HANSEL AND GRETEL

Once upon a time a very poor woodcutter lived in a tiny cottage in the forest with his two
children, Hansel and Gretel. His second wife often ill-treated the children and was forever
nagging the woodcutter.

"There is not enough food in the house for us all. There are too many mouths to feed! We must
get rid of the two brats," she declared. And she kept on trying to persuade her husband to
abandon his children in the forest.

"Take them miles from home, so far that they can never find their way back! Maybe someone
will find them and give them a home." The downcast woodcutter didn't know what to do. Hansel
who, one evening, had overheard his parents' conversation, comforted Gretel.

"Don't worry! If they do leave us in the forest, we'll find the way home," he said. And slipping out
of the house he filled his pockets with little white pebbles, then went back to bed.

All night long, the woodcutter's wife harped on and on at her husband till, at dawn, he led
Hansel and Gretel away into the forest. But as they went into the depths of the trees, Hansel
dropped a little white pebble here and there on the mossy green ground. At a certain point, the
two children found they really were alone: the woodcutter had plucked up enough courage to
desert them, had mumbled an excuse and was gone.

Night fell but the woodcutter did not return. Gretel began to sob bitterly. Hansel too felt scared
but he tried to hide his feelings and comfort his sister.

"Don't cry, trust me! I swear I'll take you home even if Father doesn't come back for us!" Luckily
the moon was full that night and Hansel waited till its cold light filtered through the trees.

"Now give me your hand!" he said. "We'll get home safely, you'll see!" The tiny white pebbles
gleamed in the moonlight, and the children found their way home. They crept through a half
open window, without wakening their parents. Cold, tired but thankful to be home again, they
slipped into bed.

Next day, when their stepmother discovered that Hansel and Gretel had returned, she went into
a rage. Stifling her anger in front of the children, she locked her bedroom door, reproaching her
husband for failing to carry out her orders. The weak woodcutter protested, torn as he was
between shame and fear of disobeying his cruel wife. The wicked stepmother kept Hansel and
Gretel under lock and key all day with nothing for supper but a sip of water and some hard
bread. All night, husband and wife quarreled, and when dawn came, the woodcutter led the
children out into the forest.

Hansel, however, had not eaten his bread, and as he walked through the trees, he left a trail of
crumbs behind him to mark the way. But the little boy had forgotten about the hungry birds that
lived in the forest. When they saw him, they flew along behind and in no time at all, had eaten
all the crumbs. Again, with a lame excuse, the woodcutter left his two children by  themselves.

"I've left a trail, like last time!" Hansel whispered to Gretel, consolingly. But when night fell, they
saw to their horror, that all the crumbs had gone.

"I'm frightened!" wept Gretel bitterly. "I'm cold and hungry and I want to go home!"
"Don't be afraid. I'm here to look after you!" Hansel tried to encourage his sister, but he too
shivered when he glimpsed frightening shadows and evil eyes around them in the darkness. All
night the two children huddled together for warmth at the foot of a large tree.

When dawn broke, they started to wander about the forest, seeking a path, but all hope soon
faded. They were well and truly lost. On they walked and walked, till suddenly they came upon a
strange cottage in the middle of a glade.

"This is chocolate!" gasped Hansel as he broke a lump of plaster from the wall.

"And this is icing!" exclaimed Gretel, putting another piece of wall in her mouth. Starving but
delighted, the children began to eat pieces of candy broken off the cottage.

"Isn't this delicious?" said Gretel, with her mouth full. She had never tasted anything so nice.

"We'll stay here," Hansel declared, munching a bit of nougat. They were just about to try a piece
of the biscuit door when it quietly swung open.

"Well, well!" said an old woman, peering out with a crafty look. "And haven't you children a
sweet tooth?"

"Come in! Come in, you've nothing to fear!" went on the old woman. Unluckily for Hansel and
Gretel, however, the sugar candy cottage belonged to an old witch, her trap for catching unwary
victims. The two children had come to a really nasty place.

"You're nothing but skin and bones!" said the witch, locking Hansel into a cage. I shall fatten you
up and eat you!"

"You can do the housework," she told Gretel grimly, "then I'll make a meal of you too!" As luck
would have it, the witch had very bad eyesight, an when Gretel smeared butter on her glasses,
she could see even less.

"Let me feel your finger!" said the witch to Hansel every day to check if he was getting any fatter.
Now, Gretel had brought her brother a chicken bone, and when the witch went to touch his
finger, Hansel held out the bone.

