Hansel and Gretel | English Fairy Tales | Stories for Kids

Summary

This charming retelling of 'Hansel and Gretel' follows two children who venture into the forest to search for their missing father. Along the way, they become lost and discover a magical house made of sweets, owned by a wicked witch. The witch traps Hansel and plans to eat him, but clever Gretel outsmarts her and locks the witch in her own oven. The children escape and reunite with their father, learning the dangers of the forest. The story ends on a warm note with the family happily reunited.

Takeaways

• 🪓 Hansel and Gretel live with their woodcutter father in a house in the forest.
• 👋 Their father goes deep into the forest to cut firewood but doesn't return home for dinner one evening.
• 🌅 Hansel and Gretel wake up the next morning and realize their father is missing, prompting them to search for him.
• 🍞 Hansel leaves breadcrumbs to mark their path in the forest, but birds eat them, leaving the children lost.
• 🏠 They stumble upon a magical house made of cookies, peppermint, and chocolate and start eating it.
• 🧙‍♀️ A witch living inside the house catches Hansel, locks him in a cage, and forces Gretel to be her servant.
• 🍗 The witch tries to fatten Hansel up to eat him, but he tricks her by offering a bone instead of his finger.
• 🔥 The witch demands Gretel start a fire in the oven, but Gretel tricks the witch into climbing in, then locks her inside.
• 🏃‍♂️ Hansel and Gretel escape the witch's house and eventually reunite with their father.
• 🤗 Their father apologizes for not coming home as he had injured himself, and they promise never to go into the forest alone again.

Q & A

Where did Hansel and Gretel live?

Hansel and Gretel lived in a house in the forest with their father, a woodcutter, in Germany.

Why did Hansel and Gretel go into the forest?

Hansel and Gretel went into the forest to search for their father after he did not return home from cutting firewood.

What was Hansel's plan to find their way back home?

Hansel's plan was to leave a trail of breadcrumbs along the path so they could find their way back home.

Why did Hansel and Gretel lose their way in the forest?

Hansel and Gretel lost their way because birds ate the breadcrumbs Hansel left as a trail.

What did Hansel and Gretel find in the forest after getting lost?

Hansel and Gretel found a magical house made of cookies, peppermint, and chocolate in the forest.

Who lived in the house made of sweets that Hansel and Gretel found?

A witch lived inside the house made of sweets that Hansel and Gretel found.

What did the witch plan to do with Hansel?

The witch planned to fatten Hansel up by feeding him lots of food and eventually eat him.

How did Hansel trick the witch when she tried to check if he was fat enough?

Hansel tricked the witch by giving her a bone from his meal to feel instead of his finger, so she would think he was still too thin to eat.

How did Gretel defeat the witch?

Gretel tricked the witch into climbing into the oven by pretending not to know how to do it, and then locked the witch inside.

What happened when Hansel and Gretel found their father again?

When Hansel and Gretel found their father, they hugged him and explained that they went looking for him after he didn’t return. The father apologized, saying he had broken his leg and returned late.