Hansel and Gretel are a lovely pair of siblings. Their parents dote on them, and they live happily.
Unfortunately, their mother passed away, and their father remarried. Their stepmother was very unkind to the siblings.
One day, the stepmother said to their father, “Take these siblings and throw them into the forest!”
The father immediately objected, but the stepmother retorted, “We don’t have enough money to feed them. Do you have any money?”
The family was indeed very poor, so the father reluctantly agreed.
Hansel and Gretel overheard their conversation from outside the house, and Gretel cried in fear.
Hansel, however, said, “Don’t cry, sister. I have a plan. We will find our way back home.”
Clever Hansel began to pick up small stones from the ground, filling a pocket full of them.
Gretel asked her brother what he was doing, and Hansel simply replied, “You’ll see tomorrow.”
The next day, indeed, the father and stepmother took them to the forest. Along the way, Hansel dropped small stones on the ground.
Upon reaching the forest, the stepmother hypocritically said, “We’re going to gather firewood. You two must behave and stay here, don’t move.”
After saying this, she dragged the father away.
Gretel began crying in fear.
Hansel said, “Don’t cry. I told you, I will definitely take you back home.”
Gretel cried while saying, “But we don’t know the way back home. How can we go back?”
Hansel pointed to the ground and said, “Look at these small stones. I dropped them along the way. By following these stones, we can get back home.”
Gretel suddenly realized and stopped crying.
When they returned home, the father was very happy, but the stepmother was extremely angry.
She commanded the father, “Tomorrow, take them to the forest again and abandon them!”
But the father refused to do anything like that.
The stepmother coldly sneered, “Then I’ll take them myself!”
The siblings overheard their conversation from outside the house.
Gretel said to Hansel, “Brother, I know what to do this time. Let’s quickly go collect small stones!”
Gretel spoke as she ran to collect stones, but she felt someone grabbing her from behind.
It was the stepmother. She viciously said, “You still want to collect stones? Still want to come back? Dream on!”
With that, she locked the siblings in a small cabin. Gretel cried again.
Hansel said, “Don’t cry, sister. I have a plan.”
That night, Hansel didn’t eat dinner. He hid some bread.
The next day, the stepmother took them to the forest.
Along the way, every two steps Hansel took, he pinched off a small piece of bread and dropped it on the ground.
After reaching the forest, the stepmother found an excuse and left.
Gretel said, “Brother, you used breadcrumbs instead of small stones as markers. You’re so clever. Let’s quickly follow the breadcrumbs home!”
However, they couldn’t find any breadcrumbs. It turned out that the breadcrumbs had been eaten by birds. Gretel cried again.
Hansel hurriedly comforted her, saying, “We’ll definitely find a way home.”
Hansel looked around and suddenly spotted a house deep in the forest. They ran towards it and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was a magical house.
This house was made of candy and cookies—it was a gingerbread house!
They were terribly hungry and couldn’t resist eating. Just then, they heard a voice saying, “Who’s there? Who’s eating my house?”
Upon seeing this, a noble lady walked out of the house. Hansel quickly said, “I’m sorry, madam. Our stepmother abandoned us in the forest, and we were so hungry that we couldn’t resist eating your gingerbread house.”
The lady replied, “Oh, you poor things! Come inside quickly. I have a delicious feast in my house. Children cannot fill their stomachs with just candy and cookies.”
Excited about the prospect of a feast, the siblings happily followed her inside.
However, they didn’t realize that this noble lady was actually a witch.
As soon as they entered the house, the witch revealed her true self.
She locked Hansel in an iron cage and said, “I’m going to eat you, but you’re too skinny. I need to fatten you up before I can eat you!”
Then she turned to Gretel and said, “As for you, you’ll serve as my maid first. You’ll cook, clean, and do everything I tell you to do!”
During meal times, the witch instructed Gretel, “Take this big chicken leg to your brother, feed him whatever he desires, and fatten him up as soon as possible for me to feast upon!”
However, Gretel only offered her brother half a loaf of bread.
