Hansel and Gretel is a story about two children who are abandoned in the woods, find a witch’s gingerbread house, and outsmart her to escape.
Once upon a time, on the edge of a large forest, lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children, Hansel and Gretel. A great famine had struck the land, and the family had very little to eat. The woodcutter and his wife were worried they would starve.
One night, the woodcutter’s wife (who was also their stepmother) said, “We cannot feed our children. To reduce our burden, we must take them deep into the woods and leave them there. They won’t be able to find their way back, and we shall be rid of them.”
The woodcutter was hesitant, but his wife eventually convinced him. Hansel, however, had overheard their plan. He wanted to gather pebbles so they could find their way home, but his stepmother had locked the door.
The next morning, the family went into the forest. Hansel secretly dropped a trail of white pebbles as they walked. When they reached the deepest part of the woods, the parents made a fire and left the children, saying they would return later.
Hansel and Gretel waited, but their parents did not return. When night fell, they followed the trail of pebbles and made it back home.
The woodcutter and his wife were surprised and not entirely pleased to see them. Soon, the famine worsened. A few nights later, the wife insisted they abandon the children again, this time even deeper in the woods. Hansel again tried to gather pebbles, but this time his stepmother caught him.
The next morning, they were taken even farther into the forest. This time, Hansel left a trail of breadcrumbs. However, birds ate the crumbs, and the children were lost.
After wandering for days, Hansel and Gretel came upon a house made of gingerbread, cakes, and sugar. They were very hungry and began to eat pieces of the house.
Suddenly, an old woman came out. She seemed very friendly and invited them inside, promising them soft beds and delicious food. The children were delighted and went in.
But the old woman was actually a wicked witch! She had built the gingerbread house to lure children. She planned to fatten Hansel and Gretel and then eat them.
The witch locked Hansel in a cage and forced Gretel to do all the housework. Gretel was very worried about her brother.
One day, the witch told Gretel to check if the oven was hot enough. The witch intended to push Gretel into the oven and bake her into gingerbread. But Gretel suspected something was wrong.
Gretel tricked the witch into looking into the oven first. As the witch leaned forward, Gretel pushed her into the oven and slammed the door shut. The witch was burned to ashes.
Gretel freed Hansel from the cage. They found chests filled with pearls and jewels in the witch’s house. The children took the treasure and set off to find their way home.
Eventually, they reached their home. In the meantime, the woodcutter’s wife had died, and the woodcutter was very relieved and happy to see his children again. With the witch’s treasure, they were able to live comfortably, and the famine was over.