"Hansel and Gretel"

On the edge of a great forest lived a poor woodcutter, his wife and two children depended on him. His son's name was Hansel, and his daughter's name was Gretel. Their family was short of food and drink, but this year, domestic prices soared, and the woodcutter's family couldn't even get enough bread every day. That night, the woodcutter, who was tossing and turning with worry, lay on the bed with a lot of headaches. He sighed and groaned. Finally he said to his wife, "What shall we do! We have nothing to eat, so what are we going to do to support our poor child?"

"Listen to me, the boy's father," replied his wife, "tomorrow morning we will take the children out into the deep woods far away, and there we will build a fire for them and give them each a small Bread, and then we pretend to do our work, and leave them there alone. They don't know their way, and they can't get home, so we don't have to keep them."

"No, my wife," said the Woodman, "I cannot do it. How could I have the heart to leave my child in the jungle to feed the beasts!"

"Well, you fool," said his wife, "otherwise the four of us will starve to death!" Then she babbled and persuaded him endlessly, until at last he acquiesced.

At that time, the two children were too hungry to fall asleep, and they happened to hear the whole conversation between the stepmother and their father. Hearing her stepmother's advice to her father, Gretel wept bitterly, and said to Hansel, "It's all over for us now."

"Shut up, Gretel," Hansel reassured her, "don't worry, I'll find a way."

After the two adults fell asleep, he put on his small coat, opened the back door and sneaked out of the room. At this time, the moonlight was bright, and the bright moonlight made the small white stones on the open space in front of the house sparkle, like pieces of silver coins. Hansel squatted down and tried his best to fill the pockets of his coat with white stones. Then he went back to the house and said to Gretel, "Don't worry, little sister, just sleep well, God will be with us."

With that, he went back to his little bed to sleep.

Just after dawn, before the sun had risen above the horizon, the woman woke up the two children. "Get up, get up, you slobs!" she yelled, "We're going into the mountains to cut wood." As she spoke, she gave a small piece of bread to a child and warned them, "This is your lunch, don't eat it early, because you will never get anything again." Gretel took the bread and hid it in her under his apron, for Hansel's pockets were now full of white stones.

Then, the whole family headed towards the forest. Hansel always stopped and looked back at his home after walking for a while, and stopped and looked back at his home after walking for a while. When his father saw him, he said, "Hansel, why are you always looking back? Focus on walking your way."

"Oh, Papa," answered Hansel, "I'm looking at my white cat, who is sitting high on the roof, and wants to say 'good-bye' to me!"

"That's not your kitten, little fool," said the stepmother, "it's the morning sun shining on the chimney." Hansel wasn't really looking at the kitten, he was quietly throwing a bright white stone I took them out of my pocket and threw them one by one on the road.

When they reached the depths of the forest, their father said to them, "Hey, boys, go and get some firewood, and I'll make you a fire."

Hansel and Gretel picked up many dead sticks and piled them up as high as a hill. When the dead branches were alight and the flames had risen high, the stepmother said to them, "Lie down by the fire, both of you, and stay there, while your father and I go into the woods to chop wood. When the work is over , we’ll come and take you home.”

So Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire and waited for their parents to finish their work before coming to fetch them. By noon they had eaten their own morsel of bread. Because they could always hear the bang, bang of the ax cutting down the tree, they believed that their father was nearby. It was not the sound of an ax that they heard at all, but a dead branch tied to a young tree,

The sound of hitting the tree trunk under the blowing of the wind. Sitting for a long time, the siblings were so tired that the upper and lower eyelids started fighting. It didn't take long for the two of them to fall asleep, and when they woke up from their dreams, it was already dark night. Gretel cried out in fear, and said, "Now we can't find our way out of the forest!"

"Don't worry," said Hansel reassuringly, "when the moon comes out, we will soon find our way out of the forest."

Soon, when a full moon rose, Hansel took his sister by the hand, and walked along the path led by the white stones that shone like silver coins on the ground in the moonlight. They walked all night, and arrived at their father's door just before dawn. They knocked on the door, and it was their stepmother who answered it. When she opened the door and saw Hansel and Gretel, she said, "Why have you been sleeping in the forest for so long? We thought you didn't want to go home!"

Seeing the children, the father was overjoyed, because he was very sad because he had abandoned the two children coldly.

