Clever Gretel

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　There was a cook whose name was Gretel. She wore shoes with red heels, and whenever she went out wearing them she would turn this way and that way, and she was very cheerful, thinking, "You are a beautiful girl!"

　　Then after returning home, because she was so happy, she would drink a swallow of wine, and the wine would give her an appetite, so she would taste the best of what she had cooked, until she was quite full, and then she would say, "The cook has to know how the food tastes."

　　One day her master said to her, "Gretel, this evening a guest is coming. Prepare two chickens for me, the best way that you can."

　　"Yes indeed, sir," answered Gretel. She killed the chickens, scalded them, plucked¹ them, stuck them on the spit, and then, as evening approached, put them over the fire to roast. The chickens began to brown, and were nearly done, but the guest had not yet arrived.

　　Gretel called to her master, "If the guest doesn't come, I'll have to take the chickens from the fire. And it will be a crying shame if they're not eaten soon, because they're at their juicy best right now."

　　The master answered, "You're right. I'll run and fetch the guest myself."

　　As soon as the master had turned his back, Gretel set the spit and the chickens aside and thought, "Standing² here by the fire has made me sweaty and thirsty. Who knows when they will be back? Meanwhile I'll just run down into the cellar³ and take a swallow."

　　So she ran down, lifted a jug⁴ to her lips, saying, "God bless it for you, Gretel!" and took a healthy drink. "Wine belongs together," she said further. "It's not good to keep it apart," and took another healthy drink.

　　Then she went and placed the chickens over the fire again, basted⁵ them with butter, and cheerfully⁶ turned the spit. Because the roasting chickens smelled so good, she thought, "They could be lacking something. I'd better taste them!" She tested them with her fingers, and said, "My, these chickens are good! It's a sin⁷ and a shame that they won't be eaten at once!"

　　She ran to the window to see if her master and his guest were arriving, but she saw no one. Returning to the chickens, she said, "That one wing is burning. I'd better just eat it." So she cut it off and ate it, and it tasted very good. When she had finished it, she thought, "I'd better eat the other one too, or the master will see that something is missing⁸."

　　When both wings had been eaten, she once again looked for her master, but could not see him. Then it occurred to her, "Who knows? Perhaps they've gone somewhere else to eat and aren't coming here at all." Then she said, "Well, Gretel, be of good cheer! The one has already been cut into. Have another drink and eat the rest of it. When it's gone, you can relax. Why should this good gift of God go to waste?"

　　So she ran to the cellar once again, downed a noble drink, and cheerfully finished off the first chicken. When the one chicken was gone, and her master still had not yet returned, she looked at the other chicken and said, "Where the one is, the other should follow. The two belong together. What is right for the one, can't be wrong for the other. I believe that if I have another drink, it will do me no harm." So she took another hearty⁹ drink, and sent the second chicken running after the first one.

　　Just as she was making the most of it, her master returned, calling out, "Gretel, hurry up, the guest is right behind me."

　　"Yes, sir, I'm getting it ready," answered Gretel.

　　Meanwhile the master saw that the table was set, and he picked up the large knife that he wanted to carve the chickens with, and stood in the hallway sharpening¹⁰ it.

　　The guest arrived and knocked politely on the door. Gretel ran to see who it was, and when she saw that it was the guest, she held a finger before her mouth, and said, "Be quiet! Be quiet! Hurry and get away from here. If my master catches you, you'll be sorry. Yes, he invited you for an evening meal, but all he really wants is to cut off both of your ears. Listen, he's sharpening his knife for it right now."

　　The guest heard the whetting¹¹ and ran back down the steps as fast as he could.

　　Then Gretel, who was not a bit lazy, ran to her master, crying, "Just what kind of a guest did you invite?"

　　"Why, Gretel? What do you mean by that?"

　　"Well," she said, "he took both of the chickens off the platter, just as I was about to carry them out, and then ran away with them."

　　"Now that's a fine tune¹²!" said the master, feeling sorry about the loss of the good chickens. "At the least, he could have left one of them, so I would have something to eat."

