Will they not be
sweet?" So Hansel reached up and broke a piece off the roof, in order to
see how it tasted, while Grethel stepped up to the window and began to
bite it. Then a sweet voice called out in the room, "Tip-tap, tip-tap,
who raps at my door?" and the children answered, "the wind, the wind,
the child of heaven"; and they went on eating without interruption.
Hansel thought the roof tasted very nice, so he tore off a great piece;
while Grethel broke a large round pane out of the window, and sat down
quite contentedly. Just then the door opened, and a very old woman,
walking upon crutches, came out. Hansel and Grethel were so frightened
that they let fall what they had in their hands; but the old woman,
nodding her head, said, "Ah, you dear children, what has brought you
here? Come in and stop with me, and no harm shall befall you"; and so
saying she took them both by the hand, and led them into her cottage. A
good meal of milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts, was spread
on the table, and in the back room were two nice little beds, covered
with white, where Hansel and Grethel laid themselves down, and thought
themselves in heaven. The old woman behaved very kindly to them, but in
reality she was a wicked witch who waylaid children, and built the
bread-house in order to entice them in, but as soon as they were in her
power she killed them, cooked and ate them, and made a great festival of
the day.
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