The family struggled to live together again. But not long after, there was a nationwide famine. One night, the two children heard their stepmother say to their father again: "Oh! I've eaten up everything I can eat, and only this half of the bread is left. What do you think we will do in the future? We still have to lighten our burden. A child is thrown away! This time we can take them deeper and farther into the forest, so that they will never find their way back. Only in this way can we save ourselves."

Hearing that his wife said again that he would abandon the child, the woodcutter was very sad. He thought to himself, wouldn't it be better for everyone to share the last piece of bread together? But like all men in the world, it is too difficult to say "no" to a woman, and the woodcutter is no exception. Just like the principle that "whoever puts on the bridle must pull the cart", since the woodcutter made the first concession to his wife, of course there must be a second concession, and he no longer opposes his wife. suggested.

However, the children heard all of their conversation. After his parents fell asleep, Hansel got up from the bed again, and wanted to slip out the door, like last time, to go outside to pick up some pebbles, but this time he found that the door had been locked by his stepmother. But he had a new idea in his heart, and he comforted his little sister, saying, "Don't cry, Gretel, don't worry, and sleep well. God will help us."

Early in the morning, the stepmother pulled the children out of bed. She gave each of them a piece of bread, but it was much smaller than the previous one.

On the way to the forest Hansel crumbled his bread in his pocket, and stopped now and then to scatter the crumbs on the road.

"Hansel, why are you dawdling behind watching?" His father asked him seeing that he was always lagging behind.

"I was looking at my little pigeon, who was standing on the roof cooing goodbye to me," Hansel replied.

"You idiot," cried his stepmother, "that's not your pigeon, it's the morning sun on the chimney." But Hansel sprinkled his crumbs down the road anyway.

The stepmother led them away for a long time, and they came to a forest they had never been to. As before, a big fire was built again, and the stepmother said to them again: "Stay here, children, and sleep if you are sleepy, we will go far away to cut wood and finish the work." We'll come get you."

When noon came, Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, for Hansel's bread had been scattered on the road. Then, they both fell asleep again. Until midnight, no one came to pick up the two poor children. It was pitch black when they woke up. Hansel comforted his sister and said, "As soon as the moon rises, we will see the crumbs I scattered on the ground, and it will show us the way home."

But when the moon rose, they could not find any crumbs of bread on the ground. It turned out that they were all eaten by the birds flying around in the woods and fields.

Although Hansel was also a little anxious, he still comforted his sister and said, "We will definitely find the way, Gretel."

But they couldn't find the way. Although they walked all day and night, they couldn't get out of the forest. They were dazed with hunger, for they had nothing to eat except a few grass molds they found on the ground. At this time, they were so tired that they couldn't even move their feet. They fell under a tree and fell asleep.

It was the third morning since they had left their father's house, and they were lost in the jungle. If they can't get help, they will die. Just then, they saw a very beautiful bird, all white, standing on a branch and singing. It sang so beautifully that the two brothers and sisters could not help but stop and listen to it. When it finished singing, it spread its wings and flew in front of them, as if beckoning them to follow it. So they followed it along until they came to the front of a hut, and the bird landed on the roof of the hut. Only then did they realize that the hut was actually made of fragrant bread, with thick cakes on the roof, and bright candy blocks on the windows.

"Let us let go," said Hansel, "and now we have a good meal. I'll eat a piece of the roof, Gretel, and you can eat the window, it will taste delicious Yes, very sweet."

Saying that, Hansel climbed up and broke off a small piece of the roof, and tasted it. Gretel stood in front of the window, gnawing at the sweet window with her mouth. At this time, a voice suddenly came from the house: "Chew! Gnaw! Gnaw! Who is gnawing my little house?"

The children replied: "It's the wind, it's the wind, it's the little baby in heaven."

They ate and answered without interruption.

Hansel thought the roof tasted particularly good, so he took off a big piece; Gretel also simply cut out a small round window, and sat on the ground to enjoy it slowly. Suddenly, the door of the house opened, and an old woman walked out tremblingly on crutches. Hansel and Gretel's legs trembled in fright, and the food they were holding fell to the ground.

The old woman shook her trembling head and said, "Good boy, who brought you here? Come, come with me into the house, no one will hurt you here!"

