One upon a time, in a faraway forest, there lived a poor woodcutter, his wife and their two young children. The boy’s name was Hansel and the girl was called Gretel.
The woodcutter was so poor that the family had very little food to eat. So one night, the woodcutter’s wife said, “We cannot take care of the children anymore. You must take them to the middle of the forest and leave there.”
The two children heard their parents talk and they were very scared. “We don’t want to live in the forest!” they said to each other. So, the cleaver children came up with a plan to save themselves. That night, they quietly filled their pockets with tiny pebbles.
The next morning, as the woodcutter took them to the middle of the forest, Hansel and Gretel dropped the pebbles all along the way. When their father left them, all they had to do was to follow the line of pebbles back home!
The woodcutter and his wife were surprised to see the children back home. “We must take them again tomorrow,” they said. Hansel and Gretel were very worried now. “All our pebbles are gone! What do we do now?” they cried.
“I have an idea!” said Hansel. “We can drop bread crumbs this time!” So, the next morning, when the woodcutter took the children deep inside the forest to leave them there again, the children dropped crumbs of bread all along the way.
But sadly for the children, the animals and birds had eaten up all the crumbs! Now, Hansel and Gretel walked and walked but couldn’t find their way back home.
Suddenly, hidden in the trees, they saw a strange house made of candy, cookie, chocolate and everything delicious. “This is a gingerbread house!” cried Gretel happily. The children were so hungry that they started gobbling up the house at once.
Now this house actually belonged to an old witch who loved to eat little children. Just as Hansel and Gretel were eating her yummy door, she pounced on them and locked them inside! “I shall fatten you up and eat you!” she said with a wicked laugh.
The wicked witch locked Hansel in a cage. Then, she turned to Gretel and said, “You! Little girl! Help me light the oven! When it is hot, I shall cook your bother and eat him up!” Poor Gretel was so afraid!
Gretel quickly thought of a plan to save her brother. Just as the witch bent to check if the oven was hot, she gave her a big push from behind. The witch fell in to the oven with a scream and Gretel quickly locked the oven door with the witch inside!
Gretel rescued Hansel and the two children filled their pockets with all the witch’s jewels. Finally, they managed to find their way back home and gave all the jewels to their mother and father. Thanks to the clever children, the woodcutter and his family were never poor or hungry ever again