insides. I'm _hungry_."

Grettel closed her eyes as if this were really too much. She seemed
unable to think of a word to say.

Then Hansel said to Everychild: "I don't mind going with you. Only,
you'll have to let Grettel go along too and you can't go very far with
a girl without something happening."

"Of course, she'd go along," said Everychild. "As for something
happening, it might be something nice more likely than not."

At this Grettel clasped her hands in ecstacy. "What a nice boy!" she
exclaimed.

But Hansel only gave her a lofty look. "I haven't seen him do anything
great," he said. "Now, if he could show us something to eat . . ."

"At least," said Grettel, "he wants to keep on going, while you're all
for turning back. I think he speaks very sensibly." And she came
forward with a pretty blush on her cheeks and took a seat demurely by
Everychild's side.

She was really startled when Hansel, in his most offensive voice,
exclaimed--"Grettel! Don't you know you're not allowed to sit on the
ground in your best dress?"

But she managed to say, with a certain amount of independence, "Oh,
Hansel--as if anything mattered now! Don't you see that if we're not
going back we'll have to make rules for ourselves from now on? I've