Retelling of Hansel and Gretel free essay sample

Once upon a time there lived a widowed woman with her two young children, a boy and a girl named Hansel and Gretel. They live a quiet life in small cottage of simple means nestled at the edge of a beautiful yet mysterious magical forest so very far away. This is their story. Every morning the mother would rise early, open the shutters to let the warmth of the sunlight beam into their lovely little home. She would then reach for wood at the side of the table and start the fire in the stove that is in the middle of the room to prepare their daily breakfast of porridge and berries. As the big brass pot begins to boil she would spoon in the porridge grains. Once the mixture thickens, Mother would then sprinkle the berries into the mixture. Mother would then go outside to get the berries that are in a box near the door. On this particular day, she notices something strange. â€Å"Oh my, what do we have here? † Mother says in amazement, hands clutched at her hips. Mother calls for her children. â€Å"Hansel, Gretel! May I see you both here this instant! † she calls from the threshold. The two jump from their beds, which are side by side and quickly scurry to their mother. Mother’s towering presence in the light of the doorway draws a surprise moment for the two. â€Å"What is the matter, mother? † The two youngster’s voices mesh in unison. â€Å"What’s wrong? Come here my darling children and I will show you! † says mother, displeasure in her voice. The two children creep slowly to the sun drenched door. â€Å"Who left the berry box open? † â€Å"Not I! † said Hansel. â€Å"Not I! † said Gretel. â€Å"Well, certainly not I. † said mother sternly. â€Å"It seems our little four legged friends of the forest have helped themselves to a very nice treat. Now we have not but one berry for our porridge. † Mother stood there looking serious, her left foot, tapping nervously on the clapboard floor. The two children look at each other and shrug their shoulders. Hansel leaned forward and whispers into Gretel’s ear. Gretel looks at him and nods in agreement. â€Å"Mother,† Gretel said, â€Å"Both Hansel and I will dress and we will go to the forest with our baskets. We will bring back the biggest the best berries you’ve ever tasted. † â€Å"Yes, Mother. † Hansel said. â€Å"Just leave it to us. † â€Å"Very well, then. † Mother agrees. â€Å"You must eat your porridge without the berries. I will prepare some bread and jam for your lunch. Please be home in time for supper. Now get along. † Gretel turns and grabs Hansel’s hand. Gretel leans towards Hansel and she now whispers in Hansel’s right ear. â€Å"You forgot to close the box last night. † Gretel says grinding her voice into his ear. â€Å"†¦you and your late night cravings, Hansel! † Hansel just looked at her with a puzzled look and shrugged his shoulders. Mother prepared their woven baskets each with bread and a jar of jam. She placed them on the wooden table for the children to fetch before they set out on their berry hunt. Hansel appeared first followed by Gretel skipping along the shiny floor board. Remember children, fill your baskets nice and full with just berries that are bright red in color. † Mother instructed pointing her finger to each child. â€Å"Yes, mother. † said Hansel â€Å"Yes, we will remember, mother. † said Gretel. Off they went as mother waved good-bye. Not soon after they arrived into the forest, they came to the crossroads. They usually take the road to the right to pick the berries, but at the split of the path they noticed a sign that read: The path to the right there are no red berries this is true, take the path to the left for an abundance of blue! â€Å"Hansel, what will we do? Gretel asks. â€Å"Well, this sign was put there from someone who knows, so I guess we’ll go to the left and pick the blue ones. † Hansel said. â€Å"Okay, but wh at if we get lost? † Gretel asks in a timid voice. â€Å"Well†¦. oh, I know, from my basket I’ll leave a trail of bread so we can follow it back, this way we will be won’t get lost and be back home before supper. † Hansel says proudly. â€Å"Okay, I guess. † Gretel answers. The two set off deeper into the forest, pinching off a piece of bread at every step from Hansel’s basket and eating the bread from Gretel’s basket spooning the jam into their mouths. Unbeknownst to them their trail of bread was no sooner on the floor that it was being eaten by the same furry friends that visited the berry box the night before. â€Å"I see no berries and I see no path, I want to go back home, Hansel, please let’s go back! † Gretel begs. â€Å"Fine dear sister, we’ll go back, we’ll just follow back our track. † Hansel turns. As he and Gretel start back, to his surprise the trail of bread that his had set disappeared. One morsel lay on the ground until a rabbit appeared, grabbed it with its sharp teeth and hopped from whence it came. Fear began to set in on the children. Okay smarty pants, now what? † Gretel says in an agitated voice. â€Å"Well†¦ um†¦let me see. † Hansel says as he starts to look around for some answers. â€Å"Gretel, let’s stay on this path, I’m sure it will lead us to a house or maybe even back to our own! † â€Å"Any place is better than here, the sun is setting and mother must be worried sick, let’s go. † Gretel says as she puts down her basket, grab a hold of Hansel hand and cautiously walk through the twilight of the forest. â€Å"Where is your basket? † asks Hansel. â€Å"I