Hansel and Gretel

© Written by Tasha Guenther and illustrated by Leanne Guenther

Hansel and Gretel based on the German fairy tale first collected by the Brothers Grimm

Once upon a time there lived a

woodcutter and his wife.  Their early days were lived in
bliss in a small wood cottage with their two children,
Hansel and Gretel.
These two children grew up to be wise beyond their
years.  Hansel was smart, soft, and charming where
Gretel was poetic, cautious, but quick-witted.  The two
children loved to skip stones in the lake half a mile over.
Hansel and Gretel spent most of their time finding the
perfect, flattest skipping stones.  Their collection of stones
was large, as they spent more time collecting than actually
skipping the rocks.  Over time, they had acquired a
strange companion – a bird, who would steal their stones
and hide them in various places all over the land – though
Hansel and Gretel knew not why.
At the peak of their childhood, a great famine struck the
country where Hansel and Gretel lived.  It left the rich
secluded from the middling and poor classes; the
merchant class fought to survive; and the poorest of the
poor plummeted into utter starvation.  The woodcutter and
his wife, along with Hansel and Gretel eventually struggled
to stay fed.
The reoccurring moments of starvation gradually caused
the woodcutter’s wife to go choose selfishness.  One
evening, after Hansel and Gretel had been tucked in bed,
the woman approached her husband.
“We must survive the upcoming winter… We must…” she
started.  “We cannot feed everyone in this small house…
We cannot…”
“Well, what are we to do?” the woodcutter asked.
“We must leave the children alone in the wooded forest. 
That way we will only have to feed ourselves,” she replied.
“If we leave them there, they will surely starve!” he cried.
“And if we keep them here, we will all surely starve,” she
replied.
Little did the woodcutter and his wife know, Hansel and
Gretel had been listening to their whole conversation.
“Our Mother does not want us anymore,” Gretel wailed.
“Shh, Gretel!  Father will not allow her to get rid of us,”
Hansel replied, attempting to calm Gretel down.
“Oh, but what will Father do once we are left alone with
our Mother?” Gretel asked.
“I think it through,” he replied.
Now, Hansel was very smart.  His plans of action were
always calculated and efficient.  The next day, before they
were ordered to start on the household chores, Hansel ran
half a mile down to the lake.  He gathered dozens of
skipping stones.
When he returned home, Hansel could see that his mother
and sister were packing up for what looked like a normal
journey into the woods – though Hansel knew that this
time their mother had different plans for them.
He held his sack of skipping stones tight as he
approached his mother.
“Times are tough, my dear children.  We must venture into
the forest to help your father with his work,” she declared.
“But –” both children started.
“No 'buts'!” their mother scolded.
And so, Hansel, Gretel, and their mother journeyed into
the thick-wooded forest.  It was as eerie as thick fog on a
stormy night: the sky was a dark grey, and the trees were
black and gloomy.
Luckily, Hansel had remembered to drop the shimmering
stones on the ground every few feet – so that they could
follow them back on their return home.
“Hansel, what is it that you think you’re up to?” their
mother shouted impatiently.
“Mother!  Mother!  Look at those squirrels in the tree.  I
swear they are dancing as if they are fit for the ball!” Gretel
called, using her quick-wit in order to distract their mother.
Gretel knew exactly what Hansel was up to. She pieced it
together as she watched her mother's face scrunch up.
“Where?  I see no squirrels!  I see no dancing!” their
mother exclaimed, now confused and distracted, giving
Hansel time to catch up. “Oh, hurry on up.  We only need
to travel a little bit further,” their mother grumbled.
“Where are we going, Mother?” Hansel asked.  With no
response, the children’s worst nightmares were
confirmed.  Their mother was going to leave them in the
forest.
Hansel dropped another rock. Gretel heard it fall.
They traveled for a while, Hansel occasionally dropping
stones, until they reached a small clearing.  Their mad
mother ordered Hansel and Gretel to sit on a dead log.
“I am going to gather wood.  Stay here, and I will come
back for you shortly,” she lied.
The children stayed seated, reluctantly.  They waited and
waited AND waited, but their mother never returned for
them.
Hansel began to worry for their safety.  He cried to Gretel: 
“What if we are attacked, or eaten?  What about wolves? 
Bears?  Cougars?  Raccoons?  Gretel, oh Gretel – what
are we to do?”
“I will feel it out,” she replied, getting up from the dead log. 
She took Hansel’s hand, and the two followed his trail of
stones.  Their flat surfaces shimmered in the moonlit night.
Hansel and Gretel finally arrived back home at the break
of dawn; however, they were so tired that both
immediately fell asleep right in front of their cottage door.
They awoke tucked in their beds to the sounds of the
woodcutter and his wife arguing.
“How could you leave our beloved children in the forest all
alone?” they heard their father ask sadly.
“We will… We will all starve, if they stay here!  There are
too many mouths and NOT enough food.  It is the only
way… the only way…” she replied.
Now Hansel and Gretel surely knew their luck was over.
Hansel tried to think of a way to get the two of them out of
this mess.  He looked all over in search of their skipping
rocks.  Since they were nowhere to be found, Hansel
figured the mischievous bird had stolen them all.
Hopeless, Hansel and Gretel went back to their beds and
waited for their mother to come and take them to the
forest.
Sure enough, the woodcutter’s wife made her way up to
their room to retrieve them.  She ordered Hansel into his
walking boots and Gretel into her washing clothes.
Off they went once more.
Before they left, however, the woodcutter secretly slipped
Hansel a small loaf of bread.  Hansel saw the look of
despair on his dear father’s face.
Hansel slipped the bread in his pocket, crushing it into
mostly crumbs and sadly followed behind his mother and
beloved sister.  Every few feet, he dropped these
breadcrumbs on the ground.
Soon their mother grew suspicious of Hansel.
“Hansel, what is it that you think you’re up to?” she
shouted.
Gretel, hearing this, quickly came up with a way to distract
their mother:
“Mother!  Mother!  A wild forest fairy just flew into your
hair!”
Panicked, Hansel and Gretel’s mother began to shake and
squirm; she disheveled her hair and screeched with fear.

