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 meaning to go out and get some more pebbles, but the Woman had locked the door and he couldn’t get out. But he consoled his little sister, and said:

‘Don’t cry, Grethel; go to sleep. God will help us.’

In the early morning the Woman made the children get up, and gave them each a piece of bread, but it was smaller than the last. On the way to the forest Hansel crumbled it up in his pocket, and stopped every now and then to throw a crumb on to the ground.

‘Hansel, what are you stopping to look about you for?’ asked his Father.

‘I am looking at my dove which is sitting on the roof and wants to say good-bye to me,’ answered Hansel.

‘Little fool!’ said the Woman, ‘that is no dove, it is the morning sun shining on the chimney.’

Nevertheless, Hansel strewed the crumbs from time to time on the ground. The Woman led the children far into the forest where they had never been in their lives before. Again they made a big fire, and the Woman said:

‘Stay where you are, children, and when you are tired you may go to sleep for a while. We are going further on to cut wood, and in the evening when we have finished we will come back and fetch you.’

At dinner-time Grethel shared her bread with Hansel, for he had crumbled his up on the road. Then they went to sleep, and the evening passed, but no one came to fetch the poor children.

It was quite dark when they woke up, and Hansel cheered his little sister, and said: ‘Wait a bit, Grethel, till the moon rises, then we can see the bread-crumbs which I scattered to show us the way home.’

When the moon rose they started, but they found no bread-crumbs, for all the thousands of birds in the forest had pecked them up and eaten them.

Hansel said to Grethel: ‘We shall soon find the way.’

But they could not find it. They walked the whole night,