英语故事3-4糖果屋

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糖果屋

A woodcutter and his family live in a forest. He has two children.

His son's name is Hansel and his daughter's name is Gretel. They live with their stepmother. She doesn't like Hansel and Gretel.

Times are very difficult. Nobody has any money, so they don't buy any wood from the woodcutter. The family has only bread to eat. The woodcutter can't sleep at night. He worries about how to feed his family.

The woodcutter's wife has an idea.

"We can take the children into the forest," she tells the woodcutter."

We can leave them there. They will not be able to find their way home.

Then we can eat all of the food."

"But that is a terrible thing to do," replies the woodcutter. "I cannot do it."

"If you don't, we will all die of hunger," says his wife.

The woodcutter thinks about his wife's idea. Finally, he agrees to do it.

Hansel and Gretel have been listening to their parents speak. They are both frightened. Gretel starts to cry, but Hansel tells her to stop. He doesn't want his parents to hear them.Hansel waits for his parents to fall asleep. Quietly, he walks to the door and goes outside. There are many small, white stones in front of the house. He puts some into his pocket, and returns to bed.

"Where did you go?" asks Gretel.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," replies Hansel. "Don't worry. Tomorrow we will be fine."

Morning comes. The stepmother wakes up the children. She gives them both a piece of bread, and tells them to put on their clothes.

"You will come with Father and me to the woods today," she says. "Hurry up. We have a lot of work to do."

The family leaves the house. The sun is just coming up. Hansel walks behind his parents. He is dropping stones on the ground.

"Hurry up, Hansel," says the stepmother. "We have a long way to go."

The family walks for three hours. Finally, the woodcutter tells them to stop. He builds a small fire for Hansel and Gretel. They are very tired. They have walked very far today. They both lie down beside the fire. Soon, they are sleeping.

The two children sleep for a long time. Hansel wakes up first, and he wakes Gretel. She is very upset.

"What will we do?" she cries. "We can't find our house in the dark."

"Don't worry," says Hansel. "We can look for the little white stones. They will show us the way home."

The moon is very bright. Hansel and Gretel walk slowly. They look carefully at the ground. It is not hard to find the white stones. Soon, the

sun begins to rise. Gretel sees their house, and the two children run inside quickly.

"I'm so happy to see you," says the woodcutter.

"You naughty children," says their stepmother. "You have made us very worried. Today you will not get any dinner!"

The family's life is still very hard. Some days there is nothing to eat at all. The woodcutter's wife is very angry. One day, she tells the woodcutter to leave Hansel and Gretel in the woods again. The woodcutter doesn't want to do it. He loves his children.

"Do you love your children more than me?" asks the wife. "I will die if I don't eat more food."

"I love you very much," says the woodcutter. "If you must eat more food, I will do this terrible thing again."

Once again, Hansel and Gretel are listening to their parents. Like before, Hansel tries to go outside to get white stones. He quietly walks to the door. It is locked. He needs to make a new plan.

"What will I do?" thinks Hansel. "How will I know the way home tomorrow?"

The stepmother wakes them up very early again. The family leaves the house before the sun is up. They will walk even farther today. Hansel doesn't eat his bread. Instead, he pulls it into small pieces. He throws these crumbs on the ground. They will show the way home.