Welcome to the enchanting world of Hansel and Gretel! This timeless fairytale takes you on a journey through a dark forest, a mysterious candy house, and the clever bravery of two siblings who face danger with wit and courage. Perfect for all ages, this story is filled with adventure, magic, and a sprinkle of mischief. Watch the video below to immerse yourself in this captivating tale!
Hansel and Gretel
Once upon a time, in a tiny cottage at the edge of a deep, dark forest, there lived a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel. Times were tough—so tough that dinner was usually a stale loaf of bread and water. Their dad was a woodcutter, and he did his best to keep the family going, but his wife (Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother) wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine. She was more of a thunderstorm with a bad attitude—which was strange because usually, stepmoms are actually pretty nice.
Anyway, one night, as Hansel and Gretel lay in bed trying to ignore their growling stomachs, they overheard their stepmother whispering to their dad. Hansel and Gretel leaned closer and strained their ears to hear what she was saying, and they were horrified at what they heard!
“We don’t have enough food,” she hissed. “I’ve been thinking about what we could do, and I’ve decided the only solution is to simply send the children away.”
Hansel’s eyes widened. Gretel gasped.
“But they’re my children!” their dad protested.
“Yes, yes, very sad, anyway—just think how much more food we’ll have!” the stepmother said. “Tomorrow, we’ll leave them in the forest, and that’s final!”
Hansel squeezed Gretel’s hand and whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”
Early the next morning, the stepmother woke them up with a fake sweet voice. “Come along, dears! We’re going for a walk in the forest!” Hansel, who’d been up all night thinking, grabbed a handful of white pebbles from outside and stuffed them into his pocket. As they trudged into the forest, he let the pebbles drop one by one along the path.
After a while, the stepmother said, “Why don’t you two rest here while we go gather firewood?” Hansel and Gretel waited… and waited. But their father and stepmother did not return. Gretel sniffled, but Hansel smiled. “No worries. I’ve got this.”
As the moon rose, its silvery light lit up the pebbles Hansel had dropped. Like little shining beacons, they showed the way home. The next morning, the stepmother was furious when she saw Hansel and Gretel at breakfast, looking all alive.
“Let’s try this again,” she growled, and this time, she made sure they didn’t have time to grab pebbles.
But Hansel wasn’t about to give up. He broke his stale bread into crumbs as they walked and left a trail behind them. Once again, they were left in the forest.
“Don’t worry,” Hansel told Gretel as the sun set. “We’ll follow the breadcrumbs home.”
But there was a problem.
“Where are they?” Gretel asked, peering at the ground.
Hansel gulped. “The birds. They must have eaten them.”
Now they were in real trouble. For hours, Hansel and Gretel wandered through the forest. Their feet were sore and their tummies grumbled; it had been so long since breakfast. Just as they were about to give up, they saw something that took their breath away.
There, in a clearing, stood a house made entirely of sweets. The walls were made of fragrant spiced gingerbread, the roof was delicately frosted with gleaming white icing, and the windows were sparkling sheets of spun sugar. Gumdrops lined the path, and decadent chocolate bars framed the door.
Hansel’s eyes lit up. “Is this a dream?”
Gretel pinched him.
“Ow!”
“Nope, not a dream,” Gretel said, grinning.
The two raced to the house and started nibbling on the walls. Hansel took a chunk of chocolate, and Gretel broke off a piece of candy cane.
“Ahem,” croaked a voice behind them.
They froze. Standing in the doorway was an old woman with a crooked nose and wild hair. She scowled at the children.
“What on EARTH are you doing?” she asked, glaring at them.
Hansel gulped. “Oh dear, we’re so sorry, we didn’t mean to steal… it’s just—we’re lost and we’re… we’re so hungry!”
With what looked like immense effort, the old woman’s frown twisted into a strange and uncomfortable-looking smile. “Why didn’t you say, my dears! You had better come inside.”
At first, the old woman seemed nice—offering them pancakes, pies, and enough sweets to make their heads spin. She even let them stay there in the gingerbread cottage as they had nowhere else to go. But as soon as their bellies were full, things started to get a little strange.
Well, strange might be putting it lightly… The old woman shut Hansel in a cage and forced Gretel to be her servant. Things were downright scary! Any time not spent feeding the children, the old woman would be found poring over a dusty old book or stirring a bubbling and steaming cauldron. Sometimes little explosions would come from it, and once or twice, Gretel swore she could hear the book whisper her name.
“Hansel,” she whispered, “I think she might be a witch!”
Hearing this, the witch shrieked, “NO CHITTER CHATTER! Get on with your chores, you lazy girl, or I shall turn you into a woodlouse!”
Now, if there was one thing Gretel hated, it was being bossed around—especially by a creepy old witch. But for now, she played along, knowing she’d need to outsmart the hag to free her brother.
And so the days went by, and Gretel cleaned the house, cooked meals, and pretended to be the perfect little helper. But all the while, she was coming up with a plan. Every night when the witch fell asleep, Gretel would go to the spellbook and leaf through the pages. The writing was ancient and twisted, and the pictures were strange and scary, but Gretel was clever, and so she learned all of the magic on the pages by heart.
One day, the witch was stirring her cauldron, and Gretel noticed that the potion looked very similar to the one which would turn the drinker into a woodlouse—the very thing the witch had threatened to transform Gretel into! Gretel gave Hansel the signal, and he called out to the witch, “I’m so hungry! Please, can I have some more sweeties?”
The old woman went straight to him with handfuls of chocolate and sugary treats. For some reason, she was ever so keen to keep him plump and fed. Gretel took advantage of the distraction and went straight to the cauldron, adding the missing ingredients to make the woodlouse potion—a snotty tissue, the slime from a slug, and a small handful of toenail clippings. The potion made tiny sizzly spitting sounds, and the witch turned and said, “What’s going on back there?”
“Oh, nothing,” Gretel said. “Would you care for another cup of tea?”
“Obviously!” the witch said, and Gretel gladly scooped some of the steaming potion into a cup and handed it to the witch, who drank deeply—not realizing the liquid was green and smelled like old socks.
In a flash and a cloud of thick green smoke, the witch was gone, and in her place was a tiny little woodlouse. As Gretel got closer, the woodlouse curled into a tight shiny ball and rolled across the floor, falling through a crack in the floorboards, never to be seen again!
“That’s what you get!!” Gretel shouted, jumping up and down and clapping her hands with glee.
Gretel freed Hansel from the cage, and together they explored the witch’s house. They found cupboards stuffed with gold coins, jewels, and enough candy to last a lifetime.
“Let’s take the treasure and get out of here,” Hansel said.
They filled their pockets and headed into the forest. This time, luck was on their side. They soon found their way home, where their father greeted them with open arms. And that horrible stepmother? She mysteriously disappeared—shortly after Gretel made her a lovely (if slightly green) cup of tea…
With the witch’s treasure and each other, Hansel, Gretel, and their dad lived happily ever after.
Also read: The Beauty and the Beast
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