So they stroked her , and fed her with ham , and said to her : ` Pussy , grey pussy , tell us how we are to get away from the witch ? ' Then the cat thanked them for the ham , and gave them a pocket-handkerchief and a comb , and told them that when the witch pursued them , as she certainly would , all they had to do was to throw the handkerchief on the ground and run as fast as they could . As soon as the handkerchief touched the ground a deep , broad river would spring up , which would hinder the witch 's progress . If she managed to get across it , they must throw the comb behind them and run for their lives , for where the comb fell a dense forest would start up , which would delay the witch so long that they would be able to get safely away . The cat had scarcely finished speaking when the witch returned to see if the children had fulfilled their tasks . ` Well , you have done well enough for to-day , ' she grumbled ; ` but to-morrow you 'll have something more difficult to do , and if you do n't do it well , you pampered brats , straight into the oven you go . ' Half-dead with fright , and trembling in every limb , the poor children lay down to sleep on a heap of straw in the corner of the hut ; but they dared not close their eyes , and scarcely ventured to breathe . In the morning the witch gave the girl two pieces of linen to weave before night , and the boy a pile of wood to cut into chips . Then the witch left them to their tasks , and went out into the wood . As soon as she had gone out of sight the children took the comb and the handkerchief , and , taking one another by the hand , they started and ran , and ran , and ran . And first they met the watch-dog , who was going to leap on them and tear them to pieces ; but they threw the remains of their bread to him , and he ate them and wagged his tail . Then they were hindered by the birch-trees , whose branches almost put their eyes out . But the little sister tied the twigs together with a piece of ribbon , and they got past safely , and , after running through the wood , came out on to the open fields . In the meantime in the hut the cat was busy weaving the linen and tangling the threads as it wove . And the witch returned to see how the children were getting on ; and she crept up to the window , and whispered : ` Are you weaving , my little dear ? ' ` Yes , granny , I am weaving , ' answered the cat . When the witch saw that the children had escaped her , she was furious , and , hitting the cat with a porringer , she said : ` Why did you let the children leave the hut ? Why did you not scratch their eyes out ? ' But the cat curled up its tail and put its back up , and answered : ' I have served you all these years and you never even threw me a bone , but the dear children gave me their own piece of ham . ' Then the witch was furious with the watch-dog and with the birch-trees , because they had let the children pass .
But the dog answered : ' I have served you all these years and you never gave me so much as a hard crust , but the dear children gave me their own loaf XXXXX bread . '
So as by for from if in of that with