Hansel & Gretel

Synopsis: During a time of famine, a stepmother convinces her husband to abandon Hansel and Gretel, in order to have enough food for themselves. Hansel hears this and collects pebbles, and the next morning when he and Gretel are abandoned, they use the pebbles to find their way home. Later, the stepmother convinces the father once again that they must abandon the children, so Hansel leaves a trail of breadcrumbs, which is eaten by birds. They wander the forest until they find a house made of bread, cake and candy. An old hag comes out and pretends to be kind, but soon locks Hansel in a cage and tries to fatten him up. Gretel, helps the witch prepare the meals that she feeds to Hansel. When the witch would ask to feel how fat Hansel's finger was, he would stick out a bone so that she thought he wasn't getting fat and would keep him alive, but she grows impatient and tries to trick Gretel into the oven, but Gretel tricks her into the oven instead and they run away with all her riches. A white duck helps them cross the lake and they return to their father. The step mother had died.- Originally, both parents wanted to abandon the kids- Gretel is the saviour, even though Hansel tries to save them for most of the story- the witch has an abundance of food, but eats children- 'killing the next generation' theme- nature is not on the side of the children ie. birds eat the crumbs, lead them to witch- 'blind witch' theme: the eye showed the soul

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