This gave Hansel time to catch up.

"You children will be the death of me.  Hurry along NOW,"

their mother grumbled.

They travelled for a few more miles until they came to a

very small clearing – even smaller than the previous.
"I am going to find a good place to chop wood.  Both of
you, STAY PUT!  I will come back for you shortly," she
commanded and declared.  So, the children waited and
waited AND waited, but their mother never returned for
them.

Hansel offered Gretel what little bread was left.

"This is not what you have been dropping on the ground,"

Gretel remembered.
"I dropped most of our skipping stones last time.  Mother
led us down a different route today and that stupid bird
must’ve stolen all of those stones.  The breadcrumbs will
be here in the morning and we can follow them on our
return home," Hansel replied.

"In the morning? Hansel!  I will not stay here overnight,"

Gretel stated. Then thinking about Hansel's panic last
night, Gretal began, "What about wolves?  What about –"
"Okay. No wolves, bears, cougars, raccoons, muskrats, or
squirrels will get us. I get. Lets just promise we will get out
of here," Hansel said, interrupting his sister.
They promised each other and then relaxed in the very
small glade, resting their feet and playing guessing
games.  Suddenly, their noses were filled with an oddly
sweet aroma.  The children followed the wonderful scent –
it grew stronger and more delicious.
Mouths dripping with drool, Hansel and Gretel finally
reached it.
In front of their eyes and noses sat a house made entirely
out of the most delicious looking sweets.

The roof was coated with fluffy white icing; pink, sticky
syrup drizzled and dripped along the sides of the dark
chocolate exterior; a gum drop door frame was sopping
with sparkling icing sugar; a frothy milk chocolate river
flowed under a gingerbread bridge that led to a
gingerbread door; and a lollipop garden sat in front of a
large crystallized sugar window.

Hansel and Gretel stood stunned for a moment, and then,

without caution or hesitation, they ran to the house and
began stuffing their faces full of candy.

"What little pretties have come to my house today?"

screeched an odd voice.
Hansel and Gretel stopped short and stared at one
another – each was messy and covered in candy.
"Ugh!" they whisper-shouted in unison.

"Oh, two little ones to enjoy!" the voice screeched again. 

Hansel and Gretel turned and stared at a very small
woman with scraggly hair wearing a long pink dress.  She
was very strange looking and smelled quite funny – a little
too sweet.

The old woman then invited Hansel and Gretel into her
house.

"There's more candy in here!  Fresh candy, my sweets!"

she called to them, motioning them inside her house.

Hansel immediately ran into the candy house despite

Gretel's cautious protests.  After a while of standing
outside, the old woman popped her jagged-toothed head
out from the little house and beckoned Gretel: 
"Come in, come in.  My, my, you are very pretty!"
With this, alongside her idea of Hansel stuffing his face in
the interior of the house, Gretel eventually followed inside.

When Gretel entered the house, she immediately heard

the gingerbread door shut heavily behind her.  She turned
around and noticed that the entire inside of the candy
house was made of solid steel.  Inside the house were
bags and bags of brilliant gold coins.
Gretel whipped her head back around to see that Hansel
was locked up in a cage hanging directly overtop of a
boiling pot of water!  This woman was no woman at all -
she was an EVIL WITCH!

"Now, go sit at the table, little pretty," the evil witch

commanded Gretel. "Help me slice up those chops.  We
are going to fatten him up!" she exclaimed excitedly,
pointing over to Hansel.

Now Gretel understood the evil witch's plan: she had used
her candy house to lure them inside so that she could eat
them up for dinner!