"You're still much too thin!" she complained. When will you become plump?" One day the witch
grew tired of waiting.

"Light the oven," she told Gretel. "We're going to have a tasty roasted boy today!" A little later,
hungry and impatient, she went on: "Run and see if the oven is hot enough." Gretel returned,
whimpering: "I can't tell if it is hot enough or not." Angrily, the witch screamed at the little girl:
"Useless child! All right, I'll see for myself." But when the witch bent down to peer inside the
oven and check the heat, Gretel gave her a tremendous push and slammed the oven door shut.
The witch had come to a fit and proper end. Gretel ran to set her brother free and they made
quite sure that the oven door was tightly shut behind the witch. Indeed, just to be on the safe
side, they fastened it firmly with a large padlock. Then they stayed for several days to eat some
more of the house, till they discovered amongst the witch's belongings, a huge chocolate egg.
Inside lay a casket of gold coins.
"The witch is now burnt to a cinder," said Hansel, "so we'll take this treasure with us." They
filled a large basket with food and set off into the forest to search for the way home. This time,
luck was with them, and on the second day, they saw their father come out of the house towards
them, weeping.

"Your stepmother is dead. Come home with me now, my dear children!" The two children
hugged the woodcutter.

"Promise you'll never ever desert us again," said Gretel, throwing her arms round her father's
neck. Hansel opened the casket.

"Look, Father! We're rich now . . . You'll never have to chop wood again."

And they all lived happily together ever after.

 Hansel and Gretel
NARRATOR : Once upon a time there was a brother and sister called Hansel and
Gretel. They lived with their father and stepmother in a tiny cottage at the edge
of a huge forest. Their father was a woodcutter and he was very, very poor.
One day the woodcutter said to his wife...
W/CUTTER : We have no money left and I can’t afford to buy any more food.
NARRATOR : The woodcutter didn’t know what to do. But his wife had an idea.
STEPMOTHER: Take the children into the forest and leave them there. That way
we will have two less mouths to feed.
NARRATOR : The woodcutter was very unhappy, but his wife insisted and finally he
agreed. Hansel and Gretel had been listening at the door and Gretel was very
frightened, but Hansel had a plan.
HANSEL : (To Gretel) I know what to do.
NARRATOR : Hansel crept out of the house and gathered together lots of little
white pebbles which he put in his pocket. The next day, the woodcutter and his
wife took Hansel and Gretel into the forest. As they walked, Hansel dropped the
pebbles on to the path. After a while they came to a clearing and the woodcutter
told the children to wait.
W/CUTTER : We are going to collect some wood.
NARRATOR : When they did not return, Hansel and Gretel began to walk. They
could see the little white pebbles gleaming in the moonlight and they followed them
all the way home.
NARRATOR : Their father was overjoyed to see them and hugged them both. But
their stepmother was very angry.
STEPMOTHER: You must take them much deeper into the forest.
W/CUTTER : No, I will not!
STEPMOTHER: Yes, you will!
NARRATOR : That night Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother locked their door so they
could not collect any more pebbles. The next day the woodcutter took them deeper
into the forest. In Hansel’s pocket was a small piece of bread. He crumbled up the
bread and as they walked he dropped a trail of crumbs. But the birds saw the tasty
crumbs and flew down to eat them.
BIRDS : Peck, peck, peck, peck.
Peck, peck, peck, peck.
NARRATOR : Then the woodcutter returned home, leaving Hansel and Gretel once
again.The moon began to shine but the crumbs had all gone. What could they do?
Hansel and Gretel wandered further into the forest. They were very tired and very
hungry. They walked and walked. Then, just as they thought they could walk no
more, they saw a very strange house. The windows and the roof, the chimney,
the door and even the walls were all made from sweets and cakes. The children
couldn’t believe their eyes. Hansel broke off a little piece of the wall and put it
into his mouth.
HANSEL : Mmm, gingerbread!
NARRATOR : Then Gretel broke off a little piece of the door.
GRETEL : Mmm, chocolate!
H&G : What a wonderful house!
NARRATOR : But from inside the house, someone was watching. An evil old witch
lived there. Just as Gretel was about to eat another piece of the chocolate door,
the children heard a noise. The door opened and out stepped the wicked witch.
WITCH : Come in, my dears. (Secretly, behind hand) Hee, hee, hee.
NARRATOR : The witch invited the children in for some tea. But as soon as they
stepped inside the house the nasty witch grabbed Hansel. She put him inside a
cage and locked him in. Then she gave him lots of food to fatten him up.
WITCH : I’m going to eat you! Hee, hee, hee!
NARRATOR : The witch gave Gretel a broom and told her to do the housework.
WITCH : Get sweeping!
NARRATOR : Every day the evil old witch went to see Hansel to check if he was
getting fatter.
WITCH : Let me feel your finger.
NARRATOR : Hansel put a chicken bone through the bars of the cage. The witch,
who couldn’t see very well, felt the bone.
WITCH : Too thin, too thin!
NARRATOR : Day after day the witch waited for Hansel to get fatter.
WITCH : (Feeling Hansel’s ‘finger’) Too thin, too thin!
NARRATOR : One day the witch grew very impatient. She decided that she was
not going to wait any longer.
WITCH : I’m going to eat you anyway!
NARRATOR : The witch told Gretel that she was going to cook Hansel in her fire.
Gretel looked at her and asked her where the fire was. The
witch led Gretel to the oven and opened the door.
GRETEL : I can’t see the fire.
NARRATOR : The witch opened the door wider.
GRETEL : I still can’t see the fire.
NARRATOR : The witch opened the door as wide as she could and peered into the
oven.
WITCH : There it is!
NARRATOR : Gretel gave the witch an enormous push. The witch fell into the oven
and Gretel slammed the door shut. Then she ran to release Hansel from the
cage.In a corner of the house they could see something sparkling. It was the
witch’s treasure. Hansel and Gretel picked it up and began to walk back through the
forest. After many days they found their way home. Their father was overjoyed to
see them and their stepmother had left. Hansel and Gretel were home at last and
the wicked witch was gone. They gave their father the treasure and they never
went hungry again.
Hansel dan Gretel

