Страшные сказки / Scary stories

The woman led the children still deeper into the forest. Then they made a great fire again, and the stepmother said:

“Just sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a little. We will go into the forest to cut wood. We will come in the evening and fetch you away”.

When it was noon, Gretel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, who 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. Hansel comforted his little sister and said:

“Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises, and then we shall see the crumbs of bread.

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 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.

They 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 carried them no longer, they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep.

They spent three mornings in the wood. They began to walk again, but they always came deeper into the forest. If help doesn’t come soon, they will die of hunger and weariness!

When it was midday, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird on a bough.

The bird 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. The children followed it until they reached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted. 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[5 - will set to work on that – примемся за это]”, 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. Gretel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the parlour:

�Nibble, nibble, gnaw,

Who is at my little house?’

The children answered:

�The wind, the wind,

The heaven-born wind,’

and continued to eat.