English Faerie Tales
Hello this page
is about english faerie tales below I have some examples them but
before that here are some quick tidbits about English faerie tales.
- Faerie tales are usually
based on some form of truth.
- Faerie tales were used to
entertain people when story telling was one of the few things to do to
entertain people.
- Faerie tales differ from
place to place because they were told by mouth.
- Faerie tales usually have
some type of magic in them to help the story go along.
Cinderella
By the Grimm
Brothers
The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her end was
drawing near, she called her
only
daughter to her bedside and said, "Dear child, be good and pious, and
then the good God
will
always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near
you."
Thereupon she closed her eyes and departed. Every day the maiden went
out to her mother's
grave, and
wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came the snow spread
a
white
sheet over the grave, and by the time the spring sun had drawn it off
again, the man had
taken
another wife.
The woman had brought with her into the house two daughters, who were
beautiful and fair of
face, but
vile and black of heart. Now began a bad time for the poor step-child.
"Is the stupid
goose to
sit in the parlor with us," they said. "He who wants to eat bread must
earn it. Out
with the
kitchen-wench." They took her pretty clothes away from her, put an old
grey
bedgown on
her, and gave her wooden shoes.
"Just look at the proud princess, how decked out she is," they cried,
and laughed, and led her
into the
kitchen. There she had to do hard work from morning till night, get up
before
daybreak,
carry water, light fires, cook and wash. Besides this, the sisters did
her every
imaginable
injury - they mocked her and emptied her peas and lentils into the
ashes, so that
she was
forced to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had
worked till she was
weary she
had no bed to go to, but had to sleep by the hearth in the cinders. And
as on that
account
she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella.
It happened that the father was once going to the fair, and he asked
his two step-daughters
what he
should bring back for them.
"Beautiful
dresses," said one, "Pearls and jewels," said the second.
"And you,
Cinderella," said he, "what will you have?"
"Father
break off for me the first branch which knocks against your hat on your
way home."
So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels for his two
step-daughters, and on his way
home, as
he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him
and knocked
off his
hat. Then he broke off the branch and took it with him. When he reached
home he
gave his
step-daughters the things which they had wished for, and to Cinderella
he gave the
branch
from the hazel-bush. Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave
and planted
the branch
on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on it and watered it.
And it grew
and became
a handsome tree. Thrice a day Cinderella went and sat beneath it, and
wept and
prayed,
and a little white bird always came on the tree, and if Cinderella
expressed a wish, the
bird threw
down to her what she had wished for.
It happened, however, that the king
gave orders for a festival which was to last three days, and
to which
all the beautiful young girls in the country were invited, in order
that his son might
choose
himself a bride. When the two step-sisters heard that they too were to
appear among
the
number, they were delighted, called Cinderella and said, "comb our hair
for us, brush our
shoes and
fasten our buckles, for we are going to the wedding at the king's
palace."
Cinderella obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to go
with them to the dance,
and begged
her step-mother to allow her to do so.
"You go, Cinderella," said she, "covered in dust and dirt as you are,
and would go to the
festival.
You have no clothes and shoes, and yet would dance." As, however,
Cinderella went
on asking,
the step-mother said at last, "I have emptied a dish of lentils into
the ashes for you,
if you
have picked them out again in two hours, you shall go with us."
The maiden went through the back-door into the garden, and called, "You
tame pigeons, you
turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to
pick the good into the pot,
the bad into the
crop."
Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen window, and afterwards
the turtle-doves, and
at last
all the birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and
alighted amongst the
ashes. And
the pigeons nodded with their heads and began pick, pick, pick, pick,
and the rest
began also
pick, pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good grains into the dish.
Hardly had one
hour
passed before they had finished, and all flew out again.
Then the
girl took the dish to her step-mother, and was glad, and believed that
now she would
be allowed
to go with them to the festival.
But the
step-mother said, "No, Cinderella, you have no clothes and you can not
dance. You
would only
be laughed at." And as Cinderella wept at this, the step-mother said,
if you can
pick two
dishes of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour, you shall go
with us. And she
thought to
herself, that she most certainly cannot do again.
When the
step-mother had emptied the two dishes of lentils amongst the ashes,
the maiden
went
through the back-door into the garden and cried, "You tame pigeons, you
turtle-doves,
and all
you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick
the good into the pot,
the bad into the crop."
Then two
white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, and afterwards the
turtle-doves, and
at length
all the birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and
alighted amongst
the ashes.
And the doves nodded with their heads and began pick, pick, pick, pick,
and the
others
began also pick, pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good seeds into
the dishes, and
before
half an hour was over they had already finished, and all flew out
again. Then the
maiden was
delighted, and believed that she might now go with them to the wedding.
But the
step-mother said, "All this will not help. You cannot go with us, for
you have no
clothes
and can not dance. We should be ashamed of you." On this she turned her
back on
Cinderella, and hurried away with her two proud daughters.
