The Mythology & Folklore Database
Now once upon a time there were a father and a mother who had a large flock of children. The father went to town and bought a scoopful of peas and gave each child one pea, but Jan and Hanna did not get any. This made them cry.
The father said, "Be quiet and don't cry. I am going into the forest to chop wood. You can come along and look for berries."
The father took a breadboard and a rolling pin with him and hung them on a tree. He said to Jan and Hanna, "Just go and pick berries. You can pick berries as long as I am chopping wood."
The wind blew the breadboard and the rolling pin against each other, and they thought their father was still chopping wood, so they continued to pick berries. After they had eaten until they were full and had filled their little buckets as well, they went and looked for their father. They came to the place where the breadboard and the rolling pin were hanging, but no father was there. They cried, then ran about in the woods shouting, but they did not find anyone.
Suddenly they came to a little gingerbread house. They began to crumble off some little pieces: crumble, crumble from Old Vera's little house!
Then Old Vera came running out. "Who's there?"
They quickly hid themselves so she could not find them. But they continued to crumble little pieces off the little house: crumble, crumble from Old Vera's little house.
Then she ran out very fast and caught them. She took them inside and said, "Now I am going to fatten you up," and she locked them into a little stall and gave them nothing but bread and milk to eat.
After a while she wanted to see if they were fattened up enough. "Jan, stick out your finger. Are you fattened up yet?"
But he stuck out the little whistle he had brought from home. She made a cut in it. "Oh, you are not fat enough yet."
"Hanna, you stick out your finger. Are you fattened up yet?"
But she stuck out a finger that had a ring on it. Old Vera made a cut in the ring. "Oh, you are not fat enough yet either."
Then they cried a lot, and Jan lost his little whistle, and Hanna lost her ring.
Old Vera came again to see if they were fattened up enough. "Jan, stick out your finger." Old Vera made a cut in it, and it bled a little.
"Hanna, you stick out your finger." Old Vera made a cut in it, and it bled a little.
"Yes, you are fattened up enough. Now I am going to roast you."
She heated up her oven very hot, took Jan and Hanna and said, "Sit on the bread pusher."
They sat on the bread pusher, now this way, and now that way.
Vera told them how they were supposed to sit, but every time they fell off. "We don't know how we are supposed to sit. You show us."
Then Old Vera sat on the bread pusher, and bang! they pushed her into the glowing oven.
Old Vera burned up completely, so the little gingerbread house was theirs, and if they haven't sold it, they still have it to this very day.