Gingerbread house

They walked, walked in unfamiliar places. When the sun was already high, Marie and Jean went out into the clearing, in the middle of which there was a house. An unusual house. The roof was made of chocolate gingerbread, the walls were pink marzipan, and the fence was made of large almonds. There was a garden around it, and colorful candies grew in it, and large raisins hung on small trees. Jean could not believe his own eyes. He looked at Marie, swallowing his saliva.
- Gingerbread house! he exclaimed happily.
- Candy garden! - echoed him Marie.
Without wasting a minute, the hungry children rushed to the wonderful house. Jean broke off a piece of gingerbread from the roof and began to devour it. Marie went into the garden and began to feast on marzipan carrots, almonds from the fence, then raisins from a tree.
When the children ate the unusual treats, they felt thirsty. Fortunately, in the middle of the garden there was a fountain in which water gurgled with all the colors. Jean took a sip from the fountain and exclaimed in surprise:
- Yes, this is lemonade! The delighted children were eagerly drinking lemonade, when suddenly a hunched-over old woman appeared from around the corner of the gingerbread house. She had a stick in her hand, and very thick glasses sat on her nose.
- Delicious house, isn't it, kids? she asked.
The children were silent. Terrified Marie babbled:
`` We ... we got lost in the woods ... we got so hungry ...
The old woman didn't seem to be angry at all.
“Don't be afraid, guys. Enter the house. I'll give you sweeter treats than these.
As soon as the door of the house slammed shut behind Marie and Jean, the old woman changed beyond recognition. From kind and friendly she turned into an evil witch.
- So you got caught! she croaked, shaking her cane. - Is it good, there is someone else's house? You will pay me for this!
The children trembled and clung to each other in fear.
- And what will you do to us for this? Perhaps you will tell our parents everything? - Marie asked fearfully.
The witch burst out laughing.
- Well, just not that! I like children very much. Highly!
And before Marie came to her senses, the witch grabbed Jean, pushed him into the dark closet and closed the heavy oak door behind him.
- Marie! - the boy's exclamations were heard. - I'm scared!
- Sit quietly, you wretch! shouted the witch. - You ate my house, now I will eat you! But first I need to fatten you up a little, otherwise you are too thin.
“Hey boy, stick your finger through the crack in the door,” the old woman ordered.
Jean obediently thrust his thinnest finger through the crack. The witch felt him and said with displeasure:
- Some bones. Nothing, in a week you will be plump, overweight.
And the witch began to intensively feed Jean. And in the evening she ordered him to stick his finger through the crack and felt it.
- My golden, you are getting fat right before our eyes.
Indeed, Jean quickly grew fat. But one day Marie came up with this.
- Jean, next time, show her this wand, - she said and thrust a thin wand into the closet.
In the evening, the witch, as usual, turned to Jean:
- Well, show me your finger, my dear.
Jean slipped in the wand that his sister had given him. The old woman touched her and jumped away as scalded:
- Again, some bones! I am not feeding you, parasite, so that you are thin as a stick!
The next day, when Jean stuck his wand in again, the witch got angry.
- It cannot be that you are still so thin! Show your finger again.
And Jean put his wand in again. The old woman touched it and suddenly pulled with all her might. The wand remained in her hand.
- What is it? she shouted in rage. - Stick! Oh, you worthless deceiver! Well now your song is sung!
She opened the closet and pulled out a frightened Jean, who had grown fat and became like a barrel.
“Well, my dear,” the old woman gloated. - I see that you will make an excellent roast!
The children were numb with horror. And the witch lit the stove, and in a minute it was already on fire. The heat was coming from her.
The witch grabbed a large wooden shovel, on which bread is usually put into the oven, put plump Jean on it and thrust it into it. However, the boy was so fat that he did not crawl into the stove, no matter how the witch tried to shove him there.
- Come on, get off! - ordered the old woman. - Let's try it differently. Get on the shovel.
“But I don’t know how to lie down,” Jean whimpered.
- What a fool! the witch muttered. - I'll show you!
And she lay down on the shovel. This was all Marie needed. At the same moment she grabbed a shovel and thrust the witch right into the oven. Then she quickly closed the iron door and, grabbing the frightened brother by the hand, shouted:
- Let's run, quickly!
The children ran out of the gingerbread house and rushed without looking back towards the dark forest.
Suddenly, in the distance, they noticed a faint flickering light.
- This is our house! - Jean shouted out of breath.
Indeed, this was their old, ramshackle house. Concerned parents stood on its doorstep and peered into the darkness with anxiety and hope.
How happy they were when they saw the children running towards them - Marie and Jean!
And no one else heard about the wicked witch who lived in a deep forest.