As no one
was now at home, Cinderella went to her mother's grave beneath the
hazel-tree, and
cried,
"Shiver and quiver, little tree,
Silver and gold throw down over me."
Then the
bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers
embroidered with silk
and
silver. She put on the dress with all speed, and went to the wedding.
Her step-sisters and
the
step-mother however did not know her, and thought she must be a foreign
princess, for
she looked
so beautiful in the golden dress. They never once thought of
Cinderella, and
believed
that she was sitting at home in the dirt, picking lentils out of the
ashes. The prince
approached
her, took her by the hand and danced with her. He would dance with no
other
maiden,
and never let loose of her hand, and if any one else came to invite
her, he said, "This
is my
partner."
She danced
till it was evening, and then she wanted to go home. But the king's son
said, "I will
go with
you and bear you company," for he wished to see to whom the beautiful
maiden
belonged.
She escaped from him, however, and sprang into the pigeon-house. The
king's son
waited
until her father came, and then he told him that the unknown maiden had
leapt into the
pigeon-house. The old man thought, "Can it be Cinderella." And they had
to bring him an axe
and a
pickaxe that he might hew the pigeon-house to pieces, but no one was
inside it. And
when they
got home Cinderella lay in her dirty clothes among the ashes, and a dim
little
oil-lamp
was burning on the mantle-piece, for Cinderella had jumped quickly down
from the
back of
the pigeon-house and had run to the little hazel-tree, and there she
had taken off her
beautiful
clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken them away
again, and then
she had
seated herself in the kitchen amongst the ashes in her grey gown.
Next day
when the festival began afresh, and her parents and the step-sisters
had gone once
more,
Cinderella went to the hazel-tree and said,
"Shiver and quiver, my little tree,
Silver and gold throw down over me."
Then the
bird threw down a much more beautiful dress than on the preceding day.
And when
Cinderella
appeared at the wedding in this dress, every one was astonished at her
beauty. The
king's son
had waited until she came, and instantly took her by the hand and
danced with no
one but
her. When others came and invited her, he said, "This is my partner."
When evening
came she
wished to leave, and the king's son followed her and wanted to see into
which house
she went.
But she sprang away from him, and into the garden behind the house.
Therein stood
a
beautiful tall tree on which hung the most magnificent pears. She
clambered so nimbly
between
the branches like a squirrel that the king's son did not know where she
was gone. He
waited
until her father came, and said to him, "The unknown maiden has escaped
from me,
and I
believe she has climbed up the pear-tree." The father thought, "Can it
be Cinderella."
And had an
axe brought and cut the tree down, but no one was on it. And when they
got into
the
kitchen, Cinderella lay there among the ashes, as usual, for she had
jumped down on the
other side
of the tree, had taken the beautiful dress to the bird on the little
hazel-tree, and put
on her
grey gown.
On the
third day, when the parents and sisters had gone away, Cinderella went
once more to
her
mother's grave and said to the little tree,
"Shiver and quiver, my little tree,
silver and gold throw down over me."
And now
the bird threw down to her a dress which was more splendid and
magnificent than
any she
had yet had, and the slippers were golden. And when she went to the
festival in the
dress, no
one knew how to speak for astonishment. The king's son danced with her
only, and
if any one
invited her to dance, he said this is my partner.
When
evening came, Cinderella wished to leave, and the king's son was
anxious to go with
her, but
she escaped from him so quickly that he could not follow her. The
king's son,
however,
had employed a ruse, and had caused the whole staircase to be smeared
with pitch,
and there,
when she ran down, had the maiden's left slipper remained stuck. The
king's son
picked it
up, and it was small and dainty, and all golden.
Next
morning, he went with it to the father, and said to him, no one shall
be my wife but she
whose foot
this golden slipper fits. Then were the two sisters glad, for they had
pretty feet.
The eldest
went with the shoe into her room and wanted to try it on, and her
mother stood by.
But she
could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe was too small for her.
Then her mother
gave her a
knife and said, "Cut the toe off, when you are queen you will have no
more need to
go on
foot." The maiden cut the toe off, forced the foot into the shoe,
swallowed the pain, and
went out
to the king's son. Then he took her on his his horse as his bride and
rode away with
her. They
were obliged, however, to pass the grave, and there, on the hazel-tree,
sat the two
pigeons
and cried,
"Turn and peep, turn and peep,
there's blood within the shoe,
the shoe it is too small for her,
the true bride waits for you."