As she spoke, she took the brothers and sisters by the hand, led them into her hut, and prepared them a good supper of milk, sugar cakes, apples, and nuts. After the children had finished eating, she made two small white beds for the children. When Hansel and Gretel lay down on the beds, they immediately felt that they were in heaven.

In fact, this old woman is hiding a knife in her smile, her friendliness is just a disguise for them to see, she is actually an evil witch who specializes in luring children into being fooled, and the house she built with delicious food is to let children fall into her trap. Whenever a child falls into her clutches, she kills him, boils and eats him. The witch's red eyes have poor eyesight and cannot see far away, but her sense of smell is as sensitive as a beast, and she can smell people from far away. She knew Hansel and Gretel had just approached her house, and laughed wildly with joy, and then made up her mind with a sneer: "I will hold them fast and never let them escape."

The next morning, before the children woke up, she got up. Looking at the red and round faces of the two little guys, she couldn't help drooling: "What a delicious meal!" Then she grabbed Hansel's little arm and carried him into a small stable. And locked him up with a fence. Hansel yelled inside, but it was no use. Then the old witch went up and shook Gretel awake, and yelled at her, "Get up, lazy girl! Go get some water and cook something nice for your brother. He's out in the stable, and I'm going to take him Raise him fat, and then eat him."

Gretel burst into tears when she heard this, but she still had to follow the old witch's orders. As a result, Hansel could eat a lot of delicious food every day, but poor Gretel had only crab shells to eat every day. Every morning, the old witch would walk tremblingly to the small stable and call Hansel: "Hansel, stretch out your finger, let me see if you have gained weight!" Every time, she was given a small bone that had been gnawed. The old hag, who was dazed, couldn't see clearly at all. She really thought it was Hansel's finger! She wondered very much in her heart, why Hansel hasn't gained weight yet?

After another four weeks, Hansel was still very thin. The old witch lost her patience, and threatened that she did not want to wait any longer.

"Come here, Gretel," she shouted at the little girl, "get some water! Whether he is fat or thin, I will kill Hansel tomorrow and cook him up."

The poor little sister was forced to fetch water to cook her brother. She was very sad along the way, and tears rolled down her cheeks! "Dear God, please help us!" she cried. "It would have been better to have been eaten by wild animals in the forest, and we would have died together!"

While the old witch was away for a while, poor Gretel saw the opportunity to run to Hansel and tell him all she had heard: "We must run away, because the old woman is a wicked witch, and she will kill us." Mile."

But Hansel said, "I know how to get out, because I've got the latch out of the way. But you must first steal her wand and the flute that hangs in her room, in case If she comes after her, we won't be afraid of her."

After Gretel managed to steal both the wand and the flute, the two children ran away.

At this moment the old witch came to see if her good meal was ready, and found that the two children were missing. Although her eyes were not good, she still saw the two children running away from the window.

She flew into a rage, and hastened into her boots, which covered a few yards at a stride, and would catch up with the two children in a little while. Seeing that the old witch was about to overtake them, Gretel used the wand she had stolen to transform Hansel into a lake, and herself into a cygnet swimming in the lake. The old witch came to the lake and threw some bread crumbs into the lake to trick the little swan. But the little swan just couldn't come, so the old witch had to go back empty-handed.

Seeing that the old witch was gone, Gretel used the wand to transform herself and Hansel back to their original appearance. Then they continued on their way until it was dark.

Soon, the old witch came after her again.

Then the little girl transformed herself into a rose in the hawthorn hedge, and Hansel sat down beside the rose and became a flute player.

"Good flute player," said the old witch, "may I pluck that pretty rose?"

"Oh, yes," said Hansel.

So the old witch, who knew very well what that rose was, hurried up to the hedge to pick it off as fast as she could. Just then Hansel took out his flute and began to play.

This is a magic flute, and anyone who hears the flute will dance involuntarily. So the old witch had to keep spinning to the sound of the flute, and could never pick the rose again. Hansel kept blowing like this until the thorns tore the witch's clothes and pierced deeply into her flesh, making her scream. At last, the old witch was firmly entangled in those thorns.

At this time, Gretel regained her original shape and walked home with Hansel. Gretel was exhausted after a long walk. So they found a hollow tree in the meadow near the forest, and lay down in the hollow. Just as they fell asleep, the old witch who managed to escape from the thorn bushes chased after her again. As soon as she saw her wand, she grabbed it triumphantly. Then, immediately, poor Hansel was transformed into a fawn.

