The Story Of Hansel And Gretel

Once upon a time, there lived in the forest two siblings- Hansel and Gretel. They lived with their father and their stepmother. The father was a poor woodcutter but loved his little boy and girl. Their stepmother, on the other hand, did not like the children and tortured them. She did not give them food to eat, and on most days, the children just got crusts of the bread leftover after their stepmother finished her meal. Hansel and Gretel tried to speak to their father about their hunger, but he did not pay attention as he was busy trying to work. He only listened to his wife to please her. The stepmother secretly wished that the children went away from the house forever. She started feeding them very less food every day and made them do all the household chores even if they felt weak and tired. One day the stepmother made Hansel and Gretel do all the work until they were exhausted. She served very little food for dinner, and Gretel cried, asking for more as they were very hungry. The stepmother then yelled at them and refused to give them any more food. She also called both the children ungrateful and blamed them for not having any food left in the house. That night, Hansel and Gretel slept outside the cottage as their stepmother punished them for crossing the lines. It was biting cold, and the children shivered in the weather and tried to keep each other warm. Their clothes were also too thin to keep them warm. The brother and sister tried to console each other. The next morning when they woke up, Gretel told her brother that she was not happy with the way their stepmother treated them. She made a plan to escape to a place in the woods where they can find some food. Gretel assured Hansel that they would come back home before it got dark. Although Hansel did not want to go on the hunt, he decided go along, but along the way to the forest, he dropped a few crumbs of bread so that they could follow the trail to return home. As Hansel and Gretel went deeper into the forest, they realised that they were out on a lost cause. They could not find any food whatsoever. They decided to turn back, follow their train and head home. But alas their trail had disappeared! Instead, on the ground, they spotted a bird with a crumb in its beak. They realised that the birds had eaten up all their crumbs. It had gotten very dark and scary in the forest. They even heard a wolf howl. They got frightened and hugged each other. They were lost in the middle of the woods and were starving. Gretel then noticed a tiny light in a house in the dense forest. The two children made their way to the house, hoping they would find something to eat. They ran towards the house, and as they came close, they noticed that the house looked strange. The house was shaped like a candy with a gingerbread roof and frosting on the walls. There were candies on the walls too, which got Hansel and Gretel excited, and they started licking the candy and relishing its taste. Suddenly, they heard a sharp voice from inside, “ Who is licking my walls?” Hansel and Gretel stopped and turned to notice a witch standing behind them. Gretel replied, “We were passing by and saw your house. We are very hungry and wanted a bite.” The witch invited them inside. She said, “I can give you some food”. Hansel and Gretel were excited and went in and filled their stomach with the food. Once they were done, they saw a pile of bones around the house. They wondered how these bones reached here, but they were too tired to ask anything and fell asleep soon. When Hansel woke up, he was shocked to find himself locked up in a cage. The witch had turned out to be evil. She told Gretel, “Your brother will remain in the cage, and I will feed him till he becomes fat so that I can have him for dinner!” She laughed and said to Gretel, “You will do my household chores!”. Gretel worked hard on the chores given to her, and Hansel was forced to keep eating until he was full. Every morning, the witch would inspect Hansel to see how fat he had grown. Hansel would hold a finger out of the cage for the witch to inspect. The witch would scowl and huff, waiting for him to grow plump. Hansel was scared and kept urging his sister Gretel to come up with a plan to escape this danger. Gretel was exhausted but she was extremely worried about her brother. She wanted to help him escape from the evil hands of the witch. She came up with a plan when the witch was asleep. The next morning as Gretel was cleaning, she picked up a bone and slyly handed over one to Hansel. She said to him, “Hold this bone out when the witch comes to inspect your fingers.” Hansel did as told, and when the witch came to check him, he held the bone out instead of his finger. When the witch felt Hansel’s finger, she touched the bone and frowned, thinking it was the boy’s finger. She said, ”Hmm, it seems like it will take time for you to get fat!” Both Hansel and Gretel let a sigh of relief as they managed to delay the witch’s attack on Hansel. Every morning, the witch would check Hansel, and he continued to hand out the bone. One day, the witch got annoyed and yelled, “I am tired of waiting for you to get fat and plump. I have decided to have you for dinner even though you are skinny!” The witched ordered Gretel,” Go an ignite the fire for the oven. It must get red-hot.” Gretel worked slowly on purpose and noticed that the witch had a grin on her face. The witch said, “Go inside and see if the oven is hot enough to put your brother in it.” Gretel was worried and did not know how to react. She thought, ”Will the witch push me into the oven?” As she looked at the flame, she thought of a plan. She told the witch, ”I am not sure how to tell if the oven is hot. Can you please show me how it works?” The witch was getting impatient and grumbled, ”You silly little girl! This is how you do it.” She then stepped inside, and the moment the witch went inside the oven, Gretel shut the door. The witch was trapped inside the hot oven. Hansel cried out in excitement, “Look, Gretel! You saved us!” Without wasting any time, Gretel began to look for the key to the cage to unlock Hansel. She found the key hidden in a vase and freed Hansel. Gretel thought there was something else in it too. When she checked, she found that the vase was filled with precious jewels and stones. Hansel and Gretel filled their pockets with the gems and ran as fast as they could from the witch’s house. They soon found a small path which led to a bigger one that brought them to the main road. They waited on the road for someone to offer them a ride. A horseman passing by spotted them and Hansel and Gretel waved their hands for him to stop. They offered him a tiny jewel in return for a ride. The horseman was happy and offered to drop them home. Hansel and Gretel reached home. Their father was happy to see them and could not control his joy. He had been worried since the day they had gone missing and was lonely. Hansel and Gretel learnt that their stepmother had passed away soon after they had left for the woods. The children told their father all that had happened and showed him the treasure they had found. The father felt sorry for them and promised that they would now live together as a happy family. Hansel and Gretel finally united with their father and lived happily ever after. Moral Of The Story The main morals of “Hansel and Gretel” are to never trust strangers, especially when things seem too good to be true, and to rely on one’s own wit and resourcefulness to overcome danger. The story also teaches that hope and perseverance can lead to success, that love and loyalty are important, and ultimately, that intelligence can triumph over evil.