must have forgotten it back there. † explains Gretel as she points back to the path. Not long after they come to a beautifully decorated house of sugar and spice. Hansel and Gretel could not believe their eyes. The children not able to speak, inhaling the sweet aromas of the estate, opened the candy cane gate and strolled slowly up the chocolate block walkway. They knocked on the gingerbread door using the purple jawbreaker knocker. The door mysteriously opens with a slight creek to reveal its strange demeanor. â€Å"Come in my dears, come in! † an aged high pitch voice welcomed the duo. The two slowly creep into the wonderfully decorated house of whip cream and elly beans. Seated at the foot of a fireplace was an old woman. She wore a long robe that was tattered and torn, sewn together from what looked like what children had worn. â€Å"If you please, ma’am,† Hansel begins his voice shaky and scared. â€Å"I am Hansel. This is my sister Gretel. We have lost our way. We would like if you can help us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Help you,† interrupted the old woman, â€Å"I will help you. First you must share a meal with me. Wash up in the room there and I will prepare some nice treats. † The old woman suggested as she points to the room next to the fireplace. â€Å"Thank you so much. Gretel says. â€Å"We are a bit hungry. † The two pass the huge pot in the fireplace. Its sweet smell of chocolate slowly boils to a bubbly sauce. They enter the dimly lit room. With a jolt, the old woman quickly ran and locked the door. Hansel and Gretel tried in vain to block the door but to no avail. The old woman crept to the door and recited these words: â€Å"Dear children dear children your visit is a treat, now you will be dunked in chocolate, good enough to eat. † They both looked at each other in panic. â€Å"What are we going to do Hansel? † Gretel says as her voice cracking through tears. Let’s not panic. † â€Å"Not panic, Mother is worried sick by now, and in a little while we’ll be covered in chocolate ready for a candy basket, and you’re telling me not to worry? † her cries growing louder and louder. Hansel did not have an answer for her. He instead put his ear to the door to hear what was going on at the other side. He heard nothing except the rocking of the chair. The children were frightened. From time to time they would yell at the top of their lungs calling for help. Then they heard the doorknocker. â€Å"Come in my dear, come in. † The old woman ordered the next visitor. The sound of heavy feet slowly moved towards the old woman. As she lifted her face from the shroud on her head, she was astonished to see that it was a man, a woodsman. A smirk overcame her lips to lift them from ear to ear. â€Å"Ma’am, I am sorry to disturb you. I was chopping some wood for the long winter season and I seem to have heard voices of children coming from this house. † The woodsman says in a concerned voice. â€Å"Oh no, you must be mistaken, I live here alone. I am a widow never blessed with children. † said the old woman, trying to draw sympathy from the woodsman. As he draws closer to the fireplace, he again hears a faint sound of children’s voices. He puts his ear to the locked door where the children are held. â€Å"You witch, what did you do! Let the children out, or it will be the end of you! † The woodsman clutching his ax, ordered the old woman. â€Å"I am not a witch, but a hag under a spell. A troll did this to me, to break it I must be kissed and I must tell. † cried the old woman. â€Å"All I know is that there are children locked up in that room. Set them free and maybe, just maybe I will help you. † demanded the woodsman. The old woman did just that. She freed the children. They ran to the woodsman. â€Å"Thank you, sir. † The children cried. â€Å"Don’t thank me, thank the hag. † replied the woodsman. Hansel turns towards the old woman and grabs her right hand. â€Å"Thank you, ma’am for showing us mercy and setting us free. † says Gretel. Hansel places her hand into the hand of the woodsman. He bends and kisses her hand in gratitude. Just as the woodsman’s lips leave the hag’s hand, a cloud of pink smoke surrounds the old woman. She is totally engulfed in mist of sweet smelling roses. As the haze slowly subsides, a truly magnificent sight appears before the three. It is the daughter of the king, the Princess Rose. She had been kidnapped by a troll many â€Å"years ago and feared dead. â€Å"The spell is broken. I am free. I too was shown mercy by all of you, now I can go home. The one to who I have confessed and believed in me must be a prince, the one that I will marry. † explained the Princess. â€Å"It is true, I am a prince. I am in disguise because I needed to be free from the duties of a prince for a while. I can’t believe what I see before me. I see my princess, will you marry me? † Yes, I will marry you, dear Prince. † said the happy Princess. She then leaned forward to the children. â€Å"We will take you home. With permission of your mother, we would like to have the both of you and your mother to attend our wedding then to join us and live at the castle. † The children were beyond words. The children returned to their mother. The mother was so relieved that her children were safe that she agreed to attend the wedding of the Prince and Princess. The happy couple offered the family a beautiful house on the royal estate. The family accepted and they all lived happily ever after.