NARRATOR: Dahulu kala ada saudara laki-laki dan perempuan bernama Hansel dan Gretel.
Mereka tinggal bersama ayah dan ibu tiri mereka di sebuah pondok kecil di tepi hutan yang
sangat besar. Ayah mereka adalah penebang kayu dan dia sangat, sangat miskin.
Suatu hari si penebang kayu berkata kepada istrinya ...
W / CUTTER: Kami tidak punya uang lagi dan saya tidak mampu membeli makanan lagi.
NARRATOR: Tukang kayu tidak tahu harus berbuat apa. Tapi istrinya punya ide.
LANGKAH-LANGKAH: Bawa anak-anak ke hutan dan tinggalkan mereka di sana. Dengan
begitu kita akan memiliki dua mulut yang kurang untuk diberi makan.
NARRATOR: Penebang kayu itu sangat tidak bahagia, tapi istrinya berkeras dan akhirnya dia
menyetujuinya. Hansel dan Gretel telah mendengarkan di pintu dan Gretel sangat ketakutan,
tapi Hansel punya rencana.
HANSEL: (Untuk Gretel) Saya tahu apa yang harus dilakukan.
NARRATOR: Hansel merangkak keluar rumah dan mengumpulkan banyak kerikil putih kecil
yang dimasukkannya ke dalam sakunya. Keesokan harinya, si penebang kayu dan istrinya
membawa Hansel dan Gretel ke hutan. Saat mereka berjalan, Hansel menjatuhkan kerikil ke
jalan setapak. Setelah beberapa saat mereka sampai di tempat terbuka dan si penebang kayu
menyuruh anak-anak untuk menunggu.
W / CUTTER: Kami akan mengumpulkan beberapa kayu.
NARRATOR: Ketika mereka tidak kembali, Hansel dan Gretel mulai berjalan. Mereka bisa
melihat kerikil putih kecil berkilauan di bawah sinar rembulan dan mereka mengikuti mereka
sepanjang perjalanan pulang.
NARRATOR: Ayah mereka sangat senang melihat mereka dan memeluk mereka berdua. Tapi
ibu tiri mereka sangat marah.
LANGKAH: Anda harus membawa mereka jauh lebih dalam ke dalam hutan.
W / CUTTER: Tidak, saya tidak mau!
LANGKAH: Ya, Anda akan melakukannya!
NARRATOR: Malam itu Hansel dan ibu tiri Gretel mengunci pintu mereka sehingga mereka
tidak bisa mengumpulkan kerikil lagi. Keesokan harinya si penebang kayu membawa mereka
lebih dalam ke dalam hutan. Di saku Hansel ada sepotong kecil roti. Dia menghancurkan roti
dan saat mereka berjalan, dia menjatuhkan jejak remah-remah. Tapi burung-burung melihat
remah-remah lezat dan terbang turun untuk memakannya.
BIRDS: Peck, peck, peck, peck.
Peck, peck, peck, peck.
NARRATOR: Kemudian si penebang kayu kembali ke rumah, meninggalkan Hansel dan Gretel
sekali lagi. Bulan mulai bersinar tapi remah-remahnya sudah habis. Apa yang bisa mereka
lakukan? Hansel dan Gretel berjalan lebih jauh ke hutan. Mereka sangat lelah dan sangat lapar.
Mereka berjalan dan berjalan. Kemudian, seperti yang mereka pikir mereka tidak bisa berjalan
lagi, mereka melihat sebuah rumah yang sangat aneh. Jendela dan atap, cerobong asap,