Then he
looked at her foot and saw how the blood was trickling from it. He
turned his horse
round and
took the false bride home again, and said she was not the true one, and
that the
other
sister was to put the shoe on. Then this one went into her chamber and
got her toes
safely
into the shoe, but her heel was too large. So her mother gave her a
knife and said, "Cut
a bit off
your heel, when you are queen you will have no more need to go on
foot." The
maiden cut
a bit off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain,
and went out
to the
king's son. He took her on his horse as his bride, and rode away with
her, but when they
passed by
the hazel-tree, the two pigeons sat on it and cried,
"Turn and peep, turn and peep,
there's blood within the shoe,
the shoe it is too small for her,
the true bride waits for you."
He looked
down at her foot and saw how the blood was running out of her shoe, and
how it
had
stained her white stocking quite red. Then he turned his horse and took
the false bride
home
again. "This also is not the right one," said he, "have you no other
daughter." "No," said
the man,
"there is still a little stunted kitchen-wench which my late wife left
behind her, but she
cannot
possibly be the bride." The king's son said he was to send her up to
him, but the
mother
answered, oh, no, she is much too dirty, she cannot show herself. But
he absolutely
insisted
on it, and Cinderella had to be called.
She first
washed her hands and face clean, and then went and bowed down before
the king's
son, who
gave her the golden shoe. Then she seated herself on a stool, drew her
foot out of
the heavy
wooden shoe, and put it into the slipper, which fitted like a glove.
And when she
rose up
and the king's son looked at her face he recognized the beautiful
maiden who had
danced
with him and cried, "That is the true bride." The step-mother and the
two sisters were
horrified
and became pale with rage, he, however, took Cinderella on his horse
and rode away
with her.
As they passed by the hazel-tree, the two white doves cried,
"Turn and peep, turn and peep,
no blood is in the shoe,
the shoe is not too small for her,
the true bride rides with you."
And when
they had cried that, the two came flying down and placed themselves on
Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and
remained sitting there.
When the
wedding with the king's son was to be celebrated, the two false sisters
came and
wanted to
get into favor with Cinderella and share her good fortune. When the
betrothed
couple
went to church, the elder was at the right side and the younger at the
left, and the
pigeons
pecked out one eye from each of them. Afterwards as they came back the
elder was at
the left,
and the younger at the right, and then the pigeons pecked out the other
eye from each.
And thus,
for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness
all their days.
English translation by Margaret Hunt
Sleeping Beauty
By the Grimm
Brothers
A long time ago
there were a king and queen who said every day, "Ah, if only we had a
child,"
but they
never had one.
But it
happened that once when the queen was bathing, a frog crept out of the
water on to the
land, and
said to her, "Your wish shall be fulfilled, before a year has gone by,
you shall have a
daughter."
What the
frog had said came true, and the queen had a little girl who was so
pretty that the
king could
not contain himself for joy, and ordered a great feast. He invited not
only his
kindred,
friends and acquaintances, but also the wise women, in order that they
might be kind
and
well-disposed towards the child. There were thirteen of them in his
kingdom, but, as he
had only
twelve golden plates for them to eat out of, one of them had to be left
at home.
The feast
was held with all manner of splendor and when it came to an end the
wise women
bestowed
their magic gifts upon the baby - one gave virtue, another beauty, a
third riches, and
so on with
everything in the world that one can wish for.
When
eleven of them had made their promises, suddenly the thirteenth came
in. She wished to
avenge
herself for not having been invited, and without greeting, or even
looking at anyone,
she cried
with a loud voice, "The king's daughter shall in her fifteenth year
prick herself with a
spindle,
and fall down dead." And, without saying a word more, she turned round
and left the
room.
They were
all shocked, but the twelfth, whose good wish still remained unspoken,
came
forward,
and as she could not undo the evil sentence, but only soften it, she
said, it shall not be
death, but
a deep sleep of a hundred years, into which the princess shall fall.
The king,
who would fain keep his dear child from the misfortune, gave orders
that every
spindle in
the whole kingdom should be burnt. Meanwhile the gifts of the wise
women were
plenteously fulfilled on the young girl, for she was so beautiful,
modest, good-natured, and
wise, that
everyone who saw her was bound to love her.
It
happened that on the very day when she was fifteen years old, the king
and queen were not
at home,
and the maiden was left in the palace quite alone. So she went round
into all sorts of
places,
looked into rooms and bed-chambers just as she liked, and at last came
to an old
tower. She
climbed up the narrow winding-staircase, and reached a little door. A
rusty key was
in the
lock, and when she turned it the door sprang open, and there in a
little room sat an old
woman with
a spindle, busily spinning her flax.
"Good day,
old mother," said the king's daughter, "what are you doing there?"
"I am
spinning," said the old woman, and nodded her head.
"What sort
of thing is that, that rattles round so merrily," said the girl, and
she took the spindle
and wanted
to spin too. But scarcely had she touched the spindle when the magic
decree was
fulfilled,
and she pricked her finger with it.
