On the edge of the big forest, there 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 originally lacked food and drink, and
This year happened to coincide with the skyrocketing domestic prices, and the woodcutter's family had no food to eat, and could not even guarantee their daily bread. That night, the woodcutter, who was so worried that he couldn't sleep, lay in bed and was thinking hard.
He sighed and groaned again. Finally he said to his wife: "What should we do! If we don't have anything to eat, how can we feed our poor child?"
"Listen to me, the child's father," his wife replied: "Early tomorrow morning we will take the children to a distant jungle, make a fire for them there, and give each of them a small piece.
Bread, and then we pretend to go do our work and leave them alone. They don't know the way and can't get home, so we don't have to feed them anymore."
"No, wife," said the woodcutter, "I can't do this. How could I bear to leave my child in the jungle to feed wild beasts?"
"Hey, you idiot," his wife said, "otherwise, all four of us will starve to death!" Then she chirped again and tried to persuade him endlessly, and finally, he had no choice but to acquiesce.
At that time, the two children were too hungry to sleep, and happened to hear the entire conversation between their stepmother and their father. After hearing her stepmother's advice to her father, Gretel cried sadly and said to Hansel: "Now we are both finished.
.”
"Hush, Gretel," Hansel comforted her and said, "Don't worry, I will find a way."
After the two adults fell asleep, he put on his little coat, opened the back door and sneaked out of the room. At this time, the moon was shining brightly, and the bright moonlight made the white pebbles in the open space in front of the house sparkle, like a piece of stone.
Hansel squatted down and stuffed his coat pockets 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."
After that, he went back to his little bed to sleep.
As soon as dawn broke and the sun had not yet jumped over the horizon, the woman woke up the two children, "Get up, get up, you two lazy idiots!" She shouted, "We are going into the mountains to chop firewood."
As she said this, she gave one of the children a small piece of bread 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 Hansel's apron, for Hansel's pockets were now full of white stones.
Then, the whole family headed towards the forest. Hansel always walked for a while and then stopped and looked back at his home. After walking for a while, he stopped and looked back at his home. When his father saw him, he said: "Hansel
Hey, why are you always looking back? Focus on walking your way."
"Oh, Dad," Hansel replied, "I'm looking at my white cat. He's squatting high on the roof, wanting to say 'goodbye' to me!"
"That's not your kitten, little fool," said the stepmother, "that's the morning sun shining on the chimney." In fact, Hansel was not really looking at the kitten, he was quietly looking at the bright white pebbles.
He took it out of his pocket and threw it on the road one by one.
When they reached the depths of the forest, their father said to them: "Hey, kids, go pick up some firewood and I'll make a fire for you."
Hansel and Gretel picked up many dead branches and piled them as high as a hill. When the dead branches were lit and the flames rose high, their stepmother said to them: "You two lie down by the fire.
Go up and stay there while your father and I go to the forest to chop wood. As soon as we finish the work, we will come to take you home."
So Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, waiting for their parents to come to pick them up after finishing their work. At noon, they ate their own small piece of bread, because they could always hear the thud of the ax chopping down the trees.
, bang, they believed that their father was nearby. In fact, what they heard was not the sound of an ax at all, it was a dead branch tied to a small tree, which was blown by the wind and hit the trunk of the tree.
The sound came out. The brother and sister sat for a long time, so tired that their upper and lower eyelids started to fight. Not long after, they fell asleep. When they woke up from their dreams, it was already dark.
That night, Gretel was so frightened that she began to cry and said, "Now we can't find our way out of the forest!"
"Don't worry," Hansel comforted her, "wait until the moon comes out, and we will soon find our way out of the forest."
Soon, when a full moon rose, Hansel took his sister's hand and walked forward along the path guided by the white stones that shone like silver coins on the ground in the moonlight. They walked all night,
They returned to their father's house at dawn. They knocked on the door, and it was their stepmother who opened the door. When she opened the door and saw Hansel and Gretel, she said: "Why are you sleeping in the forest?"
After so long, we thought you didn’t want to go home!”
The father was overjoyed when he saw the child, but he felt very sad because he had coldly abandoned his two children.
Their family lived together in difficulty again. But not long after, a nationwide famine broke out. One night, the two children heard their stepmother say to their father: "Oh! All the food is eaten, so...
