Once upon a time, a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel lived in a hut in the woods with their father. Their father was a poor woodcutter. His wife, their mother, had died when the two children were very young. Their father thought he would not be lonely anymore when he finally re-married, but the new stepmother made life very hard for Hansel and Gretel. The children were not allowed to eat until after the stepmother had taken everything she wanted off the plates. Most of the time, there was only a crust of bread left, and all day long were hard chores for them to do.
Hansel and Gretel tried to tell their father about this, but he would not hear of it. It seemed the only one he would listen to was his wife, and all the stepmother talked about was how much trouble it was to have children in the hut and how much she wished they would go away forever.
Each day there was less and less food for the boy and girl to eat, yet the stepmother gave them more and more hard work to do. One day Gretel begged her father, “Please, Father! All day long we work hard, and hunger is our only reward!” But the stepmother slapped her face. “You ungrateful brats!" she yelled. "You will eat us out of
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Each day there was less and less food for the boy and girl to eat, yet the stepmother gave them more and more hard work to do. One day Gretel begged her father, “Please, Father! All day long we work hard, and hunger is our only reward!” But the stepmother slapped her face. “You ungrateful brats!" she yelled. "You had better do your work, or I'll throw you in The Well!"
That night the two children were not allowed to sleep in the hut. Outside in the cold, they shivered and tried to keep each other warm. Winter was coming, and the clothes they wore were so thin it felt almost as if they had no clothes on at all.
The next morning when the sun rose, Gretel turned to her little brother. “Hansel,” she said, “we cannot stay here. We must escape now, today, into the woods! Surely we will find more to eat
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The next morning when the sun rose, Gretel turned to her little brother. “Hansel,” she said, “we cannot stay here. We must escape now, today, into the woods! Surely our step-mother will soon tire of us and force us down The Well!"
Hansel shuddered. "I can't go back there again. But what can we do? Run away?"
"Well, we can't stay here," Gretel said. She held up a fistful of scarab beetles, wriggling in her grasp. "Here, we can drop these behind us. If we have to, we can follow the trail of shining carapaces back home."
And so, the two of them went off into the woods and left their hard life behind.
They went deeper and deeper into the woods. Gretel was careful to drop one beetle, and then after a bit, another.
But alas! They looked and looked for any sign of something to eat — an almond tree, candy bar, dead cat, or even dried-up berries. There was nothing to eat! They got hungrier and hungrier. At last, poor Hansel and Gretel knew they must return to their hut or they would surely starve. They would just need to find the shining insect corpses and that would lead them home. Yet when they looked, there was no trail to be found - all the scarabs were
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Yet when they looked, there was no trail to be found - their precious specimens were all gone!
Hansel groaned. "I spent weeks in The Well collecting those brain crabs!"
An unknown beast howled in the distance. The sun was setting. The faces started to appear in the woods, grinning at them. Hansel and Gretel were lost and hungry. Now they were scared, too.
“Gretel,” whispered Hansel in fear, “what will we do?”
She did not know what to say. All she could do was to hug her little brother. Each minute it was getting darker and darker. A crude tower of human skin chattered nearby.
All of a sudden, Gretel saw a small light shining far away. Could it be someone's hut this deep in the woods? “We must find out!” cried Gretel. “Maybe whoever lives there is kind and will take us in.”
The two children sped as fast as they could to the light.
Soon, they came upon a clearing. They couldn't believe their eyes. The Well was there, even though it was supposed to be at their house.
Hansel shuddered. Gretel hugged him as they backed away in fear
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Soon, they came upon a clearing. They couldn't believe their luck. The Well was there, even though it was supposed to be at their house.
Hansel cheered! Gretel hugged him, and together, they jumped in The Well.
They frolicked through fields made of code written by gods.
They slept on an island of stars.
They climbed a statue of nostalgia.
They were home.
And all was good.
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