The story’s origins
The most well-known, written version of “Hansel and Gretel” can be traced to the Brothers Grimm. The first printed version was released in 1812 — however, as with their other stories, the Grimms gathered oral tellings of “Hansel and Gretel” from others before writing it down.
The story went through a few revisions before the one we know best today was settled upon. In some earlier versions, it was the children’s biological mother who tried to abandon them in the woods, not a stepmother. In many cases, dear old dad was just as in on the plot to abandon the kiddos, too. (Parents of the year, eh?)