What do you think we will do with this half of bread left? We still have to lighten the burden and throw away the two children! This time we can take them deeper and further into the forest to prevent them from ever coming back again.
We can't find our way back. Only in this way can we save ourselves."
Hearing that his wife said that she wanted to abandon the child, the woodcutter felt very sad. He thought to himself, wouldn't it be better for everyone to share the joys and sorrows together and share the last piece of bread? But like all men in the world, saying "no" to a woman would be a waste.
It is too difficult, and the woodcutter is no exception. Just like the principle of "whoever puts on the halter must pull the cart", since the woodcutter made the first concession to his wife, of course he must have
After giving in for the second time, he no longer opposed his wife's suggestion.
However, the children heard all their conversation. After their parents fell asleep, Hansel got up from the bed again and wanted to slip out and pick up some pebbles outside like last time, but this time he found
The door was locked by his stepmother. But he had a new idea in his mind, and he comforted his little sister and said: "Don't cry, Gretel, don't worry, sleep well. God will help us."
Early in the morning, the stepmother took the children out of bed. She gave each of them a piece of bread, but it was much smaller than the last time.
On the way to the forest, Hansel crushed his bread in his pocket, stopping now and then to scatter the crumbs on the road.
"Hansel, what are you so lingering behind looking at?" his father asked him when he saw that he was always lagging behind.
"I'm looking at my little pigeon, which is standing on the roof cooing to say goodbye to me," Hansel replied.
"You idiot," his stepmother shouted, "that's not your dove, that's the morning sun shining on the chimney." But Hansel still spread his bread crumbs little by little on the road.
The stepmother led them for a long time and came to a forest that they had never been to before. Just like last time, they lit a big fire, and the stepmother said to them again: "Stay well here, children, if
If you feel sleepy, take a nap, we have to go to a distant place to chop firewood, and we will come to pick you up after the work is done."
At noon, Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, because 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.
A poor child, they woke up in darkness. Hansel comforted his sister and said: "When the moon comes out, we will be able to see the bread crumbs I scattered on the ground, and they will definitely point us home."
road."
But when the moon rose, they could not find any bread crumbs on the ground. It turned out that they had all been eaten bit by bit 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 a way, Gretel."
But they could not find the road. Although they walked for a day and a night, they could not get out of the forest. They were so hungry that they were dizzy because they had nothing to eat except a few straw mold found on the ground. At this time, they were so tired.
He couldn't even move his feet, so he fell down under a tree and fell asleep.
This was the third morning after they left their father's house. They were deep in the jungle and lost their way. If they could not get help, they would definitely die. At this moment, they saw a snow-white, extremely beautiful animal.
The bird stood on a branch and sang loudly. It sang so beautifully that the brother and sister couldn't help but stop and listen to it. After singing, it spread its wings and flew in front of them, as if to signal them to follow.
It walked. So they followed it forward until they arrived in front of a hut. The bird landed on the roof of the hut. Only then did they realize that the hut was actually made of fragrant bread.
It's a thick cake, but the windows are bright candies.
"Let's eat our bellies," said Hansel. "Now it's time for us to have a delicious meal. I'll eat a piece of the roof, Gretel, and you can eat the window. It'll taste great."
Yes, it’s so sweet.”
As he said that, Hansel climbed up and broke off a small piece of the roof to taste it. Gretel stood in front of the window and nibbled on the sweet window with her mouth. At this time, a voice suddenly came from the house: "
Chew it! Chew it! Chew it! Who is chewing my little house?"
The children replied: "It's the wind, it's the wind, it's the little doll in heaven."
They answered while eating without being disturbed at all.
Hansel felt that the smell of the roof was particularly beautiful, so he took off a large piece of it; Gretel simply took 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 leaned on her
Hansel and Gretel walked out shakily on crutches. Hansel and Gretel's legs trembled with fright, and the food in their hands fell to the ground.
The old woman shook her trembling head and said: "Good children, who brought you here? Come, follow me into the house, no one will hurt you here!"
As she spoke, she took the two brothers and sisters by the hand, led them into her cabin, and prepared a sumptuous dinner for them, including milk, sugar cookies, apples, and nuts. When the children finished eating, she
Two more white beds were made for the children. As soon as Hansel and Gretel lay down on the beds, they immediately felt that they had entered heaven.
