nothing but how she should get rid of them; and at last an
evil idea came into her head, and she determined to send them out into
the great gloomy wood where a wicked witch lived. And so one morning
she spoke to them, saying:

'You have been such good children that I am going to send you to visit
my granny, who lives in a dear little hut in the wood. You will have
to wait upon her and serve her, but you will be well rewarded, for she
will give you the best of everything.'

So the children left the house together; and the little sister, who
was very wise for her years, said to the brother:

'We will first go and see our own dear grandmother, and tell her where
our step-mother is sending us.'

[Footnote 28: From the Russian.]

And when the grandmother heard where they were going, she cried and
said:

'You poor motherless children! How I pity you; and yet I can do
nothing to help you! Your step-mother is not sending you to her
granny, but to a wicked witch who lives in that great gloomy wood. Now
listen to me, children. You must be civil and kind to everyone, and
never say a cross word to anyone, and never touch a crumb belonging to
anyone else. Who knows if, after all, help may not be sent to you?'

And she gave her grandchildren a bottle of milk and a piece of ham and
a loaf of bread, and they set out for the great gloomy wood. When they
reached it they saw in front of them, in the thickest of the trees, a
queer little hut, and when they looked into it, there lay the witch,
with her head on the threshold of the door, with one foot in one
corner and the other in the other corner, and her knees cocked up,
almost touching the ceiling.

'Who's there?' she snarled, in an awful voice, when she saw the
children.

[Illustration: Who's There?]

And they answered civilly, though they were so terrified that they hid
behind one another, and said:

'Good-morning, granny; our step-mother has sent us to wait upon you,
and serve you.'

'See that you do it well, then,' growled the witch. 'If I am pleased
with you, I'll reward you; but if I am not, I'll put you in a pan and
fry you in the oven--that's what I'll do with you, my pretty dears!
You have been gently reared, but you'll find my work hard enough. See
if you don't.'

And, so saying, she set the girl down to spin yarn, and she gave the
boy a sieve in which to carry water from the well, and she herself
went out into the wood. Now, as the girl was sitting at her di