And, in
the very moment when she felt the prick, she fell down upon the bed
that stood there,
and lay in
a deep sleep. And this sleep extended over the whole palace, the king
and queen
who had
just come home, and had entered the great hall, began to go to sleep,
and the whole
of the
court with them. The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs
in the yard, the
pigeons
upon the roof, the flies on the wall, even the fire that was flaming on
the hearth
became
quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who
was just going to
pull the
hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him
go, and went to
sleep. And
the wind fell, and on the trees before the castle not a leaf moved
again.
But round
about the castle there began to grow a hedge of thorns, which every
year became
higher,
and at last grew close up round the castle and all over it, so that
there was nothing of it
to be
seen, not even the flag upon the roof. But the story of the beautiful
sleeping briar-rose,
for so the
princess was named, went about the country, so that from time to time
kings' sons
came and
tried to get through the thorny hedge into the castle. But they found
it impossible,
for the
thorns held fast together, as if they had hands, and the youths were
caught in them,
could not
get loose again, and died a miserable death.
After
long, long years a king's son came again to that country, and heard an
old man talking
about the
thorn-hedge, and that a castle was said to stand behind it in which a
wonderfully
beautiful
princess, named briar-rose, had been asleep for a hundred years, and
that the king
and queen
and the whole court were asleep likewise. He had heard, too, from his
grandfather,
that many
kings, sons had already come, and had tried to get through the thorny
hedge, but
they had
remained sticking fast in it, and had died a pitiful death.
Then the
youth said, "I am not afraid, I will go and see the beautiful
briar-rose." The good old
man might
dissuade him as he would, he did not listen to his words.
But by
this time the hundred years had just passed, and the day had come when
briar-rose was
to awake
again. When the king's son came near to the thorn-hedge, it was nothing
but large
and
beautiful flowers, which parted from each other of their own accord,
and let him pass
unhurt,
then they closed again behind him like a hedge. In the castle yard he
saw the horses
and the
spotted hounds lying asleep, on the roof sat the pigeons with their
heads under their
wings. And
when he entered the house, the flies were asleep upon the wall, the
cook in the
kitchen
was still holding out his hand to seize the boy, and the maid was
sitting by the black
hen which
she was going to pluck.
He went on
farther, and in the great hall he saw the whole of the court lying
asleep, and up by
the throne
lay the king and queen. Then he went on still farther, and all was so
quiet that a
breath
could be heard, and at last he came to the tower, and opened the door
into the little
room where
briar-rose was sleeping.
There she
lay, so beautiful that he could not turn his eyes away, and he stooped
down and
gave her a
kiss. But as soon as he kissed her, briar-rose opened her eyes and
awoke, and
looked at
him quite sweetly.
Then they
went down together, and the king awoke, and the queen, and the whole
court, and
looked at
each other in great astonishment. And the horses in the courtyard stood
up and
shook
themselves, the hounds jumped up and wagged their tails, the pigeons
upon the roof
pulled out
their heads from under their wings, looked round, and flew into the
open country,
the flies
on the wall crept again, the fire in the kitchen burned up and
flickered and cooked the
meat, the
joint began to turn and sizzle again, and the cook gave the boy such a
box on the ear
that he
screamed, and the maid finished plucking the fowl.
And then
the marriage of the king's son with briar-rose was celebrated with all
splendor, and
they lived
contented to the end of their days.
Hansel
and Gretel
By the Grimm Brothers
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
dearth
fell on the land, he could no longer procure even 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 more piece of bread, 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' you
fool," said she, "then we must all four die of hunger, you may 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 yourself, 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 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, 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 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, and did so again and again.
His father
said, "Hansel, what are you looking at there and staying behind for.
Pay attention,
and do not
forget how to use your 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 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 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 the
axe,
however, but 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
closed
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 dearth throughout the land, and
the children
heard
their mother saying at night to their father, "Everything is eaten
again, we have one half
loaf left,
and that is the 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 you to share
the last mouthful
with your
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, however, were 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 piece 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 do you 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.
"Fool,"
said the woman, "that is not your 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 passed, 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 came 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 its song was
over, 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 approached the
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 you
Gretel, can 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 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, who liked the taste of
the roof, 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 woman as old
as the hills,
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 with malice,
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 and rosy 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 locked him in behind a grated door.
Scream as he might, it
would not
help him.
Then she
went to Gretel, shook her till she awoke, and 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 weep bitterly, but it was
all in vain, for she
was forced
to do what the wicked witch commanded.
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 your finger
that I may
feel if you will 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 remained thin, she was seized with impatience and would not wait
any longer.
"Now,
then, Gretel," she cried to the girl, "stir yourself, 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 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
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 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 properly heated, so that we can put
the bread in." And
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 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 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 like a bird from its cage when the door is opened. 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 must be off," said Hansel, "that we may 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,"
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 parlor, and
threw themselves
round
their father's neck. 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.
English translation by Margaret Hunt
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