In fact, this old woman is hiding a secret in her smile. Her friendliness is just disguised to show them. She is actually an evil witch who specializes in luring children into being fooled. Her house built with delicious food is just to make the children fall into her trap. Once
She would kill any child who fell into her clutches, cook him and eat him. The witch's red eyes had poor vision and could not see far, but her sense of smell was as sharp as a wild beast, and she could see him from far away.
She could smell people. She knew it as soon as Hansel and Gretel approached her house. She laughed wildly with joy, and then made up her mind with a sneer: "I will hold them firmly and never
Let them run away."
Early the next morning, she got up before the children woke up. Looking at the two little guys' rosy, round faces, she couldn't help drooling: "What a delicious meal!"
Holding Hansel's little arm, she carried him into a small stable and locked him up with a fence. Hansel yelled inside, but to no avail. Then, the old witch walked over and took Gretel away.
Shake her awake and yell at her: "Get up, lazy girl! Go get water and cook something delicious for your brother. He is locked in the stable outside. I want to raise him until he is white and fat, and then eat
Drop him."
Gretel burst into tears after hearing this, but she still had to do the work according to the old witch's instructions. So Hansel could eat a lot of delicious food every day, but poor Gretel only had crab shells every day.
Eat. Every morning, the old witch would walk tremblingly to the small stable and call Hansel: "Hansel, stretch out your finger and let me feel if you have gained weight!" But Hansel
Every time, Hansel would give her a small gnawed bone. The old witch with her dim eyesight could not see clearly at all. She really thought it was Hansel’s finger! She felt very puzzled in her heart, why Hansel
Haven't gained a little weight yet?
After another four weeks, Hansel was still very thin. The old witch lost patience and threatened that she didn't want to wait any longer.
"Come here, Gretel," she shouted to the little girl, "go and fetch water quickly! No matter whether he is fat or thin, I will kill Hansel tomorrow and cook him to eat."
The poor little sister was forced to fetch water to cook her brother. She was so sad along the way that tears fell down her cheeks! "Dear God, please help us!" she shouted.
He said, "It would be better to be eaten by wild beasts in the forest, then we would still die together!"
While the old witch was gone for a while, poor Gretel took the opportunity to run to Hansel and told him everything she heard: "We must run away quickly, because the old woman is an evil witch and she wants to kill us."
Miles."
But Hansel said: "I know how to escape, because I have opened the bolt. But first you have to steal her wand and the flute hanging in her room, just in case.
If she comes after her, we won't be afraid of her anymore."
After Gretel finally stole the wand and flute, the two children ran away.
At this time, the old witch came over to see if her delicious meal was ready, but found that the two children were missing. Although her eyesight was not good, she still saw the two running away children from the window.
She was furious and hurriedly put on her boots, which could walk several yards with one step. Soon she would catch up with the two children. Seeing that the old witch was about to catch up with them, Gretel used
The wand she stole turned Hansel into a lake, and herself into a little swan swimming in the lake. The old witch came to the lake and threw some bread into the lake.
She wanted to trick the little swan into being fooled, but the little swan wouldn't come over, so in the end the old witch had to go back empty-handed.
Seeing that the old witch was gone, Gretel used the wand to change herself and Hansel back to their original appearances. Then they continued on their way until dark.
Soon, the old witch caught up with her again.
Then the little girl transformed herself into a rose in the hawthorn hedge, and Hansel sat down next to the rose and became a flutist.
"Good flute player," said the old witch, "may I pluck that beautiful rose?"
"Oh, okay." Hansel said.
So, the old witch, who knew very well what the rose was, walked quickly to the hedge and wanted to pluck it quickly. At this moment, Hansel took out his flute and started playing.
This is a magic flute. Anyone who hears the sound of the flute will dance involuntarily. So the old witch had to keep spinning with the sound of the flute, and she could no longer pick the rose. Hansel said
He kept blowing like this until the thorns tore the witch's clothes and penetrated deeply into her flesh, making her scream. Finally, the old witch was tightly entangled by the thorns.
Living.
At this time, Gretel returned to her original form and walked home with Hansel. After walking a long distance, Gretel was exhausted. So they found a tree on the grass near the forest.
