There was once a cook named Gretel, who wore shoes with
red heels, and when she walked out with them on, she
turned herself this way and that, was quite happy and
thought, you certainly are a pretty girl. And when she
came home she drank, in her gladness of heart, a draught of
wine, and
as wine excites a desire to eat, she tasted the best of whatever
she was cooking until she was satisfied, and said, the cook
must know what the food is like.
It came to pass that the master one day said to her, Gretel,
there is a guest coming this evening. Prepare me two fowls
very daintily. I will see to it, master, answered Gretel.
She killed two fowls, scalded them, plucked them, put them on
the spit, and towards evening set them before the fire, that
they might roast. The fowls began to turn brown, and were
nearly ready, but the guest had not yet arrived. Then Gretel
called out to her master, if the guest does not come, I must
take the fowls away from the fire, but it will be a sin and a
shame if they are not eaten the moment they are at their
juiciest. The master said, I will run myself, and fetch
the guest. When the master had turned his back, Gretel laid
the spit with the fowls on one side, and thought, standing
so long by the fire there, makes one sweat and thirsty. Who
knows when they will come. Meanwhile, I will run into the
cellar, and take a drink. She ran down, set a jug, said,
God bless it for you, Gretel, and took a good drink, and
thought that wine should flow on, and should not be interrupted,
and took yet another hearty draught.
Then she went and put the fowls down again to the fire, basted
them, and drove the spit merrily round. But as the roast
meat smelt so good, Gretel thought, something must be wrong,
it ought to be tasted. She touched it with her finger, and
said, ah, how good fowls are. It certainly is a sin and a
shame that they are not eaten
at the right time. She ran to the window, to see if the
master was not coming with his guest, but she saw no one, and
went back to the fowls and thought, one of the wings is burning.
I had better take it off and eat it. So she cut it off, ate it,
and enjoyed it, and when she had done, she thought, the other
must go down too, or else master will observe that something is
missing. When the two wings were eaten, she went and looked
for her master, and did not see him. It suddenly occurred to
her, who knows. They are perhaps not coming at all, and have
turned in somewhere. Then she said, well, Gretel, enjoy
yourself, one fowl has been cut into, take another drink, and
eat it up entirely. When it is eaten you will have some peace,
why should God's good gifts be spoilt. So she ran
into the cellar again, took an enormous drink and ate up the
one chicken in great glee. When one of the chickens was
swallowed down, and still her master did not come, Gretel
looked at the other and said, where one is, the other should
be likewise, the two go together. What's right for the one is
right for the other. I think if I were to take another
draught it would do me no harm. So she took another hearty
drink, and let the second chicken follow the first.
While she was making the most of it, her master came and cried,
hurry up, Gretel, the guest is coming directly after me. Yes,
sir, I will soon serve up, answered Gretel. Meantime the master
looked to see that the table was properly laid, and took the
great knife, wherewith he was going to carve the chickens, and
sharpened it on the steps. Presently the guest came, and
knocked politely and courteously at the house-door. Gretel ran,
and looked to see who was there, and when she saw the guest,
she put her finger to her lips and said, hush. Hush. Go away
as quickly as you can, if my master catches you it will be the
worse for you. He certainly did ask you to supper, but his
intention is to cut off your two ears. Just listen how he
is sharpening the knife for it. The guest heard the sharpening, and
hurried down the steps again as fast as he could. Gretel was
not idle. She ran screaming to her master, and cried, you have
invited a fine guest. Why, Gretel, what do you mean by that.
Yes, said she, he has taken the chickens which I was just
going to serve
up, off the dish, and has run away with them. That's a nice
trick, said her master, and lamented the fine chickens. If
he had but left me one, so that something remained for me to
eat. He called to him to stop, but the guest pretended not to
hear. Then he ran after him with the knife still in his hand,
crying, just one, just one, meaning that the guest should leave
him just one chicken, and not take both. The guest, however,
thought no otherwise than that he was to give up one of his
ears, and ran as if fire were burning under him, in order to
take them both home with him.