When Gretel woke up, seeing what had happened, she threw herself on the poor little animal and wept. At this time, tears kept flowing down from Xiaolu's eyes.

Gretel said, "Don't worry, dear fawn, I will never leave you."

So saying, she took off her long golden necklace, put it about his neck, and she tore some rushes and wove it into a straw rope, and put it round the fawn's neck, and wherever she went, she Take this poor fawn with you.

Finally, one day they came to a hut. Seeing that the hut was empty, Gretel said, "Let's stay here."

She gathered a lot of leaves and moss and made a soft bed for the fawn. Every morning she went out and gathered nuts and berries to satisfy her hunger, and gathered leaves and grass for her brother. She put leaves and grass in her hands to feed the fawn, and the fawn hopped around happily beside her. At night, when Gretel was tired, she would sleep with her head on the fawn. How happy their lives would be if poor Hansel could be restored to his original form!

They lived like this in the forest for many years. At this time, Gretel had grown into a young girl. One day, the king happened to come here to hunt. When the deer heard the sound of the horn echoing in the forest, the barking of the hounds, and the shouts of the hunters, he couldn't help but want to see what was going on. "Oh, sister," he said, "let me go and see in the forest, I can't stay here any longer." He begged so much, that at last she agreed to let him go.

"But," she said, "be sure to come back before dark. I will close the door and keep the hunters out. If you knock and say, 'Sister, let me in.' I will know you have come back. If you don't speak, I'll close the door tightly."

So the deer jumped and ran out. When the King and his hunters saw the beautiful fawn, they came after him, but they could not catch him, for every time they thought they were about to catch him, he would jump into the bushes and hide .

When it got dark, the little deer ran back to the hut, knocked on the door and said, "Sister, let me in!" So Gretel opened the door, and he jumped in, sleeping beautifully on his soft bed. fell asleep.

The next morning the hunt started again. As soon as the deer heard the sound of the hunters' horns, he said, "Sister, open the door for me. I must go out."

When the king and his hunters saw the fawn, they immediately started rounding it up again. They chased him all day, and finally surrounded him, and one of the hunters shot him in the foot. He limped and fled back home with difficulty. The hunter who had shot him followed him, and heard the fawn say, "Sister, let me in." He also saw the door open, and then close again after the fawn entered. So the hunter went back and reported to the king what he had seen and heard. The king said: "Then let's round up again tomorrow."

When Gretel saw her dear fawn hurt, she was terrified. However, she still cleaned the wound for him and applied some herbs. The next morning, the wound had healed. When the horn sounded again, the little thing said again, "I can't stay here, I must go out and see. I'll take care that they don't catch me."

But Gretel said, "I'm sure they'll kill you this time, and I won't let you go."

"If you keep me here, I'll die of regret," he said. Gretel had to let him out, and she opened the door with a heavy heart, and the fawn ran happily into the forest again.

As soon as the king saw the deer, he ordered loudly: "You must catch him today, but none of you is allowed to hurt him."

However, when the sun went down, they still failed to catch him. Then the king said to the hunter who had followed the fawn, "Then lead me now to the hut."

So they came to the hut, and the king knocked at the door, and said, "Sister, let me in."

When the door was opened, the King went in, and there stood in the house the most beautiful maiden he ever saw.

Gretel was terrified when she saw that it was not her fawn but a king in a crown. But the King took her by the hand very kindly, and said, "Will you come with me to my castle, and be my wife?"

"Yes," said Gretel, "I may go with you to your castle, but I cannot be your wife, because my fawn must be with me, and I cannot part from him."

"Well then," said the king, "he may go with you and never leave you, and he will have what he wants."

Just then, the deer jumped in. So Gretel put the straw rope around his neck, and they left the hut together.

After the king carried little Gretel on his tall horse, he ran towards his palace. The fawn followed happily behind them. Along the way, Gretel told the king all about her, and the king knew the old witch, and sent for her, and ordered her to regain the fawn's human form.

When Gretel saw her dear brother restored to his former form, she was so grateful to the king that she readily consented to marry him. They lived happily in this way, and Hansel also became the king's court minister.