Hansel and Gretel Reimagined

“I’m so tired and hungry…” Gretel whined to her older brother Hansel.

“I know me too, but we will be ok,” the slightly older child tried reassuring her, but his voice betrayed a level of fear and hopeless.

“Do you think we will find help soon?

“Absolutely!” However, no matter how hard he tried to be brave, his voice betrayed his despair. After all, they were not in a good position. They had been wandering in the woods for days since their father abandoned them, all so he could enjoy his new life with their evil stepmother. All they had eaten were some berries, and they only occasionally stumbled upon clean streams to drink from. They were tired, hungry, thirsty, and close to giving up.

After walking for several more hours on their aching feet, the exhausted and practically defeated duo stumbled upon a sight that instantly restored some hope. A short distance away in a clearing, they spotted a small, stone cottage. Many of the stones were covered in moss, and it looked both ancient and well kept. Strangely, even though they were emerging from dark, thick woods, the clearing was bright and full of small animals and plants, including a large garden and a small number of livestock. The whole scene was picturesque and could have easily been pulled from the finest of paintings.

“Wow!” Gretel exclaimed.

“I’ve never seen something so beautiful,” the eldest kid said in awe. Sure, Hansel’s statement was partially caused by his relief that they may be saved after all, but he was truly taken by the beauty that emanated like magic from the clearing and the home.

The two ran up to get a closer look. As they did, the chickens stirred slightly, the wild birds and squirrels scattered, and the cow let out a soft moo. As they got closer, they realized the place was even more beautiful than originally thought. And strangely, it seemed to be calling them closer.

“This is awesome!” Blurted our Gretel, newly filled with some hope. “I just wish it was made from gingerbread and candy!”

“Not me!” Her brother replied in the tone siblings use to tease each other, “that would get so gross sitting outside in the rain with animals pooping on it!”

“Ewwww, I guess you’re right.”

“Come on, let’s go inside.”

“But what if someone is in there?”

“We will announce ourselves and be careful. If anyone is home, maybe they can help!”

“But what if they try to eat us!” Whined Gretel.

“Don’t be silly,” Hansel shot back, “I highly doubt there are any cannibals out here.”

Gretel was still not fully convinced that this wasn’t a trap, but she followed her older brother as he approached the home. Hansel slowly opened the door and, with some trepidation, said “Hello? Is anyone home? We need help.”

Hearing no reply, he slowly opened the door enough for them to enter. Immediately, the siblings were struck by the quaint beauty of home, which looked like an old cottage from a fairy tale, but which was also filled, but not overfilled, with books and strange antiques. At the same time, they were memorized at how it looked way larger inside than it appeared on the outside, almost impossibly so.

The awe and wonder of the children quickly vanished when they heard the raised voice of an old woman bellow out "You are in my home!" The duo was shocked back to reality as they scanned their surroundings looking for the source of the voice. The mystery was quickly solved as an old woman emerged from one of the rooms and walked towards the children, who were now paralyzed with terror and unable to move.

This old woman looked exactly what you would imagine a fairytale witch to look like. A stereotypical old hag with wrinkly skin and slightly disheveled hair, wearing black robes with a pointy black hat. Indeed, to complete the stereotype, Hansel, despite being frozen in terror, briefly caught the glimpse of a black cat scurrying from room to another. He later would learn his name was Shadow.

The old woman cackled as she walked towards the two children.

“Are you going to eat us?” Hansel asked the old woman timidly. Suddenly, he regretted making fun of his sister for being afraid of cannibals.

Her cackle quickly turned to a good-natured chuckle and her expression changed to one of warmth. “Of course not! Do you really not recognize your own grandmother?!”

The children’s eyes lit up with realization and excitement as they both shouted “Grandma!” in unison. They hadn't seen their grandmother in a couple years, but they loved her dearly. After all, she had always been a kind person to them, even if she was a witch. Unfortunately, she had to stay away from their village due to the villagers' distrust of her, so they didn't see her too often.

“That’s right sweeties! Now, tell grandma why you two are here. And where on earth are your parents?! They are going to get an earful for letting you two wander in the woods all alone! I may even turn them into toads... but just for a short while of course.”

The kids' expressions turned from joy back to sadness.

“M-mommy died last year,” Gretel sobbed, “s-she got sick.”

“Oh no,” their grandma sympathetically said as she comfortingly hugged Gretel who tightly squeezed her back, “I’m so sorry to hear that! She was a great mother to you two. So caring and kind.”

After a moment’s pause to calm the sobbing girl, she continued, “But what about your father? Did my son also die?”

Hansel broke down into a sniveling mess as he blurted out, “No but he’s dead to us! He remarried to an awful women who treated us poorly and hated us and finally she convinced him they’d be happier without us and he believed it!”

Gretel through tears added, “D-daddy left us in the woods to die.”

"He did what?!?" their grandmother exclaimed in disbelief and anger. "My son was always a self-centered idiot, but he never has done anything so selfish and cruel! I should teach him and his new wife a lesson they won't forget..."

"W-what will you do to them?" Hansel inquired through his shock.

"Please don't kill daddy!" Gretel begged. Even though the man had been so wicked and cruel, Gretel could not bear the thought of her father being murdered.

"Don't worry, no one is dying," the old witch reassured her grandchildren as she ruffled Gretel’s hair affectionately, "but they will be punished for how they treated you. And you two are staying with me from now on!"

As Hansel ran to join Gretel in hugging their grandmother, wide smiles of joy, excitement, and relief broke out across the faces of the two children, who just a short while ago had given up hope and were expecting to die at any moment.

“But before we go, you two look famished! You need to eat.”

The two excitedly nodded and their grandmother walked towards the kitchen with them in tow.

