"Who's there?"

"You there,--you there,--you there," the echoes came--but they seemed to come from the Ilsenstein.

"Is some one there?" Gretel timidly asked.

"There--where--there--" the echoes from the Ilsenstein again replied.

"I'm frightened to death," Gretel said, beginning to cry.

"Little Gretelkin," said Hansel, "you stick close to me, and I'll let nothing hurt you;" and while they huddled together, a thick white mist slowly gathered and spread between the children and the Ilsenstein.

"Oh! there are some shadowy old women, coming to carry me away,"

Gretel sobbed, hiding her face, as the mist seemed to sway and a.s.sume strange forms. Then while her face was hidden, the mist slowly cleared away, and a little gray manikin with a little sack upon his back came out of the shadows. Hansel held his breath with fear and sheltered Gretel beside him as best he could.

"It is a shadowy queer little manikin, Gretel dear, with a little sack upon his back, but he looks very friendly." Then addressing the little manikin, "Do not hurt us, sir--and will you tell us who you are?"

I shut the children's peepers--sh!

And guard the little sleepers--sh!

For dearly I do love them--sh!

And gladly watch above them--sh!

And with my little bag of sand, By every child's bedside I stand; Then little tired eyelids close, And little limbs have sweet repose; And if they are good and quickly go to sleep, Then from the starry sphere above The angels come with peace and love, And send the children happy dreams, while watch they keep.

All the while the little sand-man was telling them who he was, the children got sleepier and sleepier and nodded upon each other's shoulders.

"The sand-man was here?" little Hansel asked, trying to rouse a bit.

"I guess so," said Gretel; "let us say our prayers," and so they folded their hands, and said a little prayer to the fourteen angels which guard little children. They prayed to the two angels who should stand at their head, to the two at their feet, two upon their right hand and two upon the left, and two should cover them warm, and two should guard them from harm, and two should guide them one day to Heaven; and so they sank to sleep.

As they slept, a beautiful light broke through the mist, which rolled up into a glittering staircase down which those angels came, two and two. They all grouped about Hansel and Gretel as they had been prayed to do; and as they silently took their places the night grew dark, the trees and birds all slept, and Hansel and Gretel were safe until the morning.

ACT III

The night had pa.s.sed, the angels had disappeared again in the mist which still hung over the forest at the back, and now as dawn broke, the dew-fairy came out of the mist as the manikin and the angels had done; and from a little blue bell she shook the dewdrops over the children's eyes. Just as they began to stir, away ran the dew-fairy, and when they were quite wide awake they found the sun rising and themselves all alone.

"Hansel, where are we?" little Gretel asked, not recalling all that had happened to them since the day before. "I hear the birds twittering high in the branches. We certainly are not in our beds at home."

"No--but I had a fine dream," Hansel answered--"that the angels were here looking after us all night, the entire fourteen. But look there!"

he cried, pointing behind them. The mist was gradually lifting and revealing the house of the Witch of Ilsenstein. It looked very fine, with the sun's bright rays upon it; very fine indeed! A little way off to the left of that queer little house was--an oven. Oh, dreadful! It was well Hansel and Gretel did not know in the least what that oven meant. Then, on the other side of the house, was a cage--and heaven!

it was certainly well that they had no idea of what that was for, either. Then, joining that cage to the house, was a queer-looking fence of gingerbread, and it looked strangely like little children.

"Oh, what a queer place!" Gretel cried. "And do you smell that delicious odour? That cottage is made all of chocolate cream!" She was overcome with joy.

The roof is all covered with Turkish delight, The windows with l.u.s.tre of sugar are white And on all the gables the raisins invite, And think! All around is a gingerbread hedge.

"Oh, to eat such a cottage!" they cried ecstatically.

"I hear no sound. Let's go inside," Hansel urged.

"No, no! Who knows who may live in that lovely house."

"Well, anyway, it can't do any harm to nibble a little. They can have it repaired next baking day," he persisted.

"Maybe that is true,--and it does look too good to leave"; so Hansel reached out and broke a little piece of the house-corner off.

Nibble, nibble, mousekin, Who's nibbling at my housekin?

a voice called from within.

"Good gracious! Did you hear that?" he whispered, dropping the corner of the house. Gretel picked it up, hesitatingly.

"It's most awfully good," she declared, but at that very minute came the voice again:

Nibble, nibble, mousekin, Who's nibbling at my housekin?

"Maybe that is the voice of the sweety maker," Hansel suggested, all the same a good deal scared. And so they went on nibbling at a bit of the fence and then at the house-corner, until they became so full of good things that they began to laugh and caper about in high spirits.

But while all this fun was going on, the upper part of the door opened and the old witch stuck her head out. Then slowly and softly, out she crept with a rope in her hand, and getting behind the children she suddenly threw it over Hansel's head. When he turned and saw her he was frightened almost into fits.

"Let me go, let me go!" he howled, while the witch only laughed hideously at the two and, drawing them closer to her, she began to pat their heads and talk very nicely to them.

"You are lovely children! Don't give yourselves such airs. I am Rosina Dainty-Mouth and just love little children like you," but she didn't say how she preferred them--broiled or stewed. Nevertheless, Hansel had his doubts about her, in spite of her affectionate pretensions.

Come, little mousey, Come into my housey!

Come with me, my precious, I'll give you sweets, delicious!

This extraordinary old lady cried, naming things that made the children's mouths water. But there was Hansel's caution! He was not to be caught napping after sunrise. Gretel, however, recalled the flavour of the eave-spout which she had lately tasted and could not help showing a certain amount of interest.

"Just what shall I get if I go into your housey?" she inquired; but before the old creature could reply, Hansel had pulled Gretel's petticoat.

"Have a care! Do not take anything from her that you can help. She is meaning to fatten us and cook us,"--which was the exact truth. At that moment, Hansel got clear of the rope which had been about his neck and ran to Gretel, but the old witch pointed at them a stick which had been hanging at her girdle, and instantly they found themselves spellbound. She repeated this blood-curdling rhyme, and there they stood, quite helpless:

Hocus pocus, witches' charm!

Move not as you fear my arm.

Back or forward, do not try, Fixed you are, by the evil eye!

And "fixed" they were. Now, right in the middle of the forenoon, it began to grow horribly dark, and as it darkened, the little k.n.o.b on the end of her stick began to glow brilliantly, and as Hansel watched it, fascinated, the witch gradually led him, by the stick's charm, into the stable, and fastened him in. Then the k.n.o.b of the stick gradually ceased to glow, and Gretel was still standing there.

"Now while I feed Hansel up till he is plump as a partridge, you stand where you are," said the witch, and into the house she went. Gretel stood horrified, and Hansel whispered to her:

"Don't speak loud, and be very watchful, Gretelkin. Pretend to do everything the witch commands, yet be very watchful. There she comes again"; and so she did, with a basket full of raisins and other things for him to eat. She stuck good things into his mouth, as if she were fattening a Strasburg goose, and after that she disenchanted Gretel with a juniper branch.

"Now, then, you go and set the table," she ordered, then turning again to Hansel she found him apparently asleep.

"That's good! It is a way to grow fat," she grinned. "I'll just begin my supper with Gretel. She looks quite plump enough as she is. Here, my love," she cried, opening the oven door, and sniffing some gingerbread figures within, "just look into the oven and tell me if it is hot enough to bake in," she called.

Oh, when from the oven I take her, She'll look like a cake from the baker,

the old wretch giggled to herself. But Gretel pretended not to hear her; and after all, she thought the oven not quite hot enough to push Gretel into, so she began jabbering about the witch's ride she was going to have that night at twelve, on her broomstick. As she thought about it she became very enthusiastic, and getting upon her broom she went galloping about the house and back. When she got through performing in this outrageous manner--which fairly froze Gretel's blood in her veins--the old witch tickled Hansel with a birch-twig till he woke.

"Here, my little darling, show me your tongue," she said, and Hansel stuck out his tongue as if the doctor had been called to investigate his liver. "My, but you are in fine condition," the old wretch mumbled smacking her lips. "Let me see your thumb," she demanded, and instead of sticking out his plump thumb, Hansel poked a tiny bone through the bars of the cage. "Oh! how lean and scraggy! You won't do yet"; and she called to Gretel to bring more food for him, and there she stopped to stuff him again. Then she again opened the oven door, looking all the while at Gretel.