Asatru Folk Assembly - Hansel and Grethel (Academy Storytime)

00:00:00.000 here a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter and his wife and his two children

00:00:26.080 the boy's name was hansel and the girls grethel they had very little to bite or to sup and once

00:00:34.760 when there was great dearth in the land the man could not even gain the daily bread

00:00:40.420 as he lay in bed one night thinking of this and turning and tossing he sighed heavily and said to

00:00:46.300 his wife what will become of us we cannot even feed our children there is nothing left for

00:00:51.960 ourselves i will tell you what husband answered the wife we will take the children early in the

00:00:59.720 morning into the forest where it is thickest we will make them a fire and we will give them each

00:01:05.540 a piece of bread then we will go to our work and leave them alone they will never find the way home

00:01:10.560 again and she and we shall be quit of them no wife said the man i cannot do that i cannot find

00:01:19.740 my heart to take my children into the forest and to leave them there alone the wild animals will 0.99

00:01:24.780 soon come and devour them oh you fool said she then we will all four starve you had better get 0.99

00:01:34.520 the coffins ready and she left him no peace until he consented but i really pity the poor children 0.99

00:01:41.200 said the man the two children had not been able to sleep for hunger and had heard what their

00:01:46.560 stepmother had said to their father grothel wept bitterly and said to hansel

00:01:52.900 it is all over with us do be quiet grothel said hansel and do not fret i will manage something

00:02:04.800 and when the parents had gone to sleep he got up put on his little coat opened the back door and

00:02:11.040 slipped out. The moon was shining brightly, and the white flints that lay in front of the house

00:02:16.700 glistened like pieces of silver. Hansel stooped and filled the little pocket of his coat as full

00:02:24.820 as it would hold. Then he went back again and said to Grothald, Be easy, dear little sister,

00:02:31.460 and go to sleep quietly. Gods will not forsake us. And he laid himself down again in his bed

00:02:40.400 when the day was breaking and before the sun had risen the wife came and awakened the two children

00:02:46.820 saying get up you lazy bones we are going into the forest to cut wood then she gave each of them a

00:02:54.560 piece of bread and said that is for dinner and you must not eat it before then for you will get no 0.56

00:02:59.220 more rothal carried the bread under her apron for hansel had his pockets full of the flints 0.92

00:03:07.760 then they set off together on their way to the forest when they had gone a little way Hansel

00:03:15.300 stood still and looked back toward the house and this he did again and again till his father said

00:03:21.340 to him Hansel what are you looking at take care not to forget your legs oh father said Hansel

00:03:29.140 I am looking at my little white kitten who is sitting up on the roof to bid me goodbye 0.99

00:03:34.900 you young fool said the woman that is not your kitten but the sunshine on the chimney pot 0.99

00:03:40.600 of course hansel had not been looking at his kitten he had been taking every now and then 0.99

00:03:47.000 a flint from his pocket and dropping it on the road when they reached the middle of the forest

00:03:51.380 the father told the children to collect wood to make a fire to keep them warm and hansel and

00:03:56.180 gathered brushwood enough for a little mountain and it was set on fire and when the flame was

00:04:02.660 burning quite high the wife said now lie down by the fire and rest yourselves you children

00:04:07.940 and we will go and cut wood and when we are ready we will come and fetch you

00:04:12.440 so hansel and grethel sat by the fire and at noon they each ate their pieces of bread

00:04:20.480 they thought their father was in the wood all the time as they seemed to hear the strokes of the axe

00:04:26.260 but really it was only a dry branch hanging to the withered tree that the wind moved to and fro

00:04:32.520 so when they had stayed there a long time their eyelids closed with wariness and they fell fast

00:04:38.660 asleep when they at last they woke it was night and grothal began to cry and said how shall we

00:04:45.960 ever get out of this wood but hansel comfort her saying wait a little while longer until the moon

00:04:52.020 rises and then we can easily find the way home and when the full moon got up hansel took his

00:04:58.500 little sister by the hand and followed the way where the flint stones shone like silver and

00:05:03.940 showed them the road they walked on the whole night through and at the break of day they came

00:05:09.740 to their father's house they knocked at the door and when the wife opened it and saw there was

00:05:14.100 Hansel and Grethel she said you naughty children why did you sleep so long in the wood we thought

00:05:19.360 you were never coming home again but the father was glad for he had gone to his heart to leave

00:05:25.940 them both in the woods alone not very long after that there was again great scarcity in those parts

00:05:32.040 and the children heard their stepmother say at night in bed to their father everything is finished

00:05:36.860 up we have only half a loaf and after that the tale comes to an end the children must be off

00:05:43.960 we will take them farther into the wood this time so they shall not be able to find the way back

00:05:50.200 again there is no other way to manage the man felt sad at heart and he thought it would be better to

00:05:57.640 share one's last morsel with one's children but the wife would listen to nothing that he said

00:06:02.680 but scolded and reproached him he who says a must say b too and when a man has given in once he has

00:06:12.760 to do it a second time but the children were not asleep and had heard all the talk when the parents

00:06:19.540 had gone to sleep, Hansel got up to go out and get more flintstones, as he did before. But the

00:06:25.140 wife had locked the door, and Hansel could not get out. But he comforted his little sister and said,

00:06:30.000 Don't cry, Grethel, and go to sleep quietly, and God will help us.

