bab 1 pengantar ekonomi pembangunan

Bab 1 :

Pengertian ekonomi pembangunan

Ekonomi pembangunan adalah suatu perluasan yang sangat penting dari ilmu ekonomi tradisional dan politik ekonomi.sementara ilmu ini mementingkan alokasi sumber daya secara efisien dan pertumbuhan output yang baik dan juga memusatkan perhatian terutama kepada mekanisme perekonomian,sosial dan kelembagaan yang diperlukan untuk menghasilkan perbaikan taraf hidup yang cepat dalam skala besar bagi sejumlah orang.
strategi pembangunan masa lalu yang berupaya untuk meningkatkan hasil pertanian, menciptakan lapangan kerja, dan menghilangkan kemiskinan sangat sering gagal karena para ekonom dan para penasehat kebijakan yang lainnya tidak melihat perekonomian sebagai suatu sistem sosial yang saling bergantung satu sama lain yang kekuatannya berinteraksi secara terus menerus,sesekali bersama dan pada waktu yang lainnya berkontradiksi.

1. Kebutuhan dan perhatian ekonomi pembangunan
pertumbuhan ekonomi
pertumbuhan ekonomi yang pesat merupakan fenomena penting yang dialami dunia hanya semenjak dua abad ke belakang ini.dalam periode tersebut dunia banyak mengalami perubahan yang sangat nyata apabila dibandingkan dengan periode sabelumnya.sampai abad 18 banyak masyarakat yang masih subsitensi pada pada sektor pertanian, peternakan, perkebunan,berburu. ditinjau dari dua abad yang lalu banyak sekali perubahan pada perekonomian dunia yang menimbulkan efek sebagai berikut:
--> kemakmuran dan taraf hidup masyarakat meningkat
-->dapat menciptakan lapangan pekerjaan bagi orang lain.

Kebutuhan yang diperlukan oleh ekonomi pembangunan

*perhatian dari masyarakat maupun pemerintah untuk memicu keberhasilan perekonomian
*kesadaran masyarakat akan pentingnya membayar pajak untuk membantu pembangunan ekonomi lebih baik.
*cinta akan produk sendiri
*menggalakan kemiskinan
menegakkan hukum demi citra bangsa yang lebih baik
*membuat lapangan pekerjaan lebih baik lagi demi kemajuan.

Ada atau tidaknya pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam suatu negara dapat menggunakan 3 pendekatan:
#Tingkat penghidupan masyarakat
artinya apakah ada peningkatan konsumsi potensial saat sekarang dibandingakan konsumsi di masa lampau.
#sumber-sumber produksi
apakah dalam negara tersebut ditemukan sumber-sumber produksi baru dan apakah sumber-sumber produksi itu bisa dipertahankan dan di manfaatkan se efisien mungkin
#Tingkat pendapatan nasional
apakah dalam suatu negara tingkat pendapatan nasionalnya meningkat dibandingkan dengan tahun sebelumnya.

Teori-teori ekonomi
^ Teori pertumbuhan klasik
^Teori schumpeter
^Teori harod-domar
^Teori pertumbuhan neo klasik

2. Cakupan bahasan ekonomi
cakupan ekonomi pembangunan adalah semua masalah yang di hadapi oleh suatu negara dalam peningkatan ekonomi untuk pengembangan atau peningkatan pembangunan.meskipun perencanaan pembangunan merupakan aspek penting dalam kebijakan ekonomi negara-negara dunia ketiga,namun pengambilan keputusan sehari-hari pemerintah negara-negara berkembang biasanya tidak terencana dan seringkali Cabang ilmu ekonomi yang khusus membahas pembangunan ekonomi adalah Ilmu Ekonomi Pembangunan. Ilmu ekonomi sendiri lahir setelah terbitnya buku dari Adam Smith yang berjdul The Wealth Of Nation pada tahun 1776. dala buku tersebut sebenarnya telah disinggung mengenai pembangunan ekonomi, namun perhatian yang lebih seksama terhadap pembnagunan ekonomi baru dimulai setelah berakhirnya Perang Dunia II.

