Hansel y Gretel

by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm

"Érase una vez un pobre leñador que vivía cerca de un gran bosque con su esposa y sus dos hijos. El niño se llamaba Hansel, y la niña se llamaba Gretel..."

Así comienza esta clásica historia de Grimm sobre dos niños inocentes, abandonados en el bosque por su cruel madre, que se topan con la encantadora casa de pan de jengibre de una bruja malvada. La astucia de Hansel y el coraje de la pequeña Gretel frustran el malvado plan de la bruja de engordarlos y comérselos, y en la mejor tradición de los cuentos de hadas, ellos y su amado padre viven felices para siempre.

Este antiguo cuento de hadas alemán fue recopilado por los hermanos alemanes Grimm y publicado en 1812.

Genres: Classics, Childrens, Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories

47 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1812

About the author

German philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as Grimm's Fairy Tales (1812-1815).

Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.

This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .

Adapted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowza.
Yet another batshit bit of storytelling from The Grimm Bros.



So this dad lets his wife talk him into abandoning his two small children in the woods, because food is getting scarce.
Not once! But twice! Child Protective Services was nowhere to be seen in this tale, my friend.
The first time those wily kids managed to find their way back to the house, it was due to Hansel tossing some stones or somesuch on the ground. Second time around, stepmom got wise and made sure all Hansel had was some bread in his pockets.
Good luck, kid. He tried, but the fat-ass birds ate that right up.
Point goes to the stepmother for blocking his ability to get his hands on something non-edible to mark the trail. And don't worry, the dad feels bad about it. Both times.
I mean, not enough to go looking for them, but...
Yeah. Let's not point fingers or parent-shame him. It's hard to be a fairytale father.



So poor little Hansel & Gretel wander around in the woods till they come upon a little house made entirely out of gingerbread. I think that would be a red flag to any kids in this day and age, but back in fairy tale times, this was something that apparently didn't raise the alarm.
Gingerbread House = White Van with Free Candy Sign.



Now, as someone who has been called a witch (or something witch-adjacent, perhaps?), I might rethink the gingerbread.
Just from a hygiene standpoint alone, there might be problems with using cake as a building material, not to mention the structural problems you might encounter. And would any company realistically give you a termite bond? I feel like these are all things one might need to consider when building an elaborate trap to satisfy your craving for chubby roast-children.
But you do you.



As soon as the witch spies our hapless heroes nibbling on her domicile, she wastes no time shoving Hansel into a cage and attempting to fatten him up to a suitable size for baking.
In case you were worried about space, our witch has some nice-sized industrial ovens, so she can just slide an entire kid in there on a pan.
Spoiler alert: That may turn out to be a mistake for her.



But Hansel is no dummy. He eats her food and then pokes a bone out through the cage bars in lieu of his finger. This buys him some time as the witch continues to try to turn him into a vealesque item on the menu. Gretel, on the other hand, gets only crab shells.
Crab shells? Where the hell is she getting crab shells in the middle of the woods?
I know I'm overthinking this, but I just can't help myself.



Alright.
Weeks pass, and this little bastard in the cage is getting no bigger. <--or so the witