Hansel And Gratel StoryTelling

Long long ago, in a tiny cottage in a forest, lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children, Hansel and Gretel. He was very poor but he loved them all very much and they lived happily together.  

To earn money to feed his family, the woodcutter started to make brooms and sold these in the village.  Hansel helped his father and Gretel grew vegetables in the garden.   The children worked very hard to help their parents.  One day, their mother became very ill and soon died.  

The woodcutter was very lonely and decided that he should marry again. His new wife was very cruel to the children and their poor father.  One night, they heard her shouting, “You must take the children into the forest and leave them there!"  

The woodcutter was very upset but his wife made him agree to her plan. "They are young and they can look after themselves”. she persuaded him.

“Hansel, “I’m afraid, what will we do?” sobbed Gretel.  

“Don’t worry,” said Hansel, “I will think of a way to get back home”

Early the next morning, the children were woken by their stepmother.  

“Go with your father into the forest and help him collect wood and berries.”

Before he left the cottage, Hansel quickly filled his pockets with some breadcrumbs.  

As they walked with their father deep into the forest, Hansel dropped breadcrumbs along their trail.  

After a few hours their father told them to wait for him in a small clearing while he went to get some wood. With great sadness he left them there.  

The children sat down and ate some strawberries and blackberries. They hoped that their father would return for them. They ate so much that that they soon fell asleep. When they woke up, it was nearly dark.

“I want to go home, Hansel,” said Gretel.  

The children got up to look for the trail of breadcrumbs but the trail had all gone!  The birds in the forest had eaten them all.  

The children were lost and soon it was very dark. They could not see anything, so they decided to sleep under a tree until dawn.

The next morning, the children woke up and they were very tired and hungry. They ate the rest of their fruit and decided that they wanted to find their way home.  Deeper and deeper they went into the forest and as they were walking, they saw a beautiful cottage behind some trees. They came closer and could not believe their eyes.  The cottage was made of chocolate cake, biscuits and sweets .  The garden was made of gingerbread.  They were so hungry that they started to eat bits of the house.  

As they ate, they heard a voice say ‘Which little mouse is nibbling at my house?”  

An old woman appeared in the doorway of the house. She had a long crooked nose and a black cat was sitting on her shoulder.  

“Come inside my house and I will give you a delicious meal,” she said. The children were very hungry. They did not know that the old woman was really a wicked witch.  After they ate their supper, the witch grabbed Hansel and locked him in a hut, cackling all sorts of insults at him.

The witch wanted to keep them there until they were both big and fat enough for her to eat.  Each morning she felt Hansel’s finger to see if he was getting fatter.   He saw that the witch was blind, so he held out a chicken bone for her to feel, and she thought he was still very thin.  

The  witch grew very impatient.   

“I’m hungry,” she snarled,” I will eat the boy today”.  

Gretel started to cry when she heard this. She wanted to save her brother from the evil witch before she ate him up.  

Later that day, the witch told Gretel to heat the oven for a very big feast.  When the witch told Gretel to get inside the oven to see if it was hot enough, Gretel knew that the witch planned to eat her too.  

‘’ I cannot see inside,” said Gretel.  “I’m too big to get inside this oven!”  

“Don’t be silly, of course you can fit inside. Even I can fit into this oven” screamed the witch.  

As the witch bent over to look inside the oven, Gretel pushed her inside and quickly locked the door. She ran to Hansel’s hut and unlocked the door. They hugged each other and Gretel told her brother all about her clever idea.  

They laughed and danced with joy.  Then suddenly all the gingerbread boys and girls turned into real children.  They had all been put under wicked spells by the witch but now they were free.

Hansel and Gretel went inside the cottage to search for some food for their journey home.  Inside the house, they found a room full of gold and jewels.  All the children shared the treasure to take home to their families.  

Eventually the children found their way home to the little village. All their pockets were full of treasure and they had many stories to tell.  The woodcutter and his wife were overjoyed to see their children safely back home.  

Many times they had searched for Hansel and Gretel. They had missed them terribly and they were very sad for leaving them in the forest.  From that day on, they all lived happily ever after and never again had to worry about having enough money to buy food.