Munculnya Ilmu Ekonomi Pembangunan lebih diperuntukan kepada negara-negara sedang berkembang (NSB), yang nota bene adalah negara-negara bekas jajahan. Berkembangnya perhatian negara-negara maju terhadap pembangunan ekonomi negara-negara yang sedang berkembang juga tidak terlepas dari kepentingan mereka, baik kepentingan ekonomi maupun kepentingan politik

memberikan tanggapan secara ad hoc terhadap krisis ekonomi yang muncul dan tidak terduga.dalam rangka tujuan pembangunan yang luas.

3. Evolusi makna  pembangunan
dalam evolusi pembangunan perhatian terhadap pembangunan ekonomi sebenarnya sudah dimulai pada masa ADAM SMITH dalam bukunya yang berjudul An inquiry into the true nature and causes of the wealth of nation. dalam bukunya ADAM SMITH menganalisis tentang masalah-masalah yang berhubungan dengan sebab-sebab suatu negara mengalami pembangunan.
kemudian pada masa perang dunia ke II perhatian terhapad pembangunan ekonomi bisa diasumsikan menurun karena pada masa perand dunia II banyak sekali masalah2 yang dihadapi dalam perekonomian. setelah perang dunia II berakhir perhatian pada perekonomian bangkit kembali di antara kekuatan dau dunia yaitu amerika yang mewakili blok kapitalid dan uni soviet mewakili blok sosialis.
setelah blok sisialis/uni soviet runtuh masalah-masalah pembangunan ekonomi tetap menduduki posisi sentral. Realisasi pembentukan masyarakat ekonomi eropa (MEE),NAFTA (North american free tred area), dan APEC (asia pasific ekonomic corporation) merupakan perkembangan penting untuk perhatian pembangunan ekonomi.

4. Pembangunan ekonomi dan pertumbuhan ekonomi

ekonomi pembangunan adalah cabang ilmu ekonomi yang yang menganalisis masalah-masalah yang dihadapi oleh negara-negara yang sedang berkembang dan mendapatka cara-cara untuk mengatasi masalah-masalah tersebut supaya negara-negara berkembang dapat membangun ekonominya dengan lebih cepat lagi.
pembangunan ekonomi adalah suatu proses yang mengakibatkan pendapatan perkapita penduduk meningkat dalam jangka panjang
analisis ekonomi pembangunan = permasalahan negara sedang berkembang
ekonomi pembangunan merupakan cabang ilmunya,sedangkan pembangunan ekonomi adalah sebagai suatu proses yang mendorong GNP per kapita atau pendapatan masyarakat naik dalam periode waktu yang panjang
dari definisi ini terkandung tiga unsur penting dari pembangunan ekonomi yaitu:
^ pembangunan ekonomi berupaya untuk meningkatkan pendapatan perkapita atau GNP per kapita masyarakat.
^ pembangunan ekonomi mengandung suatu proses perubahan terus-menerus
^ Upaya untuk meningkatkan pendapatan perkapita terus harus berlangsung dalam jangka waktu yang panjang.
Dalam hal ini unsur yang paling penting dalam pembangunan ekonomi adalah unsur masyarakat,konsep penting lain dibahas adalah literatur2 ekonomi pembangunan adalah pertumbuhan ekonomi.Pertumbuhan ekonomi menekankan pada proses kenaikan GNP atau GDP tanpa penekanan pada peningkatan angka GNP/GDP tanpa memperhatikan pertambahan penduduk memungkinkan terjadinya kekeliruan dalam memahami kegiatan ekonomi.
Para ahli ekonomi menyepakati pada pertumbuhan ekonomi yang terjadi di negara-negara maju.sedangkan pembangunan ekonomi menunjukan perkembangan ekonomi yang terjadi di negara-negara yang sedang berkembang.

