Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-06-03
Hanse1 and Grethe]
BY Katie Miller

Grethel. The man was quite poor the
children's own mother was dead anc
their step mother did not care for them
| Hard times came when there was nc
work for the man by which he coule
earn the means to buy bread. One night
after they had gone to bed. the boy and
girl heard their father and mother
| talking. What shall we do?' said the
| father. How can we feed the children
when we have not as much as we two
need to eat 2" I'VE must get rid Of the
children" said the stepmother. LET US
take them into the thick part Of the
! woods in the morning and there make
them fire. and give each Of them
small piece of bread: then we will &C
they will not find the way home, and
we shall be freed from them"
mo wife, said he, that can not do
How can you have heart to leave the
poor things in the woods, where the
wild beasts will soon come and teal
them to bits" a-.
"Oh, you goose" said she: then we
must all four die for want of food" and
she left him no peace until she MADE
him yield. t- ne
The boy and girl heard all this for
parents thought they had Grethel wept
and said to Hansel. "Oh, what shall we
do?" But Hansel told her not to cry for
he would look out for her, and as soon
as their parents had gone to sleep he
got UP, put on his coat and crept out
Of doors. The moon was bright and the
small white stones which lay on the
path in front Of the house shone like
pearls. Hansel went down on his knees
and picked up a lot Of them and put
them in his pocket. Then he went back
%< k11I o,,l ell In, no
dear sister. God will take care Of u.s.
The next day, as soon as the sun ROSE.
the wife called the two children,
Come" she said. you must get up
at once: we have to 60 today to chop
wood" Then she gave them each a
piece of bread, and said There is
something for your lunch. Don't eat 1t
till it is time for it is all you will get"
Grethel took the bread, for HansePs
pockets were so full Of stones there
was no room in them for it, and so they
on Hansel each few steps dropped one
of the stones on the path. When they
had gone far into the wood, the father
took the children to pick up some wood
for a fire, so that they should not be
cold.
Hansel and Grethel picked up quite
large heap Of twigs, and the wife set
fire to them. AS the flames burned high.
she said, "Now lie down by the fire and
rest while we go and chop wood. When
1t Is time to go home I will come and
call you"
Hansel and Grethel sat down by the
fire, and when 1t was noon each ate the
piece of bread. They could hear the
sound of an axe and thought their
father must be near, but it was not an
axe, but branch which he had bound
to a tree, so as to be blown to and
fro by the wind
At last they fell asleep. When they
woke up it was quite dark and Grethel
began to cry. How shall we get out OF
the woods?" But Hansel tried to COM
fort her by saying wait while until
the moon comes up. and then we Will
find the way in short time
The moon shone forth, and then
Hansel took his sisters hand and
traced his way by the stones he had
dropped on the path. All night long
they walked on, and as day broke they
came to their fathers house. They
knocked at the door, and when the
wife opened it, and saw them, she cried
out. you bad children, why did! you
sleep so long in the woods? We thought
you would never come home" But the
father was glad for 1T had made him
woods.
The times grew worse and worse, and
soon the children heard their mother
say to their father, "All is gone again.
We have but half a loaf left, and then
we must starve The children must go:
we will take them deeper into the wooN
SO that they may not find the way out
this time. 1t is the only way we can es-
cape death ourselves" But the man felt
sad and thought 1T would be better to
share the last crust with the children"
But his wife would not given in to him
and in the end she had her way.
The children had heard all of this as
they lay awake in bed. and as soon as
the man and his wife went to sleep
Hansel got up. He meant to pick up
some more small stones: but the wife
had locked the door and he could not
get out. Still he tried to comfort Grethel
saying. do not cry: sleep In peace; the
good God will not forsake U.S."
At sunrise the wife came and made
them get up and gave each slice Of
bread which was smaller than the first
piece. The children were led deep into
the woods, to a part in which they had
never been before. A big fire was made
and the wife said to them, "Sit down
here and rest, and when you feel tired
you can sleep for awhile. We must chop
wood, but in the evening when we are
we will come for you.''
When noon came Grethel shared her
bread with Hansel. for he had strewn
all his on the path when they were go
ing into the woods. Then they went to
sleep; but the evening came and still
they were left alone In the dark night
they awoke and Hansel said to Grethel.
"Only wait. Grethel, till the moon
comes out; then we shall see the
crumbs Of bread I have dropped, and
they will show us the way home"
The moon shone, and they got up, but
they could see no crumbs for the flocks
of birds that had flown about in the
woods and fields had picked them all
up. I'VE shall soon find the way" Han
sci kept saying to Grethel; but they did
not, and they walked the whole night
long and the next day and still they
did not come out of the woods. They
were weak for want Of food, for they
had nothing to eat but few berries
which they found on a bush. Soon they
got too tired to drag themselves along.
so they lay down at the foot Of tree
and went to sleep.
The third day since they left home
came and still they walked on but they
only got deeper into the woods and