The curtain falls for a few minutes while the orchestra plays the melody of "The Witch's Ride." When the curtain rises again, it rises upon a part of the forest just before sunset. Gretel is seated on a grassy hillock, plaiting a wreath of flowers and singing an old children's song that begins "There in the wood a little man stands alone." Hansel comes running, his basket filled with strawberries. The call of the cuckoo bird is heard, and the two little ones try to imitate it.
Night has begun to spread its banners over the place, and Hansel cannot find a way out of the forest. The darkness thickens little by little, and the fireflies flit among the brambles. The children are seized with fright when they realize that they must spend the night in the middle of the forest. They sink down together on the grassy knoll, and a gentle youth dressed in gray draws near and sings them a sweet, tender song as he scatters sand over their eyes from a little bag he carries. Soon he withdraws quietly; the brother and sister fall to their knees and chant the evening prayer: "When at night I go to my bed, fourteen angels stand guard over me." They wrap their arms around each other and sink into sleep in that pitch darkness.
Suddenly a gleaming light shines through the trees, and a vision appears showing the angels in their white robes standing upon a ladder
joining earth and heaven; they descend one by one in stillness and gather around the two sleeping children. The "Children's Prayer" swells little by little, then dies away
as the curtain falls softly.
Act Two Scene: as the previous scene.
The first rays of dawn
Campbell's Chicken Soup
No need to invite them more than once
Because they love Campbell's chicken soup
Campbell's CONDENSED CHICKEN WITH RICE SOUP
Campbell's Soup
contains the tastiest kinds
of delicious chicken
easy to digest
cheap and nourishing
Always keep a stock of it in your home