5. Sekilas tentang negara berkembang

Negara berkembang bisa diartikan sebagai negara yang mulai menginjak pada awal kemajuan dalam tahap perekonomiannya.
penggolongan negara-negara di dunia:
*berdasarkan tingkat kesejahteraan masyarakat
1. Negara dunia ke-I (first world)
"negara maju atau developed country"
diantaranya " Eropa barat (inggris,perancis,portugis,belanda,jerman barat),amerika utara (USA,kanada), australia, new zeland,jepang, korea ,cina"
2. Negara dunia ke - II (second world)
"negara maju atau developed country"
diantaranya " eropa timur (rusia,polandia,jerman timur,cekoslowakia)
3. Negara dunia ke - III (Third world)
"negara sedang berkembang / negara selatan"
diantaranya "sebagian besar asia(kecuali jepang,korea,cina)
negara-negara afrika
negara-negara amerika latin (amerika tengah dan amerika selatan)"
Berdasarkan pada tingkat pendapatan
per kapita
a.negara maju (developed country) > U$ 2000
b.negara semi maju (semi developing country) > U$ 400
c.negara miskin(under developing country) Perlunya indikator pembangunan
Dalam hal ini indikator pembangunan sangat berguna untuk menganalisis dan mengevaluasi hasil-hasil pembangunan. Indikator pembangunan bisa memberikan gambaran mengenai lajunya perkembangan tingkat kesejahteraan masyarakat dan corak perbedaan tingkat kesejahteraan masyarakat yang terjadi di negara,indikator pembangunan dapat juga dipergunakan untuk mengetahui syarat-syarat yang digunakan oleh NSB untuk menyamakannya dengan negara maju.

6 .Diskusi dan Latihan soal

       Diskusi

Suatu negara masih disebut negara belum maju (under depeloved) atau masih tidak seimbang antara jumlah faktor produksi yang tersedia dengan teknologi yang dikuasai sehingga penggunaan modal dan tenaga kerja (full utilization) tidak tercapai.

Bagaimana pendapat anda?jelaskan!

     Latihan soal

1.Di bawah ini meruakan tiga sifat penting pembangunan ekonomi kecuali.....

a.Usaha untuk menurunkan pendapatan perkapita

b.Suatu proses yang berarti perubahan yang terjadi terus-menerus

c.Usaha untuk menaikan pendapatan perkapita

d.Kenaikan pendapatan perkapita itu harus terus berlangsung dalam jangka panjang

2.Pembangunan ekonomi perlu dipandang sebagai kenaikan dalam pendapatan perkapita karena...

a.Faktor jangka waktu tertentu

b.Kenaikan itu merupakan penerimaan dan timbulnya perbaikan dalam kesejahteraan ekonomi masyarakat

c.Kenaikan itu merupakan pengeluaran dan timbul perbaikan dalam kesejahteraan ekonomi masyarakat

d.Jawaban A,B, dan C benar

3.Sebelum perang dunia II (PDII) perhatian terhadap masalah pembangunan ekonomi sangatlah kurang.Di antara hal yang menyebabkan adalah sebagai berikut,kecuali

a.Kurangnya usaha pemimpin masyarakat yang dijajah untuk membahas masalah pembangunan ekonomi.

b.Lingkungan para ekonom,analis dan peneliti mengenai masalah pembangunan ekonomi masih terbatas.

c.Pada masa sebelum PD II sebagian besar NSB masih menjadi daerah jajahan.

d.Adanya usaha dari negara Barat Besar yang menjadi penghalang penelitian ekonomi pembangunan.

4.Orang-orang yang telah membahas disiplin Ilmu Ekonomi Pembangunan pada jaman dahulu adalah,kecuali

a.David Ricardo

b.John Maynard Keynes

c.Chrishtopher Columbus

d.Adam Smith

5.Diantara istilah berikut termasuk dalam metode perhitungan Pendapatan Nasional dengan metode produks,kecuali

a.Gross National Income

b.Gross National Pruduct

c.Gross Domestic Pruduct

d.Net Factor Payment

6.Faktor yang sangat penting yang menyebabkan rendahnya taraf hidup bagi NSB,kecuali

a.Mudah terpengaruh (vulnerabiliti)

b.Kekuasaan ekonomi dan politik

c.Perkembangan pengangguran

d.Perkembangan negara

7.Beberapa bidang penting yang dianalisis dalam ekonomi pembangunan antara lain...

