Once Upon a Time - Hansel and Gretel (Part 1) (2023)

Introduction

What happens when two children find a candy house in the woods?

Content

Long ago and far away in enchanted lands across the seas lived, kings and queens, princes and princesses good fairies and wicked witches ferocious giants, and gentle dwarfs their adventures and stories have been told for hundreds of years open the pages and listen to the words, and you too can join the magical world of once upon a time, hansel and gretel.

Once upon a time there was a kind old woodcutter.

He lived with his two children, hansel and gretel, and their stepmother in a little cottage set in a huge forest.

They were a poor family and one night as the old watercutter was tossing and turning in bed he cried out.

There is a great famine in the land.

How am I going to find enough food for our children? Don't? You worry said his wife.

I've already worked something out.

The woodcutter listened carefully to his cruel wife's words tomorrow morning, we'll take hansel and gretel to the deepest darkest part of the woods.

Then we leave them while we go and do our work, they'll never be able to find their way out on their own and we'll be rid of them forever.

No dear wife said the woodcutter, not my own children, so you want us all to starve.

Then do you said the cruel stepmother with a heavy heart the woodcutter agreed to the dreadful plan, but little did he know that hansel and gretel had been listening at the door and had heard everything the next morning, hansel and gretel were awake.

Very early gretel wept when she remembered her wicked stepmother's, cruel words.

Hansel tried to comfort her don't get too upset.

He said.

I know the woods well, we'll find a way out.

He went to check that his stepmother and father were still asleep.

They were both snoring heavily, so he crept out into the garden to gather some pebbles quickly and quietly he filled his pockets with them.

Then he tiptoed back to bed and pretended to be asleep.

He'd barely had time to hide under the covers.

When his stepmother came barging into the room, get up you lazy bones.

She cried we're all going off to the forest to collect some wood.

Here's a crust of bread for each of you, but don't you eat it before lunch time, because that's all you're getting gretel hid hansel's share under her apron as hansel's pockets were full of pebbles, then the whole family set off for the woods when they'd walked a little way.

Hansel stopped to look back at the house.

He kept doing this every few minutes.

His father was puzzled, and so why do you keep stopping like that? Well, father, I'm just waving to my little white kitten.

Can't you see him up there sitting on the roof waving with his paw before the woodcutter had a chance to say anything, his stepmother piped up what a fool! You are: that's, not your kitten! That's the morning sun shining on the chimney, but hansel hadn't really been looking back at his kitten every time he stopped.

He had dropped one of the white pebbles on the path after walking for many hours they reached the middle of the forest.

The woodcutter told hansel go and fetch me some wood and I light a fire for you.

So you don't get cold, so they gathered as much wood as they could carry and their father set light to it.

Soon the little fire was blazing.

No children said their wicked stepmother.

You lie down here and have a little rest.

The fire will keep you warm until we return we're going into the forest to cut wood and we'll come back and fetch you.

When we finished off went the woodcutter and his wife, hansel and gretel sat down by the fire and at their bread.

They could hear the sounds of an axe chopping through wood, so they thought their father was nearby, but their wicked stepmother had fooled them.

She had tied a bow to a dead tree and it was being blown about by the wind several hours later when they woke up it was pitch black poor gretel was afraid and started to cry.

How will we ever get out of this wood? She said: hansel put his arm around her.

Everything will be all right.

He said when the moon is up, we'll find our way out of here easily soon the moon came up and it bathed the forest in its silvery light, hansel took his sister by the hand and led her along the path he had made with the pebbles.

They shone like little silver coins, all through the night they walked and at daybreak they reached their father's house.

Their stepmother answered the door.

Oh you wicked children.

She cried.

Why did you move from the spot where we left you? We searched everywhere, for you.

You've made your poor father sick with worry, oh, how happy the woodcutter was to see his children again, he'd, miss them so much while hansel and gretel were chattering, happily their stepmother muttered.

How on earth did they find their way out? The stepmother stormed around the house for days after their return? She was desperate to get them out of the way.

One night she told her father her plan.

Again, there is still a great famine in the land she said, and we only have half a loaf left when that is eaten.

We'll have nothing the sooner we get rid of those children the better.

This time we lead hansel and gretel into the very heart of the wood.

It's so far away from our cottage that it would be impossible for them to find their way out again.

It is something we must do if we are to save ourselves.

The woodcutter was used to the lively sound of his children around the house.

In fact, he preferred it to his wife's constant nagging and moaning.

I would much rather share my last crumb with my own children.

He told her.

We have to get rid of those children or we'll all starve.

His wife complained the cruel woman wore him down with her nagging and he had to give in in the end once again, hansel and gretel were awake and they had heard all about the plan.

I'll just collect some more pebbles said hansel, but when he tried to go out into the garden he found that his stepmother had bolted.

All the doors hansel went straight back to bed and wondered how he might outwit his stepmother even before the birds were awake.

The wicked stepmother made hansel and gretel get up.

She handed each of them a crust of bread.

This time it was even smaller than before.

Once again, the whole family set off into the woods on the way.

Hansel crumbled, the piece of bread in his pocket and every few minutes he stood still and dropped a crumb on the ground, and so why do you keep stopping and looking back said his father do: try and keep up I'm looking back at my little pigeon who's sitting on the roof and waving goodbye.

Can't you see him father, you foolish boy said the stepmother: that's no pigeon! That's the bright morning, sun shining on the chimney, although the stepmother kept watching him with her beady eyes, hansel still managed to make a path with the crumbs on and on.

They walked until they were deep in the heart of the forest.

Here the trees were so tall and their branches so thick that the sun could only just peep through it was cold in these parts.

So the woodcutter lit a big fire.

Just sit down there, my children, if you're tired, you can have a little lap, but whatever you do, don't stray away from this place, we're going into the forest to cut wood, but we'll be back to fetch you later hansel and gretel waved goodbye and then they shared gretel's piece of bread between them, the warmth of the fire made them feel sleepy and soon they were fast asleep.

It's time to turn over to side two, you.