Hansel and Gretel
There is a great famine in the country. The poor woodcutter who had lost his wife, stays alone with two children, and later remarries, suffers as many others. Maybe even more. There is no job for him, and there are four hungry mouths in the cottage.
His wife once proposed that they shall take the boy and the girl into the woods and leave them there. Let the wild beasts tear them. Without children, the woodcutter and his wife will have better chances to survive.
Her husband is against the idea at first but slowly starts to give in to her persuasion.
The boy, whose name is Hansel hears that and sneaks out of the cottage. He fills his pockets with white pebbles to mark the way from their cottage to wherever he and his sister Gretel will be taken.
Indeed, his plan works. Hansel and Gretel are left alone in the woods but can return with the help of moonlight and white pebbles.
When they come to the door just a few hours after their parents their father is very happy. Their stepmother not so much.
The next day, the stepmother insists that the children are taken to the woods again. This time even deeper than before.
Hansel hears her but can't go out to fill his pockets with pebbles again. The door is locked.
So when they leave their home, he marks his way back with breadcrumbs. This plan doesn't work as well as the plan with pebbles. All the breadcrumbs are eaten by birds and children are lost in the woods.
They are forced to spend the night there.
In the morning, they are scared and hungry. They wander around until they find a very strange house.
It is made of gingerbread, cake, and other sweet edible items. They immediately start eating.
An old woman comes out of the house and invites them in. They accept without hesitation.
Hansel and Gretel are not aware that they are dealing with a cannibalistic witch who has this unusual house for one reason only. To lure kids in and eat them later.
When they enter, the situation quickly changes. The witch locks Hansel in a cage and starts commanding Gretel, who must serve as a maid.
The witch sees that kids are all skin and bones so she decides to put some fat on both before making a roast.
She checks Hansel from time to time if he is any fatter. Gretel gives him a chicken bone, so the witch, who doesn't see well and relies mostly on the sense of touch, thinks he is still too skinny for a decent meal.
After a while, she decides to eat both kids no matter what. She orders Gretel to prepare the oven. She tries to trick the girl into getting into the oven to check if it is hot yet.
But Gretel outsmarts the witch pretending that she doesn't understand so the witch shows her.
Gretel uses the opportunity to push the witch into the oven and closes the door.
The witch is dead and Gretel can release her brother. They find a lot of precious things in the witch's cottage. They take as much as they can carry. When they return home, they will be rich.
A bird shows them the way to the lake. They shall just pass it and they will find a path to their house.
A swan comes to help the children but Gretel shows how smart she is again. She notices that they will be too heavy, so they go across one by one.
Soon after, they return home. Their wicked stepmother died in the meantime. Their father is happy to see them.
They are all happy when they realize how much money they have now. They will not be hungry again!
***
Hansel and Gretel is one of the most popular fairy tales of all time. Its dark tones, caught in muted green hues used by Carl Offterdinger perfectly illustrate it.
Rich symbolism in Hansel and Gretel is another, less obvious reason, for its popularity among boys and girls.
Let's focus on just one detail.
The story deals with one of the deepest fears of any child in the world. To be abandoned by parents. In this case, the mother is the one who wants to get rid of the kids. She is presented on two levels:
* as a stepmother,
* as a witch.
When the witch dies, the stepmother conveniently dies too. This is a kind of revenge for the abandoned children. If the parent doesn't want him or her, the parent should die. At least on the symbolic level. The witch serves exactly this purpose. Hansel and Gretel don't just escape, they revenge too.