a.Masalah kemiskinan

b.Masalah pengerahan tabungan

c.Masalah pembentukan modal

d.Jawaban A,B,dan C benar

8.Sifat penting yang terkandung dalam definisi mengenai pembangunan ekonomi adalah...

a.Usaha untuk menaikan pendapatan perkapita

b.Suatu proses,yang berarti perubahan yang terjadi terus menerus

c.Kombinasi jawaban A dan B benar

d.Semua salah 

9.Suatu perekonomian baru dapat dinyatakan dalam keadaan berkembang apabila

a.Pendapatan perkapita menunjukan kecenderungan jangka panjang yang menaik

b.Pendapatan daerah menurun

c.Pendapatan perkapita menunjukan kecenderungan jangka panjang yang menurun 

d.A dan C benar

10.Faktor yang dapat mengakibatkan suatu perekonomian mengalami penurunan tingkat kegiatan ekonominya,diantaranya...

a.Kekacauan politik

b.Adanya resesi ekonomi

c.Penurunan ekspor

d.Jawaban A,B dan C benar

my yami's: synopsis film hansel and gretel with hunters

my yami's: synopsis film hansel and gretel with hunters: Synopsis hansel and gretel with hunter Somewhere there is a home forest. In that place there lived Hansel (Cedric Eich) and Grete...

my yami's: synopsis film hansel and gretel with hunters

my yami's: synopsis film hansel and gretel with hunters: Synopsis hansel and gretel with hunter Somewhere there is a home forest. In that place there lived Hansel (Cedric Eich) and Grete...

my yami's: belajar bahasa inggris

my yami's: belajar bahasa inggris: The Passive Voice Top of Form Bottom of Form Passive and Active Voices Verbs are also said to be either active (The exec...

sinopsis film hansel and gretel

Synopsis by Hansel and Gretel

Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel and the girl Gretel. He had little to bite and to break, and once, when great dearth fell on the land, he could no longer procure even daily bread.

Now when he thought over this by night in his bed, and tossed about in his anxiety. He groaned and said to his wife, "What is to become of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything even for ourselves?"

 "I'll tell you what, husband," answered the woman, "early tommorow morning we will take the children out into the forest to where it is the thickest. There we will light a fire for them, and give each of them one more piece of bread, and then we will go to our work and leave them alone. They will not find the why home again, and we shall be rid of them."

"No, wife," said the man, "I will not do that. How can I bear to leave my children alone in the forest? The wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces."

"Oh! you fool," said she, "then we must all four die of hunger, you may as well plane the planks for our coffins," and she left him no peace until he consented

"But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same," said the man.

The two children had also not been able to sleep for hunger, and had heard what their step-mother had said to their father. Gretel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel, "Now all is over with us."

"Be quiet, Gretel," said Hansel, "do not distress yourself, I will soon find a way to help us." And when the old folks had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the door below, and crept outside.

The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles which lay in front of the house glittered like real silver pennies. Hansel stooped and stuffed the little pocket of his coat with as many as he could get in. Then he went back and said to Gretel, "Be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in peace, God will not forsake us," and he lay down again in his bed.

When day dawned, but before the sun had risen, the woman came and awoke the two children, saying, "Get up, you sluggards. We are going into the forest to fetch wood." She gave each a little piece of bread, and said, "There is something for your dinner, but do not eat it up before then, for you will get nothing else."

Gretel took the bread under her apron, as Hansel had the pebbles in his pocket.

Then they all set out together on the way to the forest.

When they had walked a short time, Hansel stood still and peeped back at the house, and did so again and again.

His father said, "Hansel, what are you looking at there and staying behind for? Pay attention, and do not forget how to use your legs."

"Ah, father," said Hansel, "I am looking at my little white cat, which is sitting up on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me."

The wife said, "Fool, that is not your little cat, that is the morning sun which is shining on the chimneys."

Hansel, however, had not been looking back at the cat, but had been constantly throwing one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocket on the road.

When they had reached the middle of the forest, the father said, "Now, children, pile up some wood, and I will light a fire that you may not be cold."

Hansel and Gretel gathered brushwood together, as high as a little hill.