00:06:38.400 Early the next morning, the wife came and pulled the children out of bed. She gave them each a

00:06:42.600 little piece of bread, less than before. And on the way to the wood, Hansel crumbled the bread

00:06:47.140 in his pocket and often stopped to throw a crumb on the ground hansel what are you stopping behind

00:06:52.880 and staring for said the father i am looking at my little pigeon sitting on the roof to say goodbye 0.86

00:06:58.100 to me answered hansel you fool said the wife that is no pigeon but the morning sun shining on the 0.93

00:07:04.200 chimney pots hansel went on as before and drew breadcrumbs all along the road the woman led the 0.98

00:07:11.900 children far into the wood, where they had never been before in all their lives. And again, there

00:07:18.700 was a large fire made, and the stepmother said, Sit still there, you children, and when you are

00:07:23.940 tired, you can go to sleep. We are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening, when we

00:07:28.940 are ready to go home, we will come and fetch you. So when noon came, Grethel shared her bread with

00:07:34.400 Hansel, who had strewed his along the road. Then they went to sleep, and the evening passed,

00:07:41.900 and no one came for the poor children when they awoke it was dark night and hansel comforted his

00:07:47.440 little sister and said wait a little grethel until the moon gets up and we shall be able to

00:07:52.880 see the way home by the crumbs of bread that i have scattered along it so when the moon rose

00:07:58.200 they got up but they could find no crumbs of bread for the birds of the wood

00:08:03.060 now the fields had come and pick them up hansel thought they might find the way all the same

00:08:08.600 but they could not they went on all night and the next day from the morning until the evening

00:08:15.960 but they could not find the way out of the wood and they were very hungry for they had nothing

00:08:21.340 to eat but the few berries they could pick up and when they were so tired that they could no longer

00:08:26.800 drag themselves along they lied down under a tree and fell asleep it was now the third morning since

00:08:33.900 they had left their father's house they were always trying to get back to it but instead of

00:08:39.560 that they only found themselves farther into the wood and if help had not soon come they would have

00:08:45.060 been starved about noon they saw a pretty snow white bird sitting on a bow and singing so sweetly

00:08:55.680 that they stopped to listen and we had finished the bird spread his wings and flew before them

00:09:01.500 and they followed after him until they came to a little house and the bird perched on the roof

00:09:07.940 and when they came nearer they saw that the house was built of bread and roofed with cakes

00:09:12.120 and the window was of transparent sugar we will have some of this said Hansel and make a fine

00:09:19.560 meal i will eat a piece of the roof Grethel and you can have some of the window that will taste

00:09:24.960 sweet so Hansel reached up and broke off a bit of the roof just to see how it tasted and Grethel

00:09:31.080 stood by the window and gnawed at it.

00:09:33.100 Then they heard a thin voice call out from inside,

00:09:36.960 Nibble, nibble, like a mouse!

00:09:38.960 Who is nibbling at my house?

00:09:41.620 And the children answered,

00:09:43.340 Never mind, it is the wind.

00:09:47.260 They went on eating, never disturbing themselves.

00:09:51.140 Ansel, who found that the roof tasted very nice,

00:09:53.420 took down a great piece of it,

00:09:55.140 and Grethel pulled out a large round windowpane

00:09:57.120 and sat her down and begun upon it. 0.97

00:10:01.080 Then the door opened, and an aged woman came out, leaning upon a crutch.

00:10:05.440 Hansel and Grethel felt very frightened, and let fall what they had in their hands.

00:10:10.380 The old woman, however, nodded her head and said,

00:10:13.920 Ah, my dear children, how come you here? 0.98

00:10:17.960 You must come indoors and stay with me. You will be no trouble.

00:10:22.500 So she took them each by the hand and led them into her little house.

