Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-06

ing his eye on the door Dorothy
seated herself beside him and
clutched his hand
This room is a woods, and we are
two little lost children, named
Hansel and Gretel. Our father is a
wood-cutter and our mother picks
up faggots. And
What are they" whispered Da-
vic.
Sticks, pieces of branches said
Dorothy, this morning, when our
father and mother went away we
played for a while and then we ran
out TO take walk and get some
Strawberries. We picked goat
many and walked further AID
further from home, until .
How could there be strawber-
ries in all this snow?" demanded
Davie, cycling his square-toed shoes
they were new shoes--with APP
prevail, they'd all get froze up to
nothing"
IF you interrupt again, | WON'T
play cried Dorothy, fiercely, CIV
ing Davies shoulder a little jerk,
we're pretending, aren't we?''
Yes" muttered Davie, all pre-
pared to pout.
We'll, then, we're pretending it's
June, and the woods are full of
Strawberries" cried Dorothy, shak-
ing her golden head in triumph,
80 don't interrupt me any more.
THE WITCH" her voice grew solemn,
might jump out from behind the
door and catch us, fore we get to
that part of the pretend
Davie eyed the door anxiously.
Dorothy had a way of making her
stories seem so real that sometimes
they made him uncertain as to
whether he was really DaYie Dear
or not, Now he shivered and drew
his legs up under him, lest the witch
might have crawled under the couch
with the idea of catching his legs
and pulling him under.
Dorothy leaned against the wall.
her eyes half-elosed ''Now, them"
she said. you're Hansel and Im
Gretel. Obi ! do wish we had
wooden Shoes like they wore. Pull
your hair down over your eyes, in
a bang. III mine wasn't so curly |
could braid 1t In two braids, like
Gretel's pictures. Well, we'll have
to be satisfied the way we are. I
guess. I'll have to pretend braids
along with everything.
I'VE walked and walked through
the woods" Dorothy told the listen
Ing Davie, picking strawberries
and laughing, until at last we grew
so sleepy that we could not keep
awake. And we laid our heads on
a rock in a sunny spot and went
fa-ast asleep, newer dreaming
that an old witch lived in these
very woods!" Dorothy indicated
.Vr1,.1 l.. (,
arm. Davie tucked himself up u
little tighter in the corner of the
couch, if such thing were pos
sible
I'VE slept long, long time
Dorothy went on, land the birds
came and sang over our heads, and
the squirrels came out on the
branches and chartered. And we
had such beautiful dreams that we
smiled in our sleep" Dorothy's
eyes closed--she always acted her
storles-and she smiled in such an
angelic way that DaVie grew
alarmed and shook her arm.
Cd don't do that" ne cried; it
gives me the shivers."
Dorothy's dreamy smile vanished.
you nearly spoiled everything"
she cried, angrily. Never, never
do that. Davie Dear, ! mean Hansel,
If you want me to tell you things"
"Hanser' promised You looked
so queer" he had TO add, however.
which remark irritated Dorothy, be-
cause she privately thought that the
smile must have looked very sweet,
indeed.
Keep still, no matter what, next
time" she said, GROSSLY, IT don't
feel like telling another word"
Davie looked scared. He liked the
it to end. So he thought hard for
a moment, and then said
rs the terrible old witch still be-
hind the door,"
Dorothy looked at her brother
suspiciously for a second, and then
she took the bait
"Ye-es, she is! And if we don't
look out she'll catch us! When we
walked up from that long, long sleep
it was quite dark, and We were very
cold so cold that I took you in my
arms and told you not to cry. You
We're Hansel, you know" as Davie
was about to object to the crying,
land ] was Gretel--we are yet, o.
course" 1t was hard for Dorothy
to keep her characters straight,
sometimes" The woods We're
gloomy, and we heard strange birds
calling to each other, and the flut-
ter of wings that we could not see.
You were so frightened that you
tr-rembled."
''You make me the only scared
one" objected Davie.
"Well | was scared, too" declared
Dorothy, hastily.