 The brushwood was lighted, and when the flames were burning very high, the woman said, "Now, children, lay yourselves down by the fire and rest, we will go into the forest and cut some wood. When we have done, we will come back and fetch you away.

Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and when noon came, each ate a little piece of bread, and as they heard the strokes of the wood-axe they believed that their father was near. It was not the axe, however, but a branch which he had fastened to a withered tree which the wind was blowing backwards and forwards. And as they had been sitting such a long time, their eyes closed with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep.

When at last they awoke, it was already dark night. Gretel began to cry and said, "How are we to get out of the forest now?"

But Hansel comforted her and said, "Just wait a little, until the moon has risen, and then we will soon find the way." And when the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and followed the pebbles which shone like newly-coined silver pieces, and showed them the way.

They walked the whole night long, and by break of day came once more to their father's house. They knocked at the door, and when the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Gretel, she said, "You naughty children, why have you slept so long in the forest? We thought you were never coming back at all."

The father, however, rejoiced, for it had cut him to the heart to leave them behind alone.

 Not long afterwards, there was once more great dearth throughout the land, and the children heard their mother saying at night to their father:

"Everything is eaten again, we have one half loaf left, and that is the end. The children must go, we will take them farther into the wood, so that they will not find their way out again. There is no other means of saving ourselves."

The man's heart was heavy, and he thought, "It would be better for you to share the last mouthful with your children." The woman, however, would listen to nothing that he had to say, but scolded and reproached him. He who says a must say b, likewise, and as he had yielded the first time, he had to do so a second time also.

The children, however, were still awake and had heard the conversation. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel again got up, and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles as he had done before, but the woman had locked the door, and Hansel could not get out. Nevertheless he comforted his little sister, and said, "Do not cry, Gretel, go to sleep quietly, the good God will help us."

Early in the morning came the woman, and took the children out of their beds. Their piece of bread was given to them, but it was still smaller than the time before.

On the way into the forest Hansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often stood still and threw a morsel on the ground.

"Hansel, why do you stop and look round?" Said the father. "Go on."

"I am looking back at my little pigeon which is sitting on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me, answered Hansel.

"Fool." Said the woman, "That is not your little pigeon, that is the morning sun that is shining on the chimney."

Hansel, however, little by little, threw all the crumbs on the path. The woman led the children still deeper into the forest, where they had never in their lives been before.

Then a great fire was again made, and the mother said, "Just sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a little. We are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening when we are done, we will come and fetch you away."

When it was noon, Gretel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, who had scattered his by the way. Then they fell asleep and evening passed, but no one came to the poor children.

They did not awake until it was dark night, and Hansel comforted his little sister and said, "Just wait, Gretel, until the moon rises, and then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn about, they will show us our way home again."

When the moon came they set out, but they found no crumbs, for the many thousands of birds which fly about in the woods and fields had picked them all up. Hansel said to Gretel, "We shall soon find the way."

But they did not find it. They walked the whole night and all the next day too from morning till evening, but they did not get out of the forest, and were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but two or three berries, which grew on the ground.

And as they were so weary that their legs would carry them no longer, they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep

It was now three mornings since they had left their father's house. They began to walk again, but they always came deeper into the forest, and if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger and weariness.

When it was mid-day, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough, which sang so delightfully that they stood still and listened to it. W

hen its song was over, it spread its wings and flew away before them, and they followed it until they reached a little house, on the roof which it alighted. And when they approached the little house they saw that it was built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear sugar.

"We will set to work on that," said Hansel, "and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and you Gretel, can eat some of the window, it will taste sweet."

Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and Gretel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the parlor –

"Nibble, nibble, gnaw

who is nibbling at my little house?"

The children answered –

"The wind, the wind,

the heaven-born wind,"

and went on eating without disturbing themselves. Hansel, who liked the taste of the roof, tore down a great piece of it, and Gretel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself with it.

 Suddenly the door opened, and a woman as old as the hills, who supported herself on crutches, came creeping out. Hansel and Gretel were so terribly frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands.

The old woman, however, nodded her head, and said, "Oh, you dear children, who has brought you here? Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen to you."

She took them both by the hand, and led them into her little house. Then good food was set before them, milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts.

