Reading Notes: Hansel and Grethel Pt. 1

Story source: Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Margaret Hunt (1884).

Plot:

Hansel and Grethel were the children of a poor woodcutter and his wife. 

The parents decided to take the kids out into the forest, give them one loaf of bread and leave them there essentially to die. 

The dad didn't want to do it but was eventually convinced by his wife.

The kids were awake and they heard the whole plan.

Hansel went outside (by night) and found some shiny rocks and put them in his pockets. 

The parents took the kids into the forest to abandon them.

Hansel periodically stopped, drawing the attention of his father. He had been stopping so that he could drop some of the shiny pebbles. 

When night fell Hansel used the shiny pebbles to guide them back along the right path.

The End.

Thoughts: 

This portion of the story seems to have a happy ending! I had no idea that the parents were so involved in the story. The version I had heard growing up was just that they got lost one day. However, this version is far more realistic and seems to say a lot more about familial dynamics as well as the time period they were living in. I think this story is much more mature than the children's storytime novel we are all so familiar with. 



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