Father had given Jan and Betje a stepmother. It did not take long for the children to notice that she was an evil woman. She spoke unfriendly to father, grumbled to Betje, and beat little Jantje. [1] She even locked him up in the attic and scared him so much that he tried to avoid her as often as possible. One day the stepmother bought a basket of apples. Jantje was very fond of apples, but just to torment him, the stepmother gave only Betje an apple every once in a while, and told her that she had to eat it right away, so that she couldn't share it with Jan.

One Friday when father and Betje were not home, the stepmother said to Jan, "Would you like a beautiful red apple?"

"Yes please, mother," Jan replied in astonishment.

"Then go to the attic and take one; you can find them in the big chest."

Jan went up, but soon he called, "Mother, I'm unable to open the chest."

"Wait," she said, "I will help you."

She opened the heavy lid of the chest. As Jan bent over to get himself an apple, she let the heavy lid fall down and little Jantje was killed instantly. His head lay inside the chest with the apples, his body outside. Then the mother took the body, cut it into little pieces, and threw all the flesh in a kettle of boiling soup.

When father and Betje came home, she called to them, "I've made some delicious soup; come quick and eat!"

"Where is Jan?" father asked, "or is he being punished again?"

"He is in his hide, if he isn't skinned," was the coarse answer.

After they had finished supper, Betje had to throwaway the bones. She put them under the lime tree and took the opportunity to look up to the attic window, because she suspected that Jan would be sitting over there, but she couldn't see a thing. Meanwhile, father and Betje became worried, because Jantje had not returned home.

The next day, a little bird flew from the lime tree and came to sit on the windowsill.

The bird sang:

"Riktiktik, [2] here I am,

Riktiktik, here I am."

"It's Jantje's voice," father and Betje both said, and they went to the window. Then the small bird flew to the chimney and sang with a sad little voice:

"My mother slew me,

My father ate me.

My sister buried my bones under the lime tree,

And rikketikketik, here I am."

Then the same voice called,

"Father, father, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

"Father, father, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

"Father, father, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

Then the father stood under the chimney and a new hat fell on his head.

The next Friday, the little bird flew out of the tree once more, went to sit on the windowsill again, then flew to the chimney, and sang:

Then he called,

"My mother slew me,

My father ate me.

My sister threw my bones under the lime tree,

And rikketikketik, here I am."

"Betje, Betje, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

"Betje, Betje, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

"Betje, Betje, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

Then Betje stood under the chimney and a golden brooch fell on her head.

You see, the next Friday the bird returned again. First he pecked against the window, flew to the chimney afterwards, and sang once more:

"My mother slew me,

My father ate me.

My sister threw my bones under the lime tree,

And rikketikketik, here I am."

Again he called,

"Mother, mother, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

"Mother, mother, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

"Mother, mother, come here."

"Jan, Jan, what must I do?"

The stepmother then stepped under the chimney, expecting something beautiful as well, but instead there fell a millstone on her head, and she was as dead as a doornail.