They found a hollow tree and lay down in the hole of the tree. Just as they were sleeping, the old witch who finally escaped from the thorn bushes caught up with her again. As soon as she saw her wand, she grabbed it proudly.
Live it. And immediately turn poor Hansel into a deer.
After Gretel woke up and saw what had happened, she threw herself sadly at the poor little animal and cried. At this time, tears kept flowing down from the deer's eyes.
Gretel said: "Don't worry, dear little deer, I will never leave you."
As she said this, she took off her long golden necklace and put it around his neck. Then she tore off some rushes and braided it into a straw rope, which she wrapped around the fawn's neck. No matter where she went, she would
Take this poor little deer with you.
Finally, one day they came to a hut. Seeing that no one lived in the hut, Gretel said, "Let's stay here."
She gathered a lot of leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the deer. Every morning, she went out to pick some nuts and berries to satisfy her hunger, and she also gathered a lot of leaves and grass for her brother. She put the leaves and grass
She put it in her hand to feed the deer, and the deer jumped happily beside her. At night, when Gretel was tired, she would sleep with her head on the deer. If only poor Hansel could
How happy their lives would be if they were restored to their original shape!
They lived in this way for many years in the forest. By 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 and the barking of the hunting dogs,
When the hunters shouted, he couldn't help but want to see what was going on. "Oh, sister," he said, "let me go to the forest and have a look, I can't stay here anymore."
"He kept begging, and finally she had to agree to let him go.
"But," she said, "you must come back before dark. I will close the door to prevent the hunters from coming in. If you knock on the door and say, 'Sister, let me in,' I will know that it is you who has come back."
If you don't speak, I will close the door tightly."
So the deer jumped and ran away. When the king and his hunters saw this beautiful deer, they came to chase him, but they could not catch him, because every time they thought they were about to catch him, they ran away.
Whenever you catch him, he will jump into the bushes and hide.
When it got dark, the little deer ran back to the hut. He knocked on the door and said, "Sister, let me in!" Then Gretel opened the door, and he jumped in and lay happily on his soft bed.
Had a good nap.
The next morning, the hunting started again. As soon as the deer heard the horns of the hunters, he said: "Sister, open the door for me. I must go out."
When the king and his hunters saw the deer, they immediately began to hunt him again. They chased him all day, and finally surrounded him. One of the hunters shot him in the foot. He was lame.
He finally managed to escape back home. The hunter who shot him followed him and heard the deer say: "Sister, let me in." He also saw the door open and the deer entered.
Soon it was closed again. So the hunter went back and reported what he saw and heard to the king. The king said: "Then let's round up again tomorrow."
When Gretel saw that her beloved fawn was injured, she was very frightened. However, she 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: "I can't stay here, I have to go out and take a look. I will be more careful and won't let them catch me."
But Gretel said: "I'm sure they will kill you this time, and I won't let you go."
"If you keep me here, I will die of regret." He said. Gretel had to let him out. She opened the door with a heavy heart, and the deer ran happily into the forest again.
As soon as the king saw the deer, he loudly ordered: "You must catch him today, but no one of you is allowed to hurt him."
However, when the sun went down, they still could not catch him. So the king said to the hunter who had followed the deer: "Then lead me to that hut now."
So they came to the hut, and the king knocked on 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 girl he had ever seen.
Gretel was very frightened when she saw that it was not her fawn but a king wearing a crown. But the king took her hand very kindly and said: "Will you come with me to my castle?"
Go and be my wife?"
"Yes," said Gretel, "I can go to your castle with you, but I cannot be your wife, because my fawn must be with me, and I cannot be separated from him."
"Well," said the king, "he can go with you and never leave you, and he will have whatever he wants."
At this moment, the deer jumped in. So Gretel put a straw rope around his neck, and they left the hut together.
After the king put little Gretel on his tall horse, he ran towards his palace. The little deer followed them happily. Along the way, Gretel told the king everything about her, and the king knew the old witch.
, he sent someone to call her and ordered her to return to the human form of a deer.
When Gretel saw that her beloved brother had returned to his original form, she was very grateful to the king and readily agreed to marry him. They lived happily in this way, and Hansel became the king's minister.