy, and he thought "it would be better for thee
to share the last mouthful with thy children." The
woman, however, would listen to nothing that he had to say,
but scolded and reproached him. He who says A must say B,
likewise, and as he had yielded the first time, he had to
do so a second time also.
The children were, however, still awake and had heard the
conversation. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel again
got up, and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles as he had
done before, but the 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 of their beds. Their bit of bread was given to them,
but it was still smaller than the time before. On the way
into the forest Hansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often
stood still and threw a morsel on the ground. "Hansel,
why dost thou stop and look round?" said the father,
"go on." "I am looking back at my little
pigeon which is sitting on the roof, and wants to say good-bye
to me," answered Hansel. "Simpleton!" said
the woman, "that is not thy little pigeon, 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 they had never in their lives been before. Then a
great fire was again made, and the mother said, "Just
sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may
sleep a little; we are going into the forest to cut wood,
and in the evening when we are done, we will come and fetch
you away." When it was noon, Gretel shared her piece
of bread with Hansel, who had scattered his by the way.
Then they fell asleep and evening came and went, but no
one came to the poor children. They did not awake until
it was dark night, and Hansel comforted his little sister
and said, "Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises,
and then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn
about, they will show us our way home again." When
the moon came they set out, but they found no crumbs, for
the many thousands of birds which fly about in the woods
and fields had picked them all up. Hansel said to Gretel,
"We shall soon find the way," but they did not
find it. They walked the whole night and all the next day
too from 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 three berries, which grew on the ground.
And as they were so weary that their legs would carry them
no longer, they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep.
It was now three mornings since they had left their father's
house. They began to walk again, but they always got deeper
into the forest, and if help did not come soon, they must
die of hunger and weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw
a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough, which sang
so delightfully that they stood still and listened to it.
And when it had finished its song, it spread its wings and
flew away before them, and they followed it until they reached
a little house, on the roof of which it alighted; and when
they came quite up to little house they saw that it was
built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows
were of clear sugar. "We will set to work on that,"
said Hansel, "and have a good meal. I will eat a bit
of the roof, and thou, Gretel, canst eat some of the window,
it will taste sweet." Hansel reached up above, and
broke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and
Gretel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes.
Then a soft voice cried from the room,
"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,
who thought the roof tasted very nice, tore down a great
piece of it, and Gretel pushed out the whole of one round
window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself with it. Suddenly
the door opened, and a very, very old woman, who supported
herself on crutches, came creeping out. Hansel and Gretel
were so terribly frightened that they let fall what they
had in their hands. The old woman, however, nodded her head,
and said, "Oh, you dear children, who has brought you
here? Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen
to you." She took them both by the hand, and led them
into her little house. Then good food was set before them,
milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterwards
two pretty little beds were covered with clean white linen,
and Hansel and Gretel lay down in them, and thought they
were in heaven.
The old woman had only pretended to be so kind; she was
in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children,
and had only built the little house of bread in order to
entice them there. When a child fell into her power, she
killed it, cooked and ate it, and that was a feast day with
her. Witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they
have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human
beings draw near. When Hansel and Gretel came into her
neighborhood, she laughed maliciously, and said mockingly,
"I have them, they shall not escape me again!"
Early in the morning before the children were awake, she
was already up, and when she saw both of them sleeping and
looking so pretty, with their plump red cheeks, she muttered
to herself, "That will be a dainty mouthful!"
Then she seized Hansel with her shrivelled hand, carried
him into a little stable, and shut him in with a grated
door. He might scream as he liked, that was of no use. Then
she went to Gretel, shook her till she awoke, and cried,
"Get up, lazy thing, fetch some water, and cook something
good for thy brother, he is in the stable outside, and is
to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him." Gretel
began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, she was
forced to do what the wicked witch ordered her.
And now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Gretel
got nothing but crab-shells. Every morning the woman crept
to the little stable, and cried, "Hansel, stretch out
thy finger that I may feel if thou wilt soon be fat."
Hansel, however, stretched out a little bone to her, and
the old woman, who had dim eyes, could not see it, and thought
it was Hansel's finger, and was astonished that there was
no way of fattening him. When four weeks had gone by, and
Hansel still continued thin, she was seized with impatience
and would not wait any longer. "Hola, Gretel,"
she cried to the girl, "be active, and bring some water.
Let Hansel be fat or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and
cook him." Ah, how the poor little sister did lament
when she had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow
down over her cheeks! "Dear God, do help us,"
she cried. "If the wild beasts in the forest had but
devoured us, we should at any rate have died together."
"Just keep thy noise to thyself," said the old
woman, "all that won't help thee at all."
Early in the morning, Gretel had to go out and hang up
the cauldron with the water, and light the fire. "We
will bake first," said the old woman, "I have
already heated the oven, and kneaded the dough." She
pushed poor Gretel out to the oven, from which flames of
fire were already darting. "Creep in," said the
witch, "and see if it is properly heated, so that we
can shut the bread in." And when once Gretel was inside,
she intended to shut the oven and let her bake in it, and
then she would eat her, too. But Gretel saw what she had
in her mind, and said, "I do not know how I am to do
it; how do you get in?" "Silly goose," said
the old woman, "The door is big enough; just look,
I can get in myself!" and she crept up and thrust her
head into the oven. Then Gretel gave her a push that drove
her far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened the
bolt. Oh! then she began to howl quite horribly, but Gretel
ran away, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death.
Gretel, however, ran like lightning to Hansel, opened
his little stable, and cried, "Hansel, we are saved!
The old witch is dead!" Then Hansel sprang out like
a bird from its cage when the door is opened for it. How
they did rejoice and embrace each other, and dance about
and kiss each other! And as they had no longer any need
to fear her, they went into the witch's house, and in every
corner there stood chests full of pearls and jewels. "These
are far better than pebbles!" said Hansel, and thrust
into his pockets whatever could be got in, and Gretel said,
"I, too, will take something home with me," and
filled her pinafore full. "But now we will go away."
said Hansel, "that we may get out of the witch's forest."
When they had walked for two hours, they came to a great
piece of water. "We cannot get over," said Hansel,
"I see no foot-plank, and no bridge." "And
no boat crosses either," answered Gretel, "but
a white duck is swimming there; if I ask her, she will 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 be too heavy for the little
duck; she shall take us across, one after the other."
The good little duck did so, and when they were once safely
across and had walked for a short time, the forest seemed
to be more and more familiar to them, and at length they
saw from afar their father's house. Then they began to run,
rushed into the parlour, and threw themselves into their
father's arms. The man had not known one happy hour since
he had left the children in the forest; the woman, however,
was dead. Gretel emptied her pinafore until pearls and
precious stones ran about the room, and Hansel threw one
handful after another out of his pocket to add to them.
Then all anxiety was at an end, and they lived together
in perfect happiness. My tale is done, there runs a mouse,
whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out
of it.
From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, trans. Margaret
Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884), 1:62-69. In this text,
the name is spelled "Hänsel." |
