Tales from the Brothers Grimm: Selected and Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger Read online

  She looked at the wolf from all sides, and saw that there was something moving and wriggling inside his big, over-stretched belly. Oh God, she thought, can my poor children still be alive after the wolf swallowed them all for his supper? And she sent the seventh kid running back to the house to fetch her a pair of scissors, a needle and some thread. Then she slit open the monster’s belly, and as soon as she had made the first cut one of the kids put his head out, and as she went on cutting all six jumped out, one by one. They were all still alive, and hadn’t even come to any harm, because in his greed the monster had swallowed them whole. How happy they were! They hugged their dear mother, and capered about like a tailor on his wedding day.

  “Now,” said the old nanny-goat, “go and fetch me some big lumps of rock, and we’ll fill the wicked creature’s belly with those while he’s still asleep.” So the seven little kids hurried off to find the stones, and put as many inside the wolf’s belly as it would take. Then the old nanny-goat quickly sewed it up again, so that the wolf wouldn’t notice anything. He didn’t even move while all this was going on.

  When the wolf had finally slept long enough, he got up, and because the stones inside him made him feel thirsty he wanted to find a well and drink water from it. However, when he was on his feet and began walking, the stones inside him hit each other as he moved and rumbled around. Then the wolf cried:

  “What’s rumbling inside me?

  What jiggles and thumps?

  It ought to be kids,

  But it sounds like stone lumps.”

  And when he came to the well and leaned over the rim of it to drink the water, the heavy stones dragged him in, and he drowned miserably. Seeing his fate, the seven little kids came running up, shouting, “The wolf is dead, the wolf is dead!” Then they and their mother danced around the well for joy.

  HANSEL AND GRETEL

  There was once a poor woodcutter who lived near a large forest with his wife and his two children; the little boy was called Hansel and the little girl’s name was Gretel. He did not have much at home for his family to eat, and a time came when prices were so high in the country round about that he couldn’t even provide their daily bread. As he lay in bed one evening, tossing and turning as he thought of all his anxieties, he sighed and said to his wife, “What’s to become of us? How can we feed our poor children, when we have nothing left to eat ourselves?”

  “I’ll tell you what to do, husband,” his wife replied. “Early tomorrow morning we’ll take the children out into the thickest part of the forest; we’ll light a fire for them there and give them a piece of bread each, and then we’ll go about our work and leave them alone. They’ll never find the way home again, and we’ll be rid of them.”

  “No, wife,” said her husband. “I won’t do that. How could I find it in my heart to take my children into the forest and leave them alone there, where the wild beasts would soon come and tear them to pieces?”

  “You fool,” she said. “Then all four of us must die of starvation, and all you have to do is plane the planks for our coffins smooth.” And she went on pestering him until he agreed. “But I feel so sorry for the poor children,” he said.

  The two children hadn’t been able to sleep either because they were so hungry, and they had heard what their stepmother said to their father. Gretel shed bitter tears and said to Hansel, “It’s all up with us now.”

  “Hush, Gretel,” said Hansel. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of a way to help us.” And when the old people had gone to sleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the bottom half of the door and stole out. The moon was shining brightly, and the white pebbles outside the house gleamed like silver coins. Hansel bent down and put as many of them in his coat pocket as it would take. Then he went back indoors, and told Gretel, “Cheer up, dear little sister, and go to sleep. God will not abandon us.” And he got back into bed.

  At daybreak, even before the sun had risen, the woman came to wake the two children. “Get up, you lazybones,” she said. “We’re going into the forest to fetch wood.” Then she gave them each a piece of bread, saying, “That’s for you to eat in the middle of the day, but don’t eat it any earlier, because it’s all you’ll get.” Gretel put the bread under her apron, because Hansel’s pocket was full of pebbles. Then they all set off for the forest together. When they had been walking for a little while, Hansel stopped and looked back at the house. He did that again and again.

  “What are you looking at, Hansel?” asked his father. “Don’t lag behind like that, stir your stumps!”

  “Oh, Father,” said Hansel, “I’m looking at my little white cat sitting on the roof saying goodbye to me.”

  “Nonsense,” said the woman, “that’s not your cat, it’s the morning sun shining on the chimney.” But Hansel had not really been looking at his cat; whenever he had stopped it was to take one of the shiny pebbles out of his pocket and drop it on the path.

  When they were in the middle of the forest, the father said, “Off you go to gather wood, children, and I’ll light a fire to keep you warm.” Hansel and Gretel busily collected a whole pile of twigs, their father lit the fire, and when the flames were burning high the woman said, “Lie down by the fire, children, and have a rest. We’re going on into the forest to chop wood. When we’ve finished our work we’ll come back for you.”

  Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and when it was mid-day they ate their bread. And because they could hear the blows of the axe, they thought their father was nearby. However, it was not his axe they heard, but a branch that he had tied to a dry tree, swinging back and forth in the wind. When they had sat like that for a long time, they were so weary that their eyes closed, and they fell fast asleep. At last, much later, they woke up to find that it was dark, and night had fallen.

