took up her baby, he saw it was his real wife, and caught her in his
arms, saying, "You are my own beloved wife, as beautiful as ever."

The wicked witch had thrown her into a trance, hoping she would die, and
that the king would then marry her daughter; but on the king speaking to
her, the spell was broken. The queen told the king how cruelly she had
been treated by her stepmother, and on hearing this he became very
angry, and had the witch and her daughter brought to justice. They were
both sentenced to die--the daughter to be devoured by wild beasts, and
the mother to be burnt alive.

No sooner, however, was she reduced to ashes than the charm which held
the queen's brother in the form of a stag was broken; he recovered his
own natural shape, and appeared before them a tall, handsome young man.

After this, the brother and sister lived happily and peacefully for the
rest of their lives.




CHAPTER IV

HANSEL AND GRETHEL


Near the borders of a large forest dwelt in olden times a poor
wood-cutter, who had two children--a boy named Hansel, and his sister,
Grethel. They had very little to live upon, and once when there was a
dreadful season of scarcity in the land, the poor wood-cutter could not