Saturday, January 12, 2013

< RM > tale - Hansel & Gretel

Hansel & Gretel

In a faraway land, a poor woodcutter
lived with his family. He had two
lovely children. The boy was called
Hansel and the girl was called Gretel.
They lived in a small house near a forest.
They were very happy together.
Then, one day their mother died and
the woodcutter got married again. His
new wife didn't like the two children.
Everyday, the woodcutter went to
work in the forest. The two children
stayed at home with their stepmother.
Their stepmother was very unkind to
them. "Gretel, wash the floors. Hansel,
bring the firewood now," she shouted.
The two children did all the housework.
One day, the woodcutter was ill. He
could not chop wood. He was ill all win-
ter. The family had no money and there
wasn't enough food.
One night, the nasty stepmother had
a plan. Hansel and Gretel woke up. They
heard their stepmother's plan.

"We don't have enough food. We can't
feed the children any more," she said.
"What can I do? I'm ill. I can't work," said
the woodcutter.
"You must take the children into the forest
and leave them there," said his wife.
"I can't do that. I love them," said the
woodcutter.
"But we don't have enough food," said his
wife. "Take them tomorrow."
The children listened to their nasty step-
mother's plan. Gretel began to cry. Hansel
hugged his sister. "Don't cry, Gretel. I have a
plan too," he said.
That night, when his parents were asleep,
Hansel went into garden. He collected some
small white stones. Then, he went back to
bed.
The next day, Hansel and Gretel went into
the forest with their father. They collected
wood for the fire. The white stones were in
Hansel's pockets. He began to drop the
stones on the path.
The children followed their father far into
the forest. They walked and walked. "You
must be tired" said their father. "Let's stop
here. I'll go and collect some more wood.
Then, we'll go home. You wait for me here."
Hansel and Gretel were very tired. They
sat on the ground and waited for their father.
Soon, they went to sleep. When they woke
up, it was dark.
"I'm frightened," said Gretel. "Father isn't
coming back. It's cold and dark. And we are
lost."
"Don't worry, Gretel," said Hansel.
Hansel pointed to the path. "Look, Gretel.
Look at the white stones. We can follow
them, and we can go home," he said.
"Well Done, Hansel," said Gretel. "We're
not lost. We can go home."
The two children followed the white stones
and they soon arrived home.
Their father was happy to see them. He
hugged them both. Their stepmother was not
happy to see them.
That night, the nasty stepmother said to
her husband, "You must take the children
into the forest again and leave them there."
"I can't do that. I love them," said the
woodcutter.
"But, we don't have enough food," said his
wife. "Take them tomorrow."
Hansel woke up. He heard the plan. He
lay in bed and waited. He heard his father
and stepmother go to bed. He got up and
went to the door. He wanted to collect some
more stones. But he couldn't open the door.
It was locked. So Hansel went back to bed.
In the morning, their stepmother gave
them two slices of bread for breakfast.
Hansel had an idea. He put the bread in his
pocket.
The two children went to the forest with
their father. They followed their father far
into the forest. Hansel broke the bread into
small pieces. He walked behind his father
and his sister, and he dropped the pieces of
bread on the ground. Some birds followed
Hansel. They ate the bread. Hansel didn't see
them.
Hansel, Gretel and their father walked and
walked. "You must be tired, " said their
father. "Let's stop here. I'll go and collect
some wood. Then, we'll go home. You wait
for me here."
This time, the children didn't sleep. Hansel
looked for the pieces of bread. But he could-
n't find them. "Now, we really are lost," said
Gretel. And she began to cry.
"Don't worry," said Hansel. "I'll look after
you."
The children were lost. They walked one
way. Then, they walked another way. But
they couldn't find their house.

Suddenly, they saw a very strange house.
"Wow! Look at that house," said Hansel.
It really was a very strange house. There
were chocolate cookies on the roof. There
were biscuits and nuts on the walls. And it
had a big chocolate door.
"Mmm," said Gretel. "I'm very hungry.
Let's eat some biscuits."
"Okay," said Hansel. "I'm very hungry,
too."
The two children ran up to the house.
Hansel pulled a biscuit off the wall and gave
it to Gretel. Then, he took a piece of choco-
late.
Suddenly, the chocolate door opened, and
an ugly old woman came out. "Hello. Who's
eating my house?"
"We're very sorry," said Hansel.
""That's okay. You must be hungry," she
said. "Come inside and have some break-
fast."
Hansel and Gretel were very hungry. They
went inside with the old woman. There was a
lot of nice food on the table. There were
cakes, biscuits, apples, and oranges. "Eat all
you can," said the old woman. "I like big
strong children."
The two children ate and ate. The ugly old
woman sat and watched them. This ugly old
woman was a witch. And this witch ate little
boys for dinner.
The witch put Hansel into a cage. She
locked the door of the cage. Then, she locked
the door of the house. She didn't want Gretel
to leave the house.
"You're very thin, little boy. I'm going to
feed you lots of lovely food. Then, you're
going to be fat. And I'm going to eat you for
dinner," the witch said to Hansel.
Then, the witch looked at Gretel. "You're
going to do all my housework," she said.
Everyday, the witch said to Gretel, "Give
Hansel some more food."
Every day for seven days, Gretel gave
Hansel a chicken and chips, cakes, and pies.
On the seventh day, the witch said, "Give me
your arm, Hansel."
Hansel knew that the witch couldn't see
very well. He didn't give his arm. He gave her
a chicken bone. The witch felt the bone. She
was very surprised. "You're very thin. Eat
some more."
On the tenth day, the witch was very
angry. Hansel was still thin. And she was
very hungry.
"I'm going to eat your brother today," she
said to Gretel. " Go and  prepare  the oven."
Gretel went and prepared the oven. She
made it very hot. Then, she went to the witch
and asked, "Can you come and check the
oven?"

"You stupid girl! You can't do anything
right!" said the witch. The witch went to
check the oven. She opened the oven door
and Gretel pushed her in.
Quickly, Gretel shut the oven door. Then,
she went and unlocked the cage. "Well done,
Gretel, "said Hansel. "Quick, let's go home."
"No," said Gretel. "The witch has some
treasure. She also has a map. Follow me! I'll
show you."
Gretel took Hansel to the witch's bed-
room. They found the treasure and the map.
"Now, we can go home," said Gretel.
Hansel and Gretel took a large box of
treasure with them. They looked at the map
and walked home.
The woodcutter was very happy to see his
children. He hugged them both. "I looked
everywhere for you. But I couldn't find you,"
he said.
"Where's our stepmother? Asked Gretel.
"She was very unkind to you. I told her to
leave," said the woodcutter.
"Hurray! "said Hansel and Gretel. And
they danced around the room. They were
very happy.
Hansel and Gretel told their father about
the biscuit house with the chocolate door.
And they told him about the ugly old witch.
Then, they showed him the treasure.
The woodcutter and his two children were
never hungry again. And they lived together
very happily.

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