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.

其实老婆婆只是假装友善，她实际上是一个邪恶的女巫，用食物造房子只是为了引诱孩子上当。中了圈套的孩子先是被她杀掉，然后再被煮熟吃掉，对她来说小孩就是一顿美餐。

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."

女巫都长着红眼睛，看不到远处，不过嗅觉就像野兽一样灵敏，隔很远都能嗅到人类的味道。所以当韩赛尔和格蕾特闯入她的领地时，她一脸邪恶地坏笑着说：“一定不能让他们从我手中跑了。”

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，孩子们还没醒来，女巫已经起床了，她盯着两个孩子圆乎乎、红扑扑的脸蛋，自言自语道：“吃起来一定很可口。”

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.

紧接着她伸出干瘪的手一把拽住了韩赛尔，扛着他来到一个狭小的马厩，将他锁在了栅栏里面。无论韩赛尔怎么叫喊都无济于事。

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摇醒，冲她吼道：“起来，懒丫头，去打水煮饭给你哥哥吃，他被我关在外面的马厩，等我把他养胖了，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.

格蕾特伤心地哭起来，但哭也徒劳，她不得不按照女巫的吩咐去干活。现在最好的食物都给可怜的韩赛尔吃，格蕾特只能吃蟹壳。

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."

每天早上女巫都来到马厩旁，喊道：“韩赛尔，伸出你的手指头让我摸一下你长肥了没有。”

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.

然而韩赛尔每次伸出去的不是自己的手指，而是一小截吃剩的骨头。老女巫眼神不好，看不清楚，信以为真，还纳闷这个小男孩怎么长不胖。

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

四个礼拜过去了，韩赛尔还是很瘦的样子，女巫终于不耐烦了，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."

她冲女孩喊道：“格蕾特，赶紧起来打水！不管韩赛尔是胖是瘦，明天我都要把他宰了煮来吃。”

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，可怜的妹妹还得去打水煮自己的哥哥，这令她悲痛万分，泪水不断从两颊滑落。她哭喊道：“亲爱的上帝，您一定要帮帮我们！还不如当初让森林里的野兽吃掉我们，至少我们兄妹俩还能死在一块儿。”

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

“省省吧”，老女巫说，“不管你怎么喊，都没人救得了你！”

Next Chapter......>>

下一话

（本文翻译：Frank）

声明：本双语文章的中文翻译系爱思英语原创内容，转载请注明出处。中文翻译仅代表译者个人观点，仅供参考。如有不妥之处，欢迎指正。