  Gretel began to cry, and said, “How are we going to get out of the forest now?” But Hansel comforted her. “Wait a little while,” he said, “until the moon has risen, and then we’ll easily find our way.” And when the full moon had risen into the sky, Hansel took his little sister’s hand and followed the trail of pebbles, which shone like newly minted coins and showed them the way.

  They walked all night, and as day was dawning they reached their father’s house again. They knocked on the door, and when the woman opened it and saw Hansel and Gretel, she said, “Oh, you naughty children, why did you sleep for so long in the forest? We thought you were never going to come home again.” But their father was glad to see them, because it had cut him to the heart to leave them alone like that.

  Not long after that, there were great shortages all over the country again, and the children heard their stepmother talking to their father in bed. “We’ve eaten everything in the house,” she said, “and there’s only half a loaf of bread left. The children must go. We’ll take them further into the forest this time, so that they’ll never find their way out again, or there’s no saving ourselves.” Her husband was heavy-hearted, and he thought: it would be better for me to share my last crust with my children. But his wife wouldn’t listen to him; she scolded him and called him a fool. A man who has said A must say B too, and as he had given way the first time he had to give way again now.

  But the children, lying awake, had overheard their conversation. When the old people were asleep Hansel got up again, and he was going out to collect pebbles as he had done before, but the woman had locked the door, and he couldn’t get out. However, he comforted his little sister, saying, “Don’t cry, Gretel, go to sleep, and the Lord God will help us.”

  Early in the morning the woman came and got the children out of bed. They were given a piece of bread each, but a smaller piece than last time. On the way to the forest Hansel crumbled his bread in his pocket, and he often stood still and dropped a crumb on the ground.

  “Why do you keep stopping to look back, Hansel?” asked his father. “Come along, hurry up.”

  “I’m looking at my little pigeon sitting on the roof and saying goodbye to me,” replied Hansel
.

  “Nonsense,” said the woman. “That’s not your pigeon, it’s the morning sun shining on the chimney.” But Hansel dropped all his crumbs on the path little by little.

  The woman took the children even further into the forest this time, to a place where they had never in their lives been before. Once again a big fire was lit for them, and the stepmother said, “Sit there, children, and if you’re tired you could sleep for a while. We’re going on into the forest to chop wood, and in the evening, when we’ve done our work, we’ll come and fetch you.” At mid-day Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, who had crumbled his piece of bread as they walked along. Then they went to sleep, and the evening passed by, but no one came back for the poor children. They didn’t wake until it was dark, and night had fallen.

  Hansel comforted his little sister, saying, “Just wait until the moon rises, Gretel, and then we’ll see the breadcrumbs I dropped showing us the way home.” And when the moon rose they set off, but they couldn’t find any of the breadcrumbs, because the thousands of birds flying around the forest and the fields had pecked them all up.

  “I’m sure we can still find the way,” Hansel told Gretel, but they didn’t find it. They walked all night, and all the next day from morning to evening, but they couldn’t get out of the forest, and they were very hungry, because they had nothing to eat but a few berries growing on the ground. And when they were so tired that their legs would carry them no further, they lay down under a tree and went to sleep.

  When they woke up it was the third morning since they had left their father’s house. They began walking again, but they only went further and further into the forest, and if they did not find help soon they would surely pine away and die. At mid-day they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a branch, singing such a lovely song that they stopped to listen. When it had finished its song, it spread its wings and flew ahead of them, and they followed until they came to a little house. The bird settled on its roof, and as they came closer they saw that the house was built of bread and its roof was cake, while the windows were made of clear barley sugar.

  “Let’s eat something,” said Hansel. “We’ll have a delicious meal. I’m going to eat a piece of the roof, Gretel, and you can eat a window pane. It will taste so sweet.” And he reached up to break a little of the roof off and find out what it tasted like, while Gretel began nibbling a window pane. Then a high voice called out from the parlor inside the house:

  “Nibble, nibble, mousie.

  Who’s nibbling at my housie?”

  And the children replied:

  “Only the wind so wild,

  The wild wind, Heaven’s own child,”

  and they went on eating; there was no stopping them. Hansel, finding that the roof tasted very good indeed, tore off a large piece of it, and Gretel took out a whole round window pane, sat down and feasted on it.

  Then the door suddenly opened, and an old, old woman leaning on a stick came out. Hansel and Gretel were so scared that they dropped what they were holding. But the old woman wagged her head and said, “Why, dear children, who brought you here? Come in, come in and stay with me, and no harm will come to you.” She took them both by the hand and led them into her little house. A good meal was set on the table for them, milk and pancakes with sugar, apples and nuts. Then two pretty little beds were made up with white sheets, and Hansel and Gretel lay down in them and thought they were in heaven.

  But the old woman, who had only been pretending to be so friendly, was really a wicked witch who lay in wait for children, and she built her little house of bread just to entice children to her. When she had one of them in her power, she would kill, cook and eat the child, and that was a feast day to her. Witches have red eyes and do not see very well, but they have a keen sense of smell, like animals, and they notice when human beings are coming their way. Once Hansel and Gretel were close to her, she cackled with laughter and said scornfully, “I have them now, and they won’t get away from me.”

