er; "go on." "I am looking back at my little pigeon which
is sitting on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me," answered
Haensel. "Simpleton!" said the woman, "that is not thy little pigeon,
that is the morning sun that is shining on the chimney." Haensel,
however, little by little, threw all the crumbs on the path.

The woman led the children still deeper into the forest, where they
had never in their lives been before. Then a great fire was again
made, and the mother said, "Just sit there, you children, and when you
are tired you may sleep a little; we are going into the forest to cut
wood, and in the evening, when we are done, we will come and fetch
you away." When it was noon, Grethel shared her piece of bread with
Haensel, who had scattered his by the way. Then they fell asleep and
evening came and went, but no one came to the poor children. They did
not awake until it was dark night; but Haensel comforted his little
sister and said, "Just wait, Grethel, until the moon rises, and then
we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn about. They will
show us our way home again." When the moon rose they set out, but they
found no crumbs, for the many thousands of birds which fly about in
the woods and fields had picked them all up. Haensel said to Grethel,
"We shall soon find the way," but they did not find it. They walked
the whole night and all the next day too, from morning till evening,
but they did not get out of the forest, and were very hungry, for they
had nothing to eat but two or three berries which grew on the ground.
And as they were so weary that their legs would carry them no longer,
they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep.

It was now three mornings since they had left their father's house.
They began to walk again, but they always got so much deeper into the
forest that, if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger and
weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird
sitting on a bough, which sang so delightfully that they stood still
and listened to it. And when it had finished its song, it spread
its wings and flew away before them, and they followed it until they
reached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted; and when
they came quite up to the little house they saw that it was built
of bread and covered with cakes, and that the windows were of clear
sugar. "We will set to work on that," said Haensel, "and have a good
meal. I will eat a bit of the r