Kitabı oku: «Страшные сказки / Scary stories», sayfa 4

“I got them, they won’t escape me again!”

Early in the morning before the children were awake, she was already up. The children looked so pretty, with their plump and rosy cheeks, that the witch muttered to herself:

“That will be a dainty mouthful!”

Then she seized Hansel with her shriveled hand, carried him into a little stable, and locked him in behind a grated door. He cried and screamed, but it did not help him.

Then the witch went to Gretel, shook her till she awoke, and cried:

“Get up, lazy bones, fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother. He is in the stable outside, and he must be fat. When he is fat, I will eat him”.

Gretel began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain.

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 to see whether you are fat enough”.

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. She was astonished that the boy still was not fat.

When four weeks passed by, and Hansel still remained thin, the witch became impatient and did not want to wait any longer.

“Now, then, Gretel”, she cried to the girl, “bring some water. Fast! Let Hansel be fat or lean, tomorrow I will kill him, and cook him”.

Ah, how the poor little sister lamented when she fetched the water! How her tears flew down her cheeks!

“Dear God, help us!” she cried. “If the wild beasts in the forest devoured us, we at any rate died together”.

“Shut up!⁸” said the old woman, “it won’t help you at all”.

Early in the morning, the witch told Gretel to go out and hang up the cauldron with the water, and light the fire.

“We will bake first”, said the old woman, “I heated the oven, and kneaded the dough”.

She pushed poor Gretel out to the oven, from which flames of fire darted.

“Creep in”, said the witch, “and see if it is properly heated, so that we can put the bread in”.

And once Gretel was inside, she intended to shut the oven and bake the girl. Then the witch wanted to eat her, too.

But Gretel understood this, and said:

“I do not know how 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 the witch crept up and thrust her head into the oven. Then Gretel pushed the witch far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened the bolt. Oh! Then the witch began to howl quite horribly, but Gretel ran away and the witch was 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 rejoiced and embraced each other! How they danced about and kissed 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 the pearls and jewels into his pockets.