Hansel and Gretel, Level C (Grade Level 2-3)

Hansel and Gretel

          Near a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The boy was named Hansel and the girl Gretel. There was not much to eat. Great hunger fell on the land. The wood-cutter could no longer get even bread for his family. He thought over this by night in his bed, and tossed about in his worry.

          He groaned and said to his wife: “What is to become of us? How are we to eat.”

          “I’ll tell you what,” answered the woman. “Early tomorrow morning we will take the children out into the forest. We will light a fire for them. We will give each of them one more piece of bread. 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, you fool!” said she, “then we must all four die of hunger. You may as well make our coffins.” She left him no peace until he agreed.

          “But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same,” said the man.

          The two children had also been too hungry to sleep. They had heard what their stepmother had said to their father. Gretel cried.

          “Be quiet, Gretel,” said Hansel. “Do not worry. I will soon find a way to help us.” When the old folks had fallen asleep, he got up. He 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 stuffed the little pocket of his coat with as many as he could get in. Then he went back and said to Gretel: “Be comforted, dear little sister. Sleep in peace. God will not leave us.” He lay down again in his bed.

          Before the sun had risen, the woman came and awoke the two children. “Get up, you sluggards! We are going into the forest to fetch wood.” She gave each a little piece of bread. “There is something for your dinner. Do not eat it up before then, for you will get nothing else.” Gretel took the bread under her apron, as Hansel had the pebbles 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. He did so again and again. His father said: “Hansel, what are you looking at? Hurry up.”

          “Ah, father,” said Hansel, “I am looking at my little white cat. It is sitting up on the roof.”

          The wife said: “Fool, that is not your little cat. That is the sun rising.” But Hansel had not been looking back at the cat. He had been throwing the white pebbles 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. I will light a fire to keep you warm.” Hansel and Gretel gathered wood together, as high as a little hill.

          The wood was lit. The flames burned very high. The woman said: “Now, children, lay down by the fire and rest. We will go cut wood. When we are done, we will come back and get you.”

          Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire. At noon, each ate a little piece of bread. They heard the strokes of the ax, so they thought their father was near. But it was not the ax. It was a branch which he had put on a tree, and the wind was blowing it. Finally 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 said: “Just wait a little, until the moon comes out. Then we will find the way.” And when the full moon came out, Hansel took his little sister by the hand. They followed the pebbles and could see the way.

          They walked the whole night long. In the morning they came once more to their father’s house. They knocked at the door. When the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Gretel, she said: “You bad children, why have you slept so long in the forest? We thought you were never coming back at all!” But the father was happy. It had cut him to the heart to leave them behind alone.

          Not long afterwards, there was once more great hunger in the land. The children heard their mother saying at night to their father: “We have eaten everything. We only have half a loaf of bread left. 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 way to save ourselves!”

          The man’s heart was heavy, and he thought: “It would be better for you to share the last mouthful with your children.” But the woman would listen to nothing that he had to say. She scolded him, and he gave in again.

          But the children were still awake. They had heard their parents talking. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel again got up. He 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. Still, he hugged his little sister. “Do not cry, Gretel. Go to sleep quietly. The good God will help us.”

          Early in the morning the woman came. She took the children out of their beds. She gave them a piece of bread, but it was smaller than the time before. On the way into the forest Hansel crumbled his in his pocket. He kept throwing bits on the ground. “Hansel, why do you stop and look round?” said the father. “Go on.”

          “I am looking back at my little bird. It is sitting on the roof,” answered Hansel.

          “Fool!” said the woman, “that is not your little bird. That is the sun rising.” But Hansel threw the crumbs on the path one by one.

          The woman led the children still deeper into the forest. Then a great fire was again made, and the mother said: “Just sit there, you children. When you are tired you may sleep a little. We are going into the forest to cut wood. When we are done, we will come and get you.”

