Copyright 1939
The story of Hansel and Gretel is a widely known fairy tale. I just found this brightly illustrated Linenette copy at a used book store and was reminded of how disturbing some fairy tales are!
The children’s father and stepmother do not have enough
food, so the stepmother convinces the father to abandon his children in the
forest. This he does, but fortunately,
they overheard the plan. The resourceful
children left a trail of pebbles and soon found their way back home. Once again, they were abandoned, but this
time only had a piece of bread with which to leave a trail. The bread crumbs were eaten by the birds, so
now the children were truly lost.
After wandering for days, Hansel and Gretel came upon a
wonderful little house made entirely of cake and candy. They broke off little pieces and started to
fill their empty bellies. Suddenly, the
door opened and an old woman invited them in to eat. In wasn’t long until they found out she was a
wicked witch! She shoved Hansel in a
cage to fatten him up so she could eat him.
Gretel was told to put her head in the oven to see if it was hot
enough. Clever Gretel played dumb and
said she did not know how. When the
wicked witch bent over to demonstrate, Gretel quickly pushed her in and shut
the oven door.
Gretel freed her brother, the children found a treasure of
gold in the witches house, and they found the path that led home. Their father was overjoyed at their return,
and since the stepmother was dead, they lived happily ever after.
Are there lessons from Hansel and Gretel? There certainly are! Here’s one:
If something seems too good to be true, use caution! The children never stopped to consider the
wonder of a house made up of delicious desserts. Overcome by hunger, they happily feasted, not
realizing it was a trap. So be careful
children - it seems most adults are not to be trusted! And if you come upon a house of cake and candy
while walking in the woods, it is probably a trap!
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