  Early in the morning, before the children were awake, the witch got up, and seeing their plump, pink cheeks as they slept so sweetly, she murmured, “These two will make good eating.” Then she seized Hansel with her skinny hand and carried him out to a little shed with a barred door over it. He could scream as much as he liked in there, but it would do him no good.

  Then she went in to Gretel, shook her awake, and said, “Get up, lazybones, fetch water and cook something nice for your brother. He’s in the shed outside, and I want to fatten him up. And when he’s nice and fat I’m going to eat him.” Gretel began shedding bitter tears, but all in vain. She had to do as the wicked witch told her.

  So the best of food was cooked for poor Hansel, while Gretel got nothing to eat but the shells of river crayfish. The old woman went to the little shed every morning and said, “Hansel, put your finger through the bars so that I can feel it and see whether you’ll soon be fat enough.” But Hansel put a bone out through the bars, and because of her bad eyesight the witch couldn’t see it. Thinking it was Hansel’s finger, she was surprised that he never grew any fatter at all.

  At the end of four weeks, when Hansel still felt thin, she lost patience and decided not to wait any longer. “Here, Gretel,” she called, “hurry up and fetch water. Whether Hansel is fat or thin, tomorrow I’m going to kill and eat him.”

  How Hansel’s poor little sister wept and wailed when she had to carry the water, and how the tears flowed down her cheeks! “Dear God, help us!” she prayed. “If only the wild beasts in the forest had eaten us, at least we would have died together.”

  “Never mind your snivelling,” said the old woman. “That’s not going to help you.”

  Early next morning Gretel had to go out, hang up a cauldron full of water and light a fire under it. “But first we’ll bake,” said the old woman. “I’ve already heated the baking oven and kneaded the dough.” She made poor Gretel go out to the baking oven, which already had flames shooting out of it. “Crawl into the oven,” said the witch, “and see if it’s hot enough yet.” But once Gretel was inside the oven she was planning to slam its door, so that Gretel would roast inside it, and then she would eat her as well.

  However, Gretel saw what she had in mind, and she said, “I don’t know how to do that. How do I get inside the oven?”

  “Silly goose,” said the old woman, “the opening is big enough. Look, I could crawl into it myself.” She went up to the oven and put her head inside it. Then Gretel gave her a push that sent her far into the oven, closed the iron door and bolted it. Oh, how horribly the witch began to howl! But Gretel ran away, and the godless witch burned miserably to death.

  As for Gretel, she went straight to Hansel, opened his shed and cried, “Hansel, we’re safe, the old witch is dead.” Then Hansel leaped out like a bird released from a cage when its door is opened. How happy they were, dancing around and hugging and kissing one another! Now that they had nothing to fear, they went into the witch’s house, where there were chests full of pearls and jewels in every corner.

  “These are better than pebbles,” said Hansel, and he stuffed his pockets with as many as they would hold.

  “I’ll take some home as well,” said Gretel, filling her apron with precious stones.

  “But now let’s go,” said Hansel, “and we’ll get out of the witch’s forest as soon as we can.”

  However, when they had walked for a few hours, they came to a great stretch of water. “We can’t get across,” said Hansel. “I don’t see any bridge or causeway.”

  “And there’s no boat here either,” said Gretel, “but I see a white duck. If I ask her maybe she will carry us over.” And she called:

  “Little white duck,

  Please bring us luck.

  Here we stand, children two.

  Take us across the water with you.”

  Then the duck swam over, and Hansel sat on her back and told his sister to join him.

  “No,” said Gretel, “we’ll be too heavy for the duck, b
oth of us together. I’m sure she will take us over one after the other.”

  And so the good little creature did, and when they were safely over the water, and had walked a little way, the forest looked to them more and more familiar, and at last they saw their father’s house in the distance. Then they began to run, raced into the parlor and flung their arms around their father. He had not had a moment’s happiness since leaving his children in the forest. As for his wife, she had died. Gretel tipped out the contents of her apron, so that the pearls and jewels rolled over the parlor floor, and Hansel added handful after handful from his pocket. Then all their troubles were over, and they lived happily together.

  That’s the end of my story – and there runs a mouse! Anyone who catches it can make a big fur cap of it.

  THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR

  One summer morning a little tailor was sitting on his table at the window, in great good spirits, stitching away for all he was worth. Then a peasant woman came down the street, calling, “Good jam for sale! Good jam for sale!”

  That sounded nice to the tailor, and he put his little head out of the window and called, “Come up here, good woman, and you’ll find a market for your wares.”

  The woman carried her heavy basket up the three flights of stairs to the tailor’s workshop, and she had to unpack all the jars in front of him. He examined them, held them up to the light, sniffed them, and at last he said, “This looks like good jam. Weigh me out four ounces, my good woman, and I don’t mind if you make it quarter of a pound.”

  The woman, who had hoped to sell a great deal more, gave him what he wanted, but she went away in a bad temper, grumbling.

  “Well, God bless this jam,” cried the little tailor, “and give me strength and power.” He took bread out of his cupboard, cut himself a slice right across the loaf, and spread it with the jam. “That will taste sweet,” said he, “but I’ll finish making this doublet before I taste it.”