Afterwards two pretty little beds were covered with clean white linen, and Hansel and Gretel lay down in them, and thought they were in heaven.

The old woman had only pretended to be so kind. She was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the little house of bread in order to entice them there. When a child fell into her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it, and that was a feast day with her.

Witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near.

When Hansel and Gretel came into her neighborhood, she laughed with malice, and said mockingly, "I have them, they shall not escape me again."

Early in the morning before the children were awake, she was already up, and when she saw both of them sleeping and looking so pretty, with their plump and rosy cheeks, she muttered to herself, that will be a dainty mouthful.

Then she seized Hansel with her shrivelled hand, carried him into a little stable, and locked him in behind a grated door.

Scream as he might, it would not help him. Then she went to Gretel, shook her till she awoke, and cried, "Get up, lazy thing, fetch some water, and cook something good for your brother, he is in the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him."

Gretel began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, for she was forced to do what the wicked witch commanded. And now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Gretel got nothing but crab-shells.

Every morning the woman crept to the little stable, and cried, "Hansel, stretch out your finger that I may feel if you will soon be fat."

 Hansel, however, stretched out a little bone to her, and the old woman, who had dim eyes, could not see it, and thought it was Hansel's finger, and was astonished that there was no way of fattening him.

When four weeks had gone by, and Hansel still remained thin, she was seized with impatience and would not wait any longer.

 "Now, then, Gretel," she cried to the girl, "stir yourself, and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him."

 Ah, how the poor little sister did lament when she had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow down her cheeks. "Dear God, do help us," she cried. "If the wild beasts in the forest had but devoured us, we should at any rate have died together."

 "Just keep your noise to yourself," said the old woman, "it won't help you at all."

 Early in the morning, Gretel had to go out and hang up the cauldron with the water, and light the fire.

 "We will bake first," said the old woman, "I have already heated the oven, and kneaded the dough." She pushed poor Gretel out to the oven, from which flames of fire were already darting. "Creep in," said the witch, "and see if it properly heated, so that we can put the bread in." And once Gretel was inside, she intended to shut the oven and let her bake in it, and then she would eat her, too.

 But Gretel saw what she had in mind, and said, "I do not know how I am to do it. How do I get in?"

"Silly goose," said the old woman, "the door is big enough. Just look, I can get in myself." And she crept up and thrust her head into the oven.

Then Gretel gave her a push that drove her far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened the bolt. Oh. Then she began to howl quite horribly, but Gretel ran away, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death. Gretel, however, ran like lightning to Hansel, opened his little stable, and cried, "Hansel, we are saved. The old witch is dead."

Then Hansel sprang like a bird from its cage when the door is opened. How they did rejoice and embrace each other, and dance about and kiss each other. And as they had no longer any need to fear her, they went into the witch's house, and in every corner there stood chests full of pearls and jewels.

 "These are far better than pebbles." Said Hansel, and thrust into his pockets whatever could be got in.

 And Gretel said, "I, too, will take something home with me," and filled her pinafore full.

 "But now we must be off," said Hansel, "that we may get out of the witch's forest."

When they had walked for two hours, they came to a great stretch of water.

"We cannot cross," said Hansel, "I see no foot-plank, and no bridge.

"And there is also no ferry," answered Gretel, "but a white duck is swimming there. If I ask her, she will help us over." Then she cried –

"Little duck, little duck, dost thou see,

Hansel and Gretel are waiting for thee.

There's never a plank, or bridge in sight,

take us across on thy back so white."

The duck came to them, and Hansel seated himself on its back, and told his sister to sit by him.

"No," replied Gretel, "that will be too heavy for the little duck. She shall take us across, one after the other."

The good little duck did so, and when they were once safely across and had walked for a short time, the forest seemed to be more and more familiar to them, and at length they saw from afar their father's house. Then they began to run, rushed into the parlor, and threw themselves round their father's neck. The man had not known one happy hour since he had left the children in the forest.

The woman, however, was dead. Gretel emptied her pinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about the room, and Hansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket to add to them. Then all anxiety was at an end, and they lived together in perfect happiness.

My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.