In a small village in Germany, there lived a brother and a sister. The brother was named Hans, and the sister was named Greta. One day, they were playing in the forest near the village. There were a great many tall trees in the forest, along with all kinds of small animals. The brother and sister were having so much fun that they walked farther and farther without realizing it. When they wanted to go home, they found that they were lost.
Hans and Greta began to be a little frightened. They looked everywhere in the forest for the way home, but the surrounding trees all looked so similar that they couldn't tell the directions at all. Sister Greta was so worried that she was about to cry. She grasped the corner of her brother's clothes tightly. Brother Hans was also very worried, but he knew he had to calm down at this moment. He suddenly had an idea. They had brought some bread when they came out in the morning. Hans decided to use breadcrumbs to mark the path they had walked so that they could follow the breadcrumbs to find their way home.
So, Hans took out the bread from his pocket and carefully scattered the breadcrumbs on the ground. Greta, watching her brother's actions, also felt hopeful. She followed her brother closely, her eyes fixed on the breadcrumbs on the ground all the time. They walked in one direction, and every once in a while, Hans scattered some more breadcrumbs.
As they walked, they met some small animals, such as squirrels and rabbits. The small animals were a little curious when they saw the brother and sister and gathered around them. The squirrel looked at the breadcrumbs on the ground and even wanted to eat them. Hans quickly drove the squirrel away. He told his sister that these breadcrumbs must not be eaten up by the small animals, otherwise they would not be able to find their way home. Greta also nodded quickly. They carefully walked around the small animals and continued to move forward along the path marked by the breadcrumbs.
However, the unfortunate thing still happened. When they reached a certain section of the road, they found that all the breadcrumbs in front had been eaten up by the birds. The brother and sister became worried again. Greta couldn't help crying. Hans comforted his sister, saying, "Don't cry. Let's think of another way." He looked up at the sun in the sky. He remembered that the direction where the sun rose was the east, and their home was in the west of the village. As long as they walked in the opposite direction of the sun, they should be able to find their way home.
So, Hans took Greta and walked towards the west. They walked for a long time and finally saw the outline of the village. The brother and sister were extremely happy. They ran towards the village quickly. After getting home, they told their parents about their experiences in the forest. Their parents told them that they must be careful when playing outside in the future and not walk too far. Since then, Hans and Greta were very careful every time they went out to play, and they also understood the importance of being cautious when doing things.
