The old woman had only pretended to be so kind. She was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread in order to entice them there. When a child fell into her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it, and that was a feast day with her.

其實老婆婆只是假裝友善,她實際上是一個邪惡的女巫,用食物造房子只是為了引誘孩子上當。中了圈套的孩子先是被她殺掉,然后再被煮熟吃掉,對她來說小孩就是一頓美餐。

Witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near. When Hansel and Gretel came into her neighborhood, she laughed with malice, and said mockingly, "I have them, they shall not escape me again."

女巫都長著紅眼睛,看不到遠處,不過嗅覺就像野獸一樣靈敏,隔很遠都能嗅到人類的味道。所以當韓賽爾和格蕾特闖入她的領地時,她一臉邪惡地壞笑著說:“一定不能讓他們從我手中跑了。”

Early in the morning before the children were awake, she was already up, and when she saw both of them sleeping and looking so pretty, with their plump and rosy cheeks, she muttered to herself, "that will be a dainty mouthful."

第二天一早,孩子們還沒醒來,女巫已經起床了,她盯著兩個孩子圓乎乎、紅撲撲的臉蛋,自言自語道:“吃起來一定很可口。”

Then she seized Hansel with her shrivelled hand, carried him into a little stable, and locked him in behind a grated door. Scream as he might, it would not help him.

緊接著她伸出干癟的手一把拽住了韓賽爾,扛著他來到一個狹小的馬廄,將他鎖在了柵欄里面。無論韓賽爾怎么叫喊都無濟于事。

Then she went to Gretel, shook her till she awoke, and cried, "get up, lazy thing, fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother, he is in the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him."

然后她回去把格蕾特搖醒,沖她吼道:“起來,懶丫頭,去打水煮飯給你哥哥吃,他被我關在外面的馬廄,等我把他養胖了,我就吃掉他。”

Gretel began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, for she was forced to do what the wicked witch commanded. And now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Gretel got nothing but crab-shells.

格蕾特傷心地哭起來,但哭也徒勞,她不得不按照女巫的吩咐去干活�，F在最好的食物都給可憐的韓賽爾吃,格蕾特只能吃蟹殼。

Every morning the woman crept to the little stable, and cried, "Hansel, stretch out your finger that I may feel if you will soon be fat."

每天早上女巫都來到馬廄旁,喊道:“韓賽爾,伸出你的手指頭讓我摸一下你長肥了沒有。”

Hansel, however, stretched out a little bone to her, and the old woman, who had dim eyes, could not see it, and thought it was Hansel's finger, and was astonished that there was no way of fattening him.

然而韓賽爾每次伸出去的不是自己的手指,而是一小截吃剩的骨頭。老女巫眼神不好,看不清楚,信以為真,還納悶這個小男孩怎么長不胖。

When four weeks had gone by, and Hansel still remained thin, she was seized with impatience and would not wait any longer.

四個禮拜過去了,韓賽爾還是很瘦的樣子,女巫終于不耐煩了,她不想再等下去了。

"Now, then, Gretel," she cried to the girl, "stir yourself, and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him."

她沖女孩喊道:“格蕾特,趕緊起來打水!不管韓賽爾是胖是瘦,明天我都要把他宰了煮來吃。”

Ah, how the poor little sister did lament when she had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow down her cheeks. "Dear God, do help us," she cried. "If the wild beasts in the forest had but devoured us, we should at any rate have died together."

唉,可憐的妹妹還得去打水煮自己的哥哥,這令她悲痛萬分,淚水不斷從兩頰滑落。她哭喊道:“親愛的上帝,您一定要幫幫我們!還不如當初讓森林里的野獸吃掉我們,至少我們兄妹倆還能死在一塊兒。”

"Just keep your noise to yourself," said the old woman, "it won't help you at all."

“省省吧”,老女巫說,“不管你怎么喊,都沒人救得了你!”

Next Chapter......>>