German Fairytale

Retold by The Legendary Connection

TLC#00209

Once upon a time, near a large forest, lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and his two children, Hansel and Gretel. They didn’t have much, and when a terrible famine spread through the land, they could barely find enough food to eat. Late one night, the woodcutter lay awake, worried about what they would do. “What will become of us?” he asked his wife. “How can we feed our children when we have nothing left for ourselves?”

The woman thought for a moment, then said, “Tomorrow morning, we’ll take Hansel and Gretel deep into the forest. We’ll make a fire to keep them warm, give them each a piece of bread, and leave them there. They won’t be able to find their way home, and we will be free of them.”

The woodcutter was horrified. “No, I could never leave my children alone in the forest! Wild animals would surely tear them apart.”

His wife replied, “If we don’t, we’ll all starve. You might as well start building our coffins now.” She kept urging him until he finally agreed, though his heart was heavy with sorrow.

Now Hansel and Gretel had not been able to sleep, and they overheard their stepmother’s plan. Gretel began to cry, but Hansel whispered, “Don’t worry, Gretel. I’ll find a way to save us.” When their parents were asleep, Hansel got up, put on his coat, and slipped outside. In the bright moonlight, he saw shiny white pebbles scattered on the ground. Hansel gathered as many as he could fit in his pockets and then returned to bed, comforting Gretel until she fell asleep.

At dawn, their stepmother woke them up and said, “Get up, lazy children! We’re going into the forest to gather wood.” She gave them each a small piece of bread for lunch, warning them not to eat it too soon, as there would be no more food. Hansel and Gretel followed their parents into the forest, and along the way, Hansel kept stopping to look back at the house. He was actually dropping the white pebbles to mark their path.

When they reached the middle of the forest, their father built a fire, and their stepmother said, “Stay by the fire to keep warm. Your father and I are going to gather wood. When we’re done, we’ll come back for you.” Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, sharing their small pieces of bread. As they waited, they heard the sound of an axe nearby and thought their father was close. But it was only a branch their father had tied to a tree to trick them.

They sat there for so long that they fell asleep. When they woke, it was dark, and they were all alone. Gretel began to cry, but Hansel comforted her. “Wait until the moon rises,” he said. “Then we’ll find our way home.” When the full moon appeared, they could see the white pebbles shining in the moonlight. Hand in hand, they followed the trail all the way back to their father’s house.

Their stepmother was furious when she saw them, but their father was relieved and hugged them tightly. Not long after, the famine worsened, and once again the woodcutter’s wife insisted on abandoning the children in the forest. This time, Hansel tried to gather pebbles, but the door was locked, so he couldn’t get out. Instead, he comforted Gretel, “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

The next morning, they were led even deeper into the forest. Hansel crumbled his piece of bread and dropped crumbs along the way to mark their path. When their parents left them by another fire, they waited and waited, but no one returned. As night fell, Hansel reassured Gretel again, “When the moon rises, we’ll follow the crumbs I dropped.” But when they tried to follow the trail, they found that the birds had eaten all the crumbs. So they wandered deeper into the forest.

Three days had passed since Hansel and Gretel had last seen their father. They kept walking deeper into the forest, feeling hungry and tired. If no one helped them soon, they feared they would not survive. Around noon, they saw a beautiful white bird sitting on a tree branch, singing a lovely song. They stopped to listen. When the bird finished, it spread its wings and flew ahead of them. The children followed the bird until they came to a small house, where the bird landed on the roof. As they got closer, they noticed the house was made of gingerbread, and the roof was covered in cakes. The windows were made of clear sugar.

Hansel said, “Let’s eat! I’ll eat a piece of the roof, and you, Gretel, can try the window; it will taste sweet.” Hansel broke off a piece of the roof, and Gretel nibbled on the window.

Hansel liked the taste of the roof so much that he broke off a big chunk, and Gretel ate a whole windowpane. Suddenly, the door opened, and an old woman who walked with a cane came out. Hansel and Gretel were scared and dropped what they were eating. But the old woman smiled and said, “Oh, my dear children, who brought you here? Come inside, no harm will come to you.” She took their hands and led them into the house. She gave them a delicious meal of milk, pancakes with sugar, apples, and nuts. Later, she gave them soft, comfy beds with clean white sheets. Hansel and Gretel lay down, feeling like they were in a dream.

But the old woman was really a wicked witch who tricked children to catch them. She had built the house made of bread to lure kids in. When a child came near, she would capture, cook, and eat them. She could not see very well but had a sharp sense of smell, so she knew when people were nearby. When Hansel and Gretel arrived, she laughed evilly and said, “Now I’ve got them; they won’t escape!”

The next morning, before the children woke up, the witch grabbed Hansel, locked him in a small cage, and told Gretel, “Cook something good for your brother; he needs to get fat so I can eat him.” Gretel cried, but she had to do as she was told. The witch fed Hansel delicious meals, but poor Gretel only got leftover shells.

Each morning, the witch would check if Hansel was getting fat by asking him to stick out his finger. But Hansel was clever—he would stick out a little bone instead. Since the witch had poor eyesight, she thought Hansel wasn’t getting any fatter.

After four weeks, the witch grew tired of waiting. “Gretel,” she said, “bring some water. Fat or not, I will cook Hansel tomorrow!” Gretel cried and prayed for help, but the witch didn’t care.

The next morning, the witch told Gretel to check if the oven was hot enough for baking bread. She planned to shove Gretel inside, too. But Gretel realized what the witch was up to and said, “I don’t know how to do it. How do I get in the oven?” The witch said, “Silly child, the door is big enough for anyone. Look, I can get in myself!” As she leaned in to show Gretel, Gretel quickly pushed her into the oven and shut the door. The wicked witch screamed and burned to death.

Gretel hurried to free Hansel from the cage. “We’re safe! The witch is gone!” she cried. They hugged, danced, and were so happy. Inside the witch’s house, they found chests filled with pearls and jewels. “These are even better than pebbles!” said Hansel. They stuffed their pockets and headed home.

After walking for a while, they reached a large river. “We can’t cross it,” said Hansel. But Gretel saw a white duck swimming nearby and called out:

“Little duck, little duck,
Will you help us across?
There’s no bridge or path,
Please carry us across.”

The duck came and carried them one by one across the river. As they walked, they began to recognize their surroundings. Soon they saw their father’s house in the distance. They ran inside and hugged their father tightly. He was overjoyed to see them. Their stepmother was gone, and Hansel and Gretel poured out the jewels and pearls they had found. The family lived happily ever after, without any more worries.

Original Source: “Household Tales by Brothers Grimm.” Gutenberg.org, 2022, gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5314/pg5314-images.html#chap15. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.