Gretel thought all hope was lost as she sat at the large
metal table slicing meat.  She sobbed and sliced; she
sliced and sobbed.  Gretel filled three large buckets full
with the fatty food for the old woman to cook in her large
boiling pot.  Poor Hansel sat anxiously thinking of a way to
escape.  He watched as Gretel threw the scraps and
bones into a separate pile beside the buckets of sliced
meat.

Suddenly, Hansel was struck with a brilliant idea: he

started to cough violently - in an attempt to attract Gretel's
attention.

"Oh, quit your hacking!  You best not be sick if I am going

to snack on you!" the evil witch shrieked.  All the
commotion caused Gretel to look up in Hansel's direction. 
He motioned her to distract the evil witch.  Seeing her poor
brother's desperation, Gretel scoured her brain for a way
to distract the evil witch.

After a moment of thought, Gretel cried and dropped her

knife:
"Oh my!" she cried.
"What do you think you're doing?  Get back to work!" the
evil, selfish witch shrieked once more.

"I think I saw a...  I think I saw a...  A DRAGON outside!"

Gretel cried, convincingly.  Hansel held back laughter
since Gretel’s claims were getting a little more and more
ridiculous.

"A DRAGON you say?" the evil witch questioned.

"Oh, goodness.  That was most definitely a dragon I saw! 

It will surely burn down the forest with its fiery breath and
then your candy house will be revealed to all the grown
ups in the land!"  Gretel declared.  "How will you ever
catch children if your candy house is not secret to the
grown ups – who can no longer smell the sweetness of the
candy?" Gretel questioned with her voice sweet as the
syrup that dripped from the roof.

With this, the evil witch unlocked the steel and/ or

gingerbread door and ran outside in search of the
supposed dragon.
Hansel quickly motioned Gretel to hand him one of the
bones lying in the scrap pile.  Gretel held up a large bone,
but Hansel shook his head; she held up a thick bone, but
Hansel shook his head; and then, from the bottom of the
pile, Gretel found the thinnest bone of all and brought it
over to Hansel's cage for she knew what he would be
using it for.

He told her his plan just in time for them to hear the evil
witch hustling back.

Just as Gretel sat down at the large metal table, the evil
witch stormed in the house looking puzzled.

"Well, no dragon in sight!  Not even the tip of a tail or the

smell of smoke!" she exclaimed.

"Perhaps he smelled you coming," Gretel replied frankly,

continuing to slice the chops. "Dragons have a sharp
sense of smell, you know," she said curtly.

"Hmph... Chop larger!  The larger the better, little pretty!"

the evil witch demanded, closing the steel door but
forgetting to lock it.

As the evil witch focused on Gretel's slicing, Hansel quietly

maneuvered the thin bone around in the keyhole of his
cage:
CLINK!  CLICK!!  DING!!!
Slowly and quietly, Hansel removed the bone and waited
patiently for his plan to unfold.

Once Gretel had finished her slicing, the evil witch walked
it over to the pot located directly underneath Hansel.

"Well?  What are you waiting for, little pretty?  Help me get
this food in the pot!” the evil witch ordered Gretel.

"Hmm.  That pot doesn’t look quite hot enough," Gretel

said.

"I will dip your little feet in and we can check," the evil
witch sneered.

"How can you trust that I will say it is hot enough?  I will
surely lie and then the food will never be cooked for my
brother to eat," Gretel replied.

The evil witch furrowed her brow and looked from the pot
to Gretel and back again. "Oh, I suppose you're right. 
Stay there.  I will check to see if the water is almost at a
boil," the evil witch huffed.

Gretel remained behind as the evil witch approached the

pot. Gretel waited for Hansel's signal.

Just as the evil, selfish witch brought the tip of her long,
crooked nose to the boiling water, Hansel kicked his cage
door open.  This gave Gretel the signal to push the evil
witch into the boiling pot of water.  The evil witch toppled
over into the pot just in time for Hansel to land right on her
head, avoiding the hot water beneath his feet.  The heat
from the water melted the old witch into sweet, gooey
syrup.

The children ran out of the house once they had gathered
the sacks of gold that the evil witch had stolen over the
years from the other children that came by her candy
house.
Hansel and Gretel followed the path from which they first
smelled the candy until they reached the very small glade
where Hansel had last dropped bread crumbs; however,
the children found that their bread crumbs had been eaten
and replaced by their favourite stolen skipping stones by
none other than the rascal bird that had stolen them.  The
bird chirped happily as it finished its last breadcrumb.

Apparently, the bird had been hungry too!

Hansel and Gretel gathered their skipping stones in the

bags of gold and made their way home.

When they arrived, they ran into the embrace of their

father, who had become a widowed man after their mother
had, ironically, died from food poisoning.

Their father welcomed them home and apologized for

letting their mother’s selfishness overcome him. They took
care of him with pity until his death from a slower, more
subtle, and unfortunately more painful food poisoning
shortly after.

The two siblings lived in happiness together for the rest of

their days sharing their newfound wealth with the land
and, of course, skipping stones in the lake half a mile over
while feeding their naughty bird breadcrumbs.
 
The End.