Hansel and Grethel sat down by the fire, and when it was noon, each
ate the piece of bread; and because they could hear the blows of an
axe they thought their father was near; but it was not an axe, but a
branch which he had bound to an old tree, so as to be blown to and fro
by the wind. They waited so long, that at last their eyes closed from
weariness, and they fell fast asleep. When they awoke, it was quite
dark, and Grethel began to cry. "How shall we get out of the wood?"
But Hansel tried to comfort her by saying, "Wait a little while till
the moon rises, and then we will quickly find the way." The moon shone
forth, and Hansel, taking his sister's hand, followed the pebbles,
which glittered like new-coined silver pieces, and showed them the
way. All night long they walked on, and as day broke they came to
their father's house. They knocked at the door, and when the wife
opened it, and saw Hansel and Grethel, she exclaimed, "You wicked
children! Why did you sleep so long in the wood? We thought you were
never coming home again." But their father was extremely glad, for it
had grieved his heart to leave them all alone.

[Illustration: "HANSEL AND GRETHEL SAT DOWN BY THE FIRE."]

Not long afterwards there was again great scarcity in every corner of
the land; and one night the children overheard their mother saying to
their father, "Everything is once more consumed; we have only half a
loaf left, and then the song is ended: the children must be sent away.
We will take them deeper into the wood, so that they may not find the
way out again; it is the only means of escape for us."

But her husband felt heavy at heart, and thought, "It were better
to share the last crust with the children." His wife, however, would
listen to nothing that he said, and scolded and reproached him without