          At noon, Gretel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, who had scattered his. Then they fell asleep. It got late, but no one came to the poor children. They did not awake until it was dark night. Then Hansel said to his little sister: “Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises. Then we shall see the crumbs of bread on the path. They will show us our way home again.” When the moon came they set out, but they found no crumbs. 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, but they did not get out of the forest. They were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but two or three berries that they found. When 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 came deeper into the forest. 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 branch. It sang so well that they stood still and listened to it. When its song was over, it flew away. But they followed it. It landed on the roof of a little house. When they reached the little house they saw that it was built of bread and cake. The windows were made of clear sugar. “We will have a good meal,” said Hansel. “I will eat a bit of the roof. You can eat some of the window. It will taste sweet.” Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to see how it tasted. Gretel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the house:

“Nibble, nibble, gnaw,

Who is nibbling at my little house?”

The children answered:

“The wind, the wind,

The heaven-born wind.”

They went on eating. Hansel, who liked the taste of the roof, tore down a great piece of it. Gretel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane and sat down to eat it.

          Suddenly the door opened. A woman as old as the hills came out. Hansel and Gretel were so scared that they let fall what they had in their hands. But the old woman 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. Hansel and Gretel lay down in them. They thought they were in heaven.

          But the old woman had only pretended to be so kind. She was really a wicked witch. She lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread in order to bring them there. When a child fell into her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it.

          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 wickedly. “I have them,” she said. “They shall not escape me!”

          Early in the morning before the children were awake, she was already up. When she saw both of them sleeping, plump and rosy, she muttered to herself: “That will be a good meal!”

          She grabbed Hansel. She carried him into a little stable, and locked him in behind a grated door. Scream as he might, it would not help him. Then she went to Gretel and shook her till she awoke. She cried: “Get up, lazy thing. Fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother. He is in the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him.” Gretel began to cry, but it was all in vain. She was forced to do what the wicked witch told her.

          Poor Hansel got lots of good food, but Gretel got nothing but crab-shells. Every morning the woman crept to the little stable, and cried: “Hansel, stretch out your finger that I may feel if you will soon be fat.” But Hansel stretched out a little bone to her. The old woman, with her blind red eyes, could not see it. She thought it was Hansel’s finger, and was stunned that he did not get fat.

          Four weeks had gone by, and Hansel still remained thin. The witch would not wait any longer. “Now, then, Gretel,” she cried to the girl, “bring some water. Let Hansel be fat or lean, tomorrow I will eat him.” Ah, how the poor little sister did cry when she had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow down her cheeks!

          “Dear God, do help us,” she cried. “If the wild beasts in the forest had but eaten us up, we should at any rate have died together.”

          “Just keep your noise to yourself,” said the old woman, “it won’t help you at all.”

          Early in the morning, Gretel had to go out and hang up the pot 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. Flames of fire were already darting from it. “Creep in,” said the witch, “and see if it is properly heated, so that we can put the bread in.” Once Gretel was inside, she intended to shut the oven and let her bake in it. Then she would eat her, too.

          But Gretel saw what she had in mind. “I do not know how I am to do it,” she said. “How do I 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. She shut the iron door and locked it. Oh then the witch began to howl, but Gretel ran away. The evil woman was cooked.

          Gretel ran like lightning to Hansel and opened his little stable. She cried: “Hansel, we are saved! The old witch is dead!” Then Hansel sprang like a bird from its cage when the door is opened. How they did smile and hug 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. 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 fit. Gretel said: “I, too, will take something home with me,” and filled her apron. “But now we must be off,” said Hansel. “We must get out of the witch’s forest.”

          When they had walked for two hours, they came to a great stretch of water. “We cannot cross,” said Hansel, “I see no foot-plank, and no bridge.”

          “And there is also no ferry,” 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,” said 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. When they were once safely across and had walked for a short time, they knew where they were. Soon they saw from afar their father’s house. Then they began to run and rushed into the house. They threw themselves round their father’s neck. The man had not known one happy hour since he had left the children in the forest. But the woman was dead. Gretel emptied her apron until pearls and jewels ran about the room. Hansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket to add to them. Then all worry was at an end, and they lived together happily.