pintu dan bahkan dindingnya terbuat dari permen dan kue. Anak-anak tidak bisa mempercayai
mata mereka. Hansel memecah sepotong kecil dinding dan memasukkannya ke dalam
mulutnya.
HANSEL: Mmm, roti jahe!
NARRATOR: Lalu Gretel menghentikan sepotong kecil pintu.
GRETEL: Mmm, coklat!
H & G: Rumah yang indah sekali!
NARRATOR: Tapi dari dalam rumah, ada yang melihat. Penyihir jahat tua tinggal di sana. Sama
seperti Gretel hendak makan sepotong cokelat lagi, anak-anak mendengar suara berisik. Pintu
terbuka dan keluar menginjak si penyihir jahat.
WITCH: Masuklah, keluarga saya. (Diam-diam, di belakang tangan) Hee, hee, hee.
NARRATOR: Penyihir mengundang anak-anak untuk minum teh. Tapi begitu mereka
melangkah masuk rumah, penyihir jahat itu meraih Hansel. Dia memasukkannya ke dalam
kandang dan menguncinya. Kemudian dia memberinya banyak makanan untuk
menggemukkannya.
WITCH: Aku akan memakanmu! Hee, hee, hee!
NARRATOR: Penyihir itu memberi Gretel sapu dan menyuruhnya untuk mengerjakan pekerjaan
rumah.
WITCH: Sapu bersih!
NARRATOR: Setiap hari penyihir jahat pergi menemui Hansel untuk memeriksa apakah dia
semakin gemuk.
WITCH: Biarkan aku merasakan jarimu
NARRATOR: Hansel memasukkan tulang ayam ke dalam jeruji kandang. Si penyihir, yang tidak
bisa melihat dengan baik, merasakan tulangnya.
WITCH: Terlalu kurus, terlalu kurus!
NARRATOR: Hari demi hari penyihir menunggu Hansel menjadi lebih gemuk.
WITCH: (Merasa 'jari' Hansel) Terlalu kurus, terlalu kurus!
NARRATOR: Suatu hari penyihir menjadi sangat tidak sabar. Dia memutuskan bahwa dia tidak
akan menunggu lebih lama lagi.
WITCH: Aku akan memakanmu juga!
NARRATOR: Penyihir itu memberi tahu Gretel bahwa dia akan memasak Hansel di dalam api.
Gretel menatapnya dan bertanya di mana api itu berada. Itu
Penyihir membawa Gretel ke oven dan membuka pintu.
GRETEL: Saya tidak bisa melihat api.
NARRATOR: Penyihir membuka pintu lebih lebar.
GRETEL: Saya masih belum bisa melihat api.
NARRATOR: Penyihir membuka pintu selebar mungkin dan mengintip ke dalam oven.
WITCH: Itu dia!
NARRATOR: Gretel memberi dorongan pada si penyihir. Penyihir itu jatuh ke dalam oven dan
Gretel membanting pintu hingga tertutup. Lalu dia lari untuk melepaskan Hansel dari
sangkarnya. Di sudut rumah mereka bisa melihat sesuatu yang berkilauan. Itu adalah harta
penyihir. Hansel dan Gretel memungutnya dan mulai berjalan melewati hutan. Setelah
beberapa hari mereka menemukan jalan pulang. Ayah mereka sangat senang melihat mereka
dan ibu tiri mereka telah pergi. Hansel dan Gretel akhirnya pulang dan penyihir jahat pergi.
Mereka memberi ayah mereka harta itu dan mereka tidak pernah kelaparan lagi.