00:10:25.820 and there they found a good meal laid out of milk and pancakes with sugar apples and nuts

00:10:32.580 after she showed them two little white beds and hansel and grethel laid themselves down on them 1.00

00:10:39.300 and thought they were in heaven the old woman although her behavior was kind was a wicked witch 0.99

00:10:45.040 who lay in wait for children and had built the little house on purpose to entice them 1.00

00:10:50.180 when they were once inside she used to kill them cook them and eat them and then it was a feast day 0.71

00:10:58.760 with her the witch's eyes were red and she could not see very far but she had a keen scent like 0.90

00:11:04.660 the beasts and knew very well when human creatures were near when she knew that hansel and grithel 0.67

00:11:10.360 were coming she gave a spiteful laugh and said triumphantly i have them and they shall not escape

00:11:16.420 me early in the morning before the children were awake she got up to look at them and as they were

00:11:22.840 lay sleeping so peacefully with round rosy cheeks she said to herself what a fine feast i shall have

00:11:29.660 then she grasped hansel with both her withered hand and led him into a little stable and shut

00:11:38.180 him up behind the grating and call and scream as he might it was no good then she went back 0.60

00:11:45.940 to grethel and shook her crying get up lazy bones fetch water and cook something nice for your

00:11:51.520 brother he is outside in the stable and must be fattened up and when he is fat enough i will eat 0.68

00:11:57.340 him grethel began to weep bitterly but it was of no use she had to do what the wicked witch bade her

00:12:04.300 and so the best kind of victuals was cooked for poor hansel while grethel got nothing but crab

00:12:11.860 shells each morning the old woman visited the little stable and cried Hansel stretch out your

00:12:17.360 fingers that I may tell if you will soon be fat enough Hansel however used to hold out a little

00:12:25.540 bone and the old woman who had weak eyes could not see what it is and supposing it was to be

00:12:31.800 Hansel's finger wondered very much that it was not getting fatter when four weeks had passed and

00:12:37.580 Hansel seemed to remain so thin she lost patience and could wait no longer now then Grethel cried 0.89

00:12:45.880 she to the little girl be quick and draw water the Hansel fat or he be lean tomorrow I must kill 0.79

00:12:52.200 and cook him oh what a grief for the poor little sister to have to fetch water and how the tears 0.92

00:12:57.780 flowed down over her cheeks your god's prey help us she cried if we had been devoured by wild

00:13:05.640 beast in the wood at least we would have died together spare me your lamentation said the old

00:13:12.460 woman they are of no avail early next morning grethel had to get up make the fire and fill

00:13:18.020 the kettle first we will do the baking said the old woman i have heated the oven already and

00:13:24.080 kneaded the dough she pushed poor grethel towards the oven out of which the flames were already

00:13:28.980 shining creep in said the witch and see if it's properly hot so that the bread may be baked 1.00

00:13:34.820 and grithel once in the witch meant to shut the door upon her and let her be baked and then she

00:13:40.720 would have eaten her but grithel perceived the witch's intention and said i don't know how to do 0.80

00:13:45.940 it how shall i get in stupid goose said the old woman the opening is big enough do you see i could 0.95

00:13:52.520 get in myself and then she stooped down and put her head in the oven's mouth then grithel gave 0.99

00:13:58.820 the witch a push so that she went in farther and grethel shut the iron door upon her and put up 0.93

00:14:03.980 the bar oh how frightfully she howled but grethel ran away and left the wicked witch to burn

00:14:12.060 miserably grethel went straight to hansel opened the stable door and cried hansel we are free the

00:14:17.820 old witch is dead then out flew hansel like a bird from its cage as soon as the door is opened

00:14:23.020 how rejoiced they both were how they fell each on the other's neck danced about and kissed each

00:14:29.640 other and as they had nothing more to fear they went over to the old witch's house and in every

00:14:33.960 corner there stood chests of pearls and precious stones this is something better than flint stones

00:14:40.380 said hansel as he filled his pockets and grethel thinking also would like to carry something home 0.97

00:14:46.880 with her filled her apron full now away we go said hansel if we only can get out of the witch's

00:14:53.880 wood and then they journeyed a few hours they came to a great piece of water we can never get

00:14:59.560 across this said hansel i see no stepping stones and no bridge and there is no boat either said

00:15:04.520 grethel but here comes a white duck if i ask her she will help us over so she cried duck duck here

00:15:12.100 we stand hansel and grethel on the land stepping stones and bridge we lack carious over on your

00:15:18.680 nice white back and the duck came accordingly and hansel got upon her and told his sister to come

00:15:26.580 too no answered grethel that would be too hard upon the duck we can go separately one after the

00:15:32.980 other and that was how it was managed and after that they went unhappily until they came to the

00:15:41.540 wood and they the way grew more and more familiar till at last they saw in the distance their

00:15:47.620 father's house then they ran till they came up to it rushing at the door and fell on their father's

00:15:54.140 neck the man had not had a quiet hour since he left his children in the wood but the wife was

00:16:02.280 dead and when grithel opened her apron the pearls and precious stones were scattered all over the

00:16:07.700 room, and Hansel took one handful after another out of his pocket. Then all was care at the end,

00:16:13.580 and they lived in great joy together.

00:16:37.700 Thank you.

Asatru Folk Assembly - January 05, 2024

Hansel and Grethel (Academy Storytime)

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