The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

Written in response to: Write from the POV of a fairy tale character sharing their side of the story.... view prompt

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Fantasy Fiction

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel were portrayed as sweet little children who were left alone in the woods by their parents. Then they came upon an house of an evil witch who lured them into a trap with her house being made of goodies. The story goes on to say that the evil old witch fatten up the children so that she could cook and eat them. At the end of the story they killed the witch by tricking her to get into the oven and she was burned to death. This is a false story told by people who don't really know the true story behind this fictional tale. My name is Cassie Colbert. I'm the so called evil witch that lives in the woods. I'm a kindly old woman who is misunderstood by her neighbors. I admit, I'm no beauty queen with my lime green skin, hook nose, facial warts. Nobody is perfect. I mind my own business and don't bother anyone. My home is a cozy one for a single woman living alone. Years ago I conjured up a spell to make it out of sweet breads, cakes and sugar windows. I wasn't trying to lure unexpected children or anyone else to my house. Hansel and Gretel have been talked about from many of people living in the village. I have heard they are awful, disobedient children. Their parents don't have much but the hard to please little ingrates are always wanting more. They were such a burden on their poor parents that they began to hate the children. I know most people my think leaving children to fend for themselves alone in the woods surrounded by vicious animal are wrong. In this case it was the right thing to do. I mean they were awful little things and this would probably have eased the burden on their parents. Let me take you back to the real story that happened on one faithful Friday afternoon. I was in my cozy kitchen baking and singing in my kitchen. I kept hearing someone stirring around out side my doorstep. I heard something break and then chatter that sounded like children talking. I peered out my kitchen window and saw these awful children breaking off pieces of my house eating it. I yelled at them from my window.

“Nibble, nibble, gnaw,” I said. “Who is nibbling at my little house?”

“The wind, the wind, the heaven born wind,” said Hansel and Gretel.

“That's no wind!” I screamed. “I see both of you!”

The naughty little children kept eating my house and lying about what they were doing. I became angry at first, but I began to feel sorry for the little things. I opened my door and invited them inside. They looked a bit frighten because of my appearance, but I assured them that no harm would come to them. The children quickly came inside the house.

“Have a seat,” I said. “I'll fix you two a bite to eat.”

I offered the children hot maple pancakes, eggs, bacon. I watched the little darlings chump down hungrily at all the food put before them.

“Would you like to eat anything else?” I asked.

“No,” said Hansel. “I'm stuffed.”

The little girl began to yawn. I went over to the corner and began to change the linen on the two small beds I had for guest. I never had any guest to visit me so there was never any need to make the beds. After putting fresh linen on the beds, I grabbed the children by their little hands and put each one into the beds. The children both went fast to sleep as soon as their little heads touched the pillows. I began to clean the dirty dishes and the rest of the house. The moon cast a glow over their little chunky faces. I blew out the candles and went to bed.

The next morning when I awoke, the children were still sleeping. I pulled back the curtains and the little girl awoke with a huge yawn.

“Good morning,” said Gretel.

“Good morning,” I said. “Would you like to help me cook breakfast?”

“Yes,” said Gretel.

In the story book it is written that the children were in a cage. They were never in a cage. The children each had beds of their own and free to roam about my home. As sweet as the little girl was about helping, the little boys awaken with a bad attitude. He wanted his breakfast right then and there. I looked at him with a frown.

“Young man, I said. “The breakfast isn't ready yet.”

“It smells ready to me!” snapped Hansel.

I was beginning to see why the parent s felt the way that they did because this young boy was awful. The little girl pleaded with him to stop his misbehaving for fear that I would put them out into the cold.

“Hansel please!' begged Gretel. “ She's a nice lady.”

“I don't care!” exclaimed Hansel. “I want something to eat.”

I became enraged with Hansel and at this point I wanted to kick him out of the house. Gretel was so nice and sweet and it was so cold in the woods to have the roaming around. I went out side to fetch a bucket of water for the warm cinnamon tea. I overheard the Hansel trying to persuade Gretel to push me into the oven so they could kill me and take my house. This made me so mad because I shown nothing but kindness to these children to be betray me this way. I gathered the bucket of water and went back inside. Hansel was sitting at the table while Gretel was standing near the door way. I wet over to the oven and stood there watching the children as they were both watching me.

“That's a really big oven,” said Hansel. “Is it big enough for a person to fit inside?”

“I don't know,” I said. “I've never had a person inside of it.”

I watched as Gretel inched closer towards me.

“What are you children up to?” I asked.

Gretel continued to inch closer and closer to me as Hansel got up from the table and charged at me. I snatched my magic wand from my pocket and pointed it at the children.

“Swoosh!” said the wand.

A flare of magic dust went all over the room and the ungrateful children vanished back into to the woods from which they came. I never heard or seen them ever again. That's what really happened to the terrible children. I was never shoved into a oven and burned to death because I never gave them the chance to get near me. The true moral of this story is to be grateful to someone if they are helping you and never try to trick a wise old witch.

November 21, 2024 15:30

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