Bewildered, Hansel questioned, “Sister, why have you given me only half a loaf of bread? The witch said to feed me whatever I desire.”
Gretel replied, “Brother, didn’t you hear? The witch plans to fatten you up and eat you! The more you eat, the quicker you’ll get fat. I won’t let her devour you!”
Brother said, “Sister, I have a plan to deal with her. Hurry, bring the chicken leg to me, I’m starving.”
Reluctantly, the sister handed the chicken leg to her brother.
As the brother indulged, the sister grew increasingly worried.
Three days later, the witch approached the brother and said, “Let me see if you’ve fattened up.”
The witch reached out to touch him.
However, her eyesight was poor, unable to discern whether he had grown fat or thin; she could only feel with her hands.
The sister was extremely anxious because indeed, her brother had fattened up.
But the witch frowned, “Why haven’t you fattened up? In fact, you seem even thinner!”
Unbeknownst to the witch, whenever she reached to touch the brother, he extended the leftover chicken bones for her to feel.
Mistaking the bones for the brother’s body, the witch remained unaware.
The witch said to the sister, “My house is filled with gold everywhere. Take a piece and go outside the forest to buy more delicious food for your brother. Hurry and fatten him up so I can feast on him!”
As it turned out, this magical gingerbread house was not only made of candies and cookies but was also adorned with gold inside.
Thus, the brother enjoyed even better meals, and the sister grew even more anxious.
Yet, the brother seemed indifferent. Whenever the witch attempted to touch him to check if he had fattened, he would extend the chicken bones for her to feel.
However, the witch couldn’t bear it any longer. When she once again touched the chicken bones, she shouted, “You little rascal, turns out you can’t be fattened up! I don’t care anymore. Whether you’re thin or fat, I’m going to eat you!”
While the sister cried and pondered how to save her brother, they heard a knock at the door.
Hastily, she went to open it, only to find their father and stepmother standing outside.
It turned out that the father had come to find his children, while the stepmother had come to stop him.
Upon seeing his daughter, the father exclaimed, “I was about to ask the people in this house if they had seen you two. I didn’t expect to find you here. Quickly, fetch your brother, and let’s go home!”
However, the stepmother interjected, “You’re not taking them home. Do you have enough money to support them?”
An argument ensued between the stepmother and the father.
The sister addressed her stepmother, saying, “Stop arguing. You’re just after money, but this gingerbread house is filled with gold and silver.”
Upon hearing about the gold, the stepmother immediately tried to enter the house.
But the sister cautioned, “I must warn you first. Though there’s gold and silver everywhere inside, there’s also a witch.”
The stepmother accused, “You’re lying to me! You just don’t want me to get the gold!”
As she spoke, she pushed the sister aside and peered inside.
Sure enough, she saw gold and silver scattered all around the house.
The stepmother’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she happily rushed into the house.
But as soon as she entered, she was grabbed by the witch.
The witch exclaimed, “Who dares to intrude upon my house? You feel like a plump woman. Much plumper than that boy. Let me devour you first!”
The stepmother, however, refused to yield. She was incredibly strong and managed to push the witch away, initiating a fierce struggle between them.
Though the witch possessed magical powers, her eyesight was poor. On the other hand, while the stepmother lacked magical abilities, she was exceptionally strong.
Their fight became intense, accidentally knocking over a pot of boiling water and causing the fire from the stove to spread rapidly.
The entire gingerbread house caught ablaze, and within moments, it turned into ashes.
Outside the house, the father was stunned, unable to do anything but shout for his two children.
At that moment, they heard the voices of the siblings saying, “Daddy, we’re here.”
It turned out, while the witch and the stepmother were engaged in their fight, the sister quickly opened the iron cage, freeing her brother. They escaped through the back door.
Later, the father and the children retrieved gold from the ashes of the gingerbread house and happily returned home.
They used the gold to build a new house, ensuring they never went hungry or cold again.
Furthermore, the siblings used the gold to pay for their own education and that of nearby children. They played and studied together, leading joyful lives.
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