French · Intermediate
Adapted from Hansel and Gretel
Two children are lost in the forest and must outwit a witch who lives in a house made of sweets.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
Au bord d’une grande forêt vivait un pauvre bûcheron avec son fils Hansel, sa fille Gretel et sa femme, la belle-mère des enfants. La nourriture manquait déjà lorsque la famine s’est abattue sur le pays.
At the edge of a large forest, a poor woodcutter lived with his son Hansel, his daughter Gretel, and his wife, the children’s stepmother. Food was already scarce when famine struck the country.
Une nuit, incapable de dormir, le père s’est tourné vers sa femme : « Comment nourrir nos enfants, alors que nous n’avons même plus assez pour nous ? »
One night, unable to sleep, the father turned to his wife: “How are we to feed our children when we don’t even have enough for ourselves?”
Elle lui a proposé de les conduire au plus profond du bois, d’y allumer un feu et de leur donner du pain avant de les laisser seuls. Ils ne sauraient pas retrouver leur chemin.
She suggested taking them deep into the forest, lighting a fire there, and giving them some bread before leaving them alone. They wouldn’t know how to find their way back.
« Jamais ! a protesté le père. Les bêtes sauvages les dévoreraient ! »
“Never!” the father protested. “The wild animals would devour them!”
Mais elle l’a traité d’imbécile : à ce compte-là, ils mourraient tous les quatre de faim, autant préparer leurs cercueils. À force de reproches, elle a obtenu son accord, malgré la peine qu’il éprouvait pour ses enfants.
But she called him a fool: at this rate, all four of them would starve to death, so they might as well prepare their coffins. After reproaching him again and again, she got his agreement, despite how sorry he felt for his children.
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