Little Tales Hansel and Grettel

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Hansel and Gretel seated themselves by the fire, and when noon arrived they each ate the piece of bread which their stepmother had given them for their dinner; and as long as they heard the strokes of the axe they felt safe, for they believed that their father was working near them. But it was not an axe they heard—only a branch which still hung on a withered tree, and was moved up and down by the wind. At last, when they had been sitting there a long time, the children’s eyes became heavy with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep. When they awoke it was dark night, and poor Gretel began to cry, and said, “Oh, how shall we get out of the wood?” Although Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm credited "various tales from Hesse" (the region where they lived) as their source, scholars have argued that the brothers heard the story in 1809 from the family of Wilhelm's friend and future wife, Dortchen Wild, and partly from other sources. [6] A handwritten note in the Grimms' personal copy of the first edition reveals that in 1813 Wild contributed to the children's verse answer to the witch, "The wind, the wind,/ The heavenly child," which rhymes in German: "Der Wind, der Wind,/ Das himmlische Kind." [2] Secret Magic Control Agency (2021) is an animated retelling of the fairy tale by incorporating comedy and family genres [36]

Hansel and Gretel - Wikipedia

Once upon a time there lived a woodcutter and his wife. Their early days were lived in bliss in a small wood cottage with their two children, Hansel and Gretel. evil witch toppled over into the pot just in time for Hansel to land right on her head, avoiding the hot water beneath his feet. The heat from the water melted the old witch into sweet, gooey syrup. At last they were so tired that their poor little legs could carry them no farther; so they laid themselves down under a tree and went to sleep. When they awoke it was the third morning since they had left their father’s house, and they determined to try once more to find their way home; but it was no use, they only went still deeper into the wood, and knew that if no help came they must starve. We will… We will all starve, if they stay here! There are too many mouths and NOT enough food. It is the only way… the only way…” she replied.Be a dear,” said the witch with a slow grim. “Go inside the oven, won’t you? Tell me if it is hot enough.” Just as Gretel sat down at the large metal table, the evil witch stormed in the house looking puzzled.

BBC iPlayer - Hansel and Gretel

One evening, after the children were gone to bed, the parents sat talking together over their sorrow, and the poor husband sighed, and said to his wife, who was not the mother of his children, but their stepmother, “What will become of us, for I cannot earn enough to support myself and you, much less the children? What shall we do with them, for they must not starve?”The children stayed seated, reluctantly. They waited and waited AND waited, but their mother never returned for them. The family are so poor that the stepmother persuades her husband to give the children one last piece of bread each, lead them into the forest, light a fire, and then leave them there to fend for themselves, as they won’t be able to find their way out of the forest. Although the woodcutter initially rejects this plan, he’s talked round, and agrees to go along with it. Times are tough, my dear children. We must venture into the forest to help your father with his work,” she declared. welcomed them home and apologized for letting their mother’s selfishness overcome him. They took care of him with pity until his death from a slower, more subtle, and unfortunately more painful food poisoning shortly after. class fought to survive; and the poorest of the poor plummeted into utter starvation. The woodcutter and his wife, along with Hansel and Gretel eventually struggled to stay fed.