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 of bread . ' And the birch rustled its leaves , and said : ' I have served you longer than I can say , and you never tied a bit of twine even round my branches ; and the dear children bound them up with their brightest ribbons . ' So the witch saw there was no help to be got from her old servants , and that the best thing she could do was to mount on her broom and set off in pursuit of the children . And as the children ran they heard the sound of the broom sweeping the ground close behind them , so instantly they threw the handkerchief down over their shoulder , and in a moment a deep , broad river flowed behind them . When the witch came up to it , it took her a long time before she found a place which she could ford over on her broom-stick ; but at last she got across , and continued the chase faster than before . And as the children ran they heard a sound , and the little sister put her ear to the ground , and heard the broom sweeping the earth close behind them ; so , quick as thought , she threw the comb down on the ground , and in an instant , as the cat had said , a dense forest sprung up , in which the roots and branches were so closely intertwined , that it was impossible to force a way through it .
So when the witch came up XXXXX it on her broom she found that there was nothing for it but to turn round and go back to her hut .
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