After they had been well fed, they were shown to their new rooms so they could get some needed sleep before that night, when Grandma would put her plan into play. After they had a chance to rest for a few hours, Hansel awoke to the sound of his grandmother getting horses ready. He had not previously noticed the barn, stables, or small fishing pond that stood behind the house. Dusk was almost upon them.

Knowing that it was almost time to go, he briskly walked across the hall to the room his sister was in. He knocked on the door a few times to wake her up until he finally heard her stir. A few moment later she groggily opened door. She always was the heavier sleeper of the pair.

“Come on,” Hansel said with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, “I think she’s almost ready to go.”

Gretel nodded and followed her brother as they both ran outside to join their grandmother.

As they got within eyesight of their grandmother and her carriage, she cheerfully exclaimed, “Good, you’re both up! Let’s go.”

“Is that a carriage?” Questioned Hansel, “I thought witches flew brooms?”

“Oh we do,” his grandmother replied, not at all joking, “but we won’t all fit on Ol’ Sweepy, so we have to take the carriage. But don’t worry, it flies too.”

Hansel’s eyes widened in shock but his sister just said “Wow! So cool!!”

“Yes it is,” her grandmother replied, “now let me help you both in so we can go.” She lifted the girl into the carriage then helped the boy up the step before climbing in after them and grabbing the reins.

“Ok, first we ride for a little while, then we will take flight. Ready?” Both kids nodded with a mixture of excitement and the type of fear kids have trying their first rollercoaster. “Then we are off!” Grandma cracked the reins as the two jet black horses darted forward, pulling the carriage swiftly through the woods. They were faster than any horses the kids had ever seen.

After a short while they came to a large clearing and the old woman pulled back sharply on the reins, causing the horses to begin to slowly take off into the air. The kids let out shrieks as they sharply climbed, just missing the trees. Soon enough they were flying just over the trees and, with the help of reassuring looks from their grandmother, the kids calmed down and took in the wonderful sight that was the night sky and the tops of the trees, which stretched as far as their eyes could see.

Soon, they neared their village. Their old home was right on the edge of it. The horses quickly but quietly landed a short distance away so as to not wake anyone. They walked towards the house with the old lady in front. She calmly, but repeatedly, knocked on the door until she heard the angry voice of her son, who had clearly just been awoken from from a sound sleep, yell “Who the hell is at my door so late?!” She didn’t respond, so he swung the door open. “I said, who-“ his anger quickly turned to shock and fear as he saw the three people in his door.

The usually proud and fearless man began stammering like he saw a ghost as he began slowly backing up into his house until his back was against the wall. The three intruders entered the home and the door magically shut, and locked, behind them.

“M-mom, what are you doing here?”

“I found my precious grandchildren in the woods… close to death.”

“Uh I-I can e-explain.”

“They already told me the truth.”

“Oh…” He knew he couldn’t lie his way out of this.

“Daddy how could you!” Cried Gretel. Hansel couldn’t muster words, and just shot his father a dirty look. The father couldn’t muster a reply, he knew his deeds were beyond excuse.

“What is going on!” Shrieked a woman as she emerged from the bedroom. When she saw what was happening, the stepmother’s eyes widened and she froze.

“Ah,” said the witch, “so this is the woman that corrupted my idiot son and abused my sweet grandchildren.”

The younger women stammered in fear as she backed up. “Those kids are good for nothing! Just ask their father.”

The witch momentarily took her eyes off the stepmother to glare at her son, who looked sheepishly back at her. The stepmother seized this moment of distraction and threw a nearby cooking pot in the direction of the trio. However, all the witch had to do was give the pot a stern look and, before it could even get halfway to them, it turned into a swarm of butterflies, which quickly scattered as Gretel, full of awe, exclaimed “Pretty!”

Trying to seize on the confusion, the wicked stepmother quickly grabbed a kitchen knife from a nearby table and tried rushing towards them, but she only got about three steps before the old witch snapped her fingers, causing the knife to transform into a hundred spiders. She froze in place and screamed in fear and disgust as the scurried all over her body. She continued screaming as she fell to the floor. The children and their father looked on in disgust as the spiders crawled over her for a few more moments before scurrying off to find holes to hide in. The house would be infested evermore.

The witch approached the defeated woman, who was still on the floor. She looked down at her and, with a voice full of rage, yelled, “You vindictive and cruel woman. How dare you abuse my grandchildren. You are nothing but a worthless slug. And that’s what you shall become!” Grandma clapped her hands. Everyone, except the witch who was smiling, watched in shock as the evil stepmother screamed in pain and horror as her skin turned slimy and she began to shrink. She kept screaming until her voice failed. Soon, she was fully transformed into a slug. She slithered off as the witch turned and glared at her son.

“W-what are you going to do to me, mom?” Came the fear filled voice of the witch’s son. The kids looked at him with a mixture of anger and sadness. As cruel as he had been, he was their father, and he used to be a kind one.

“You are not beyond redemption, but you need a lesson. You will become a robin, destined to watch people, maybe even your own children, live happy lives, like the one you threw away. If you ever fully forgive yourself for what you’ve done and are truly worthy of being a human again, the curse will be broken. But for now…” she snapped her fingers and he slowly shrank.

“Kids,” he spoke while he still could, “I am truly sorry. I am an awful person. I hope you will someday forgive me and, if I deserve it, we can be reunited.” Tears streamed from the kids’ eyes as they waved goodbye. They didn’t fully forgive him yet, but hoped he could change. He quickly became a bird, much less painlessly than their stepmother became a slug, and flew out the window towards the woods. He was determined to watch over his kids, to make up for failing them.

The kids quickly grabbed their clothes and other possessions from their old home before retreating to the carriage with their grandmother and flying off into the night.

The two children and their grandmother then proceeded to live happily ever after.