The pictures are from an early edition.
The Grimm brothers first heard the story from a young
girl, Dortchen Wild, who was later to become Wilhelm's wife. It is typical
of the other stories they recorded, with family conflicts and the ability
of the children to outwit the witch. It is a dark story; the parents wish
to get rid of the children and deliberately abandon them to the
elements and beasts of the woods. Humperdinck
and his sister Adelheid removed the more lurid bits and added their own
touches such as the Sandman,
the Dew Fairy,
the Angels and
the Gingerbread
Children to create a work they thought more suitable for children.
Once
upon a time there lived a poor woodsman, his two children, Hänsel
and Gretel, and their stepmother. When famine struck the land,
the stepmother proposed they get rid of the children by abandoning them
in the thickest part of the woods. Thus, there would be two fewer
mouths to feed! The children overheard her and Hansel filled his
pockets with pebbles. As they were led into the woods, he dropped a
pebble every so often, leaving a trail they could follow back home.
As
planned, they were left alone in the woods where they ate the crusts
of bread they had been given and then fell asleep by a fire. When they
woke it was dark, but they were able to see the pebbles and follow them
home. There the stepmother scolded them for staying away so long, but
their father was very happy at their return.
Nevertheless,
the parents tried a second time to lose them. This time Hansel was unable
to collect pebbles. Instead he broke the bread they had been given into
crumbs which he dropped along the path. However, when the moon rose,
they could not find the bits of bread; the birds had eaten them They
walked and walked but could not find their way and had only berries
to eat. Finally, after three days, they saw a white bird which led them
to a cottage. On approaching, they found the house was made of bread
and cakes. As they started to eat pieces of the house, someone called
from inside with a sweet voice wanting to know who was there. The children
answered "the wind". An old lady on crutches came out, led
them into the house, and fed them pancakes, milk, sugar, apples and
nuts. Then they took a nap on two little beds.
The old lady was really a red-eyed old hag of a
witch who was able to smell children from far off, and who killed them
and then cooked and ate them. When Hansel and Gretel woke, the witch
shut Hansel in a cage and made Gretel do chores. Hansel was fed to make
him fat, but Gretel got nothing to eat but the claw of a crab.
Each
morning the witch asked Hansel to stick out a finger so she could see
if he was getting fat, but he used a stick to fool her into thinking
he was still thin. After a month she gave up and decided to eat him
anyway. Gretel was forced to get a kettle of water to cook him in and
she was asked to check to see if the oven was hot enough to bake bread.
The girl pretended to be stupid and asked the witch to show her what
to do. As the old lady leaned in, Gretel gave her a push. She then released
Hansel and they search the house, finding all sorts of jewels with which
they filled their pockets. Setting off for home, they came to a river,
but there was no bridge or boat. They found a duck who helped them by
ferrying them across one by one.
Soon
they found their house and their unhappy father; the wicked stepmother
was dead. They gave their father the jewels and all lived happily ever
after.
