There is a fourth theme, the “Theme of Rejoicing” which is the inspiration of the dance which the gingerbread children execute around Hansel and Gretel to celebrate their release from the enchantment put upon them by the wicked Witch.

At the parting of the curtain we see the interior of the hut of a poor broom-maker.  Specimens of his handiwork hang upon the walls.  A tiny window beside the door in the background, shows a glimpse of the forest beyond.  Hansel and Gretel are at work, he making brooms, she knitting.  Gretel sings an old German folk-song, beginning thus:—­

[Musical excerpt—­“Suse liebe suse was raschelt im stroh?”]

All the melodies in this act have a strong family resemblance, but this song, a cradle song of the long ago, is the only one not composed by Humperdinck.  Miss Constance Bache has failed, in her English translation, to reproduce the quaint sentiment of the old song, which calls attention to the fact that all geese are shoeless.  It is not for want of leather,—­the shoemaker has that in plenty,—­but he has no lasts, and so the poor things must needs go barefoot.  The song invites a curious historical note.  “Suse” and “Sause” were common expressions in the cradle songs which used to be sung to the Christ-child in the German churches at Christmas when the decadent nativity plays (now dwarfed to a mere tableau of the manger, the holy parents, and the adoring shepherds and magi) were still cultivated.  From the old custom termed Kindeiwiegen, which remained in the German Protestant Church centuries after the Reformation, Luther borrowed the refrain, “Susaninne” for one of his Christmas chorales.  The beginning of the little song which Gretel sings used to be “Sause liebe Ninne,” which, of course, is Luther’s “Susaninne.”  The song dominates the whole of the first act.  Out of portions of its melody grows a large part of the instrumental accompaniment to the melodious recitative in which the dialogue is carried on.  Through expressive changes, not only in this act, but later also, it provides a medium for much dramatic expression.  A little motif with which the orchestra introduces it develops into a song, with which Hansel greets his sister’s announcement that a neighbor has sent in some milk, and when Gretel, as soon as she does, attempts to teach Hansel how to dance, the delightful little polka tune which the two sing is almost a twin brother to the cradle song.

It is the gift of milk which directly brings the sinister element into the play.  The mother comes home weary, hungry, and out of humor.  She finds that the children have neglected their work, and while attempting to punish them she overturns the milk jug.  It is the last straw, and, with threats of a terrible beating if they do not bring home a heaping basket of berries for supper, she drives the little ones out into the forest.  Exhausted, she falls asleep beside the hearth.  From the distance comes the voice of the broom-maker trolling a song which is