　　He called out to him to stop, but the guest pretended not to hear. Then he ran after him, the knife still in his hand, shouting, "Just one! Just one!" But the guest could only think that he wanted him to give up one of his ears, so he ran as though there were a fire burning beneath him, in order to get home with both ears.#p#副标题#e#

       　从前有个名叫格蕾特的厨娘，她有一双红跟鞋。每当她穿着这双鞋子外出的时候，总是左边右边来回转，心里讚美着自己：「你真是个挺漂亮的姑娘呢！」回到家，她总要高兴地喝上一口酒，而酒又能开胃，所以无论自己做的甚么菜她都觉得味道极好，直到吃得饱饱的才罢休，并且说：「厨娘一定得知道饭菜的味道如何。」

　　有一次，主人对她说：「格蕾特，今晚我有个朋友要来，准备两只烧鸡，味道一定要好。」「我会把这事儿办好的。」格蕾特回答道。她杀了两只鸡，用开水烫过，拔了毛之后又把它们用铁焊插上。傍晚时分，她将鸡放到火上去烤，鸡渐渐变成棕色，差不多快烤好了，可客人还没有到。格蕾特对主人喊道：「如果客人还不来，我只好把鸡从火上挪开了。但是现在是鸡味道最好的时候，不趁这会儿吃简直太可惜了。」主人说：「我这就去把客人接来。」说完转身走了。格蕾特把插着鸡的铁焊放在一边，想：「老待在火边让人又渴又热。谁知道他们甚么时候才来，还是先到地窖里去拿杯喝的吧。」於是，她跑到地窖，端着个大酒壶，说了句「上帝保佑你，格蕾特。」就喝了一大口酒。可她觉得酒应该源源不断地喝才是，於是又痛痛快快喝了一大口。

　　接着她回到火边，在鸡上抹黄油，继续烤，并快乐地转动着手里的铁焊。鸡的香气实在太诱人了，於是格蕾特对自己说：「也许缺了点甚么，该尝尝味道才是。」她用手指蘸着尝了一点，说：「多好的烤鸡呀！现在不吃真是罪过。」於是她跑到窗口，看看主人有没有带着客人来，她没见任何人影，於是，又回到烤鸡边，想：「一只鸡翅都烤焦了，我还是把它揪下来吃了的好。」她切下鸡翅，吃了，觉得味道好极了。吃完后，她想：「另一只也应该切下来，要不然主人会发现少了东西。」吃完两只翅膀，她又到窗口看主人来了没有，还是没看到。格蕾特猛然想到：「天知道？他们或许根本不打算来了，也许到别处去了。」她自言自语地说，「格蕾特，反正烤鸡已经被你吃过了，不如痛痛快快地再喝上一口，然后把整只鸡都吃掉。只有吃完你才会安心。何必白白浪费上帝的恩赐呢！」所以她又跑到地窖痛痛快快地喝了一气，然后快快活活地把整只鸡都吃掉了。这时主人还是没回来，格蕾特的眼睛盯上了另一只鸡，说：「一只鸡在哪儿，另一只也该在那儿，两个应该在一起嘛！既然吃了一只，再吃一只也没甚么错。我想再来一大口酒对我没甚么坏处。」便又喝完一杯酒，然后让另一只鸡也跟着第一只去了。

　　正当格蕾特吃得高兴的时候，主人回来了，沖她喊道：「快，客人随后就到了。」「好的，先生，我这就端上来。」格蕾特回答说。这时主人进来看桌子有没有摆好，而且拿了一把大餐刀来，在楼梯上磨了磨，打算切鸡。不久，客人来了，很有礼貌地轻轻敲了敲门。格蕾特跑去看是谁，一看是客人，赶忙将食指竖在嘴上示意他不要出声，悄声说：「嘘！嘘！快跑吧，如果让我主人抓住你就倒霉了。他是邀你来吃晚饭，可他真实的目的是要切下你的两只耳朵。你听，他正在使劲磨刀呢！」客人确实听到了磨刀声，赶忙朝楼下跑。格蕾特也不闲着，冲着主人大叫：「你请的客人太好了！」「为甚么这么说？甚么意思？」「我正端着烤鸡要上桌，他抢了就跑！」「真是高招！」她主人说，心里为两只鸡感到挺可惜。「留下一只也行啊，我也就有得吃了。」於是他追出来，喊：「留下一只，就一只！」意思是说让客人留下一只烤鸡，别两只都拿走。可客人听了以为是让他留下一只耳朵，於是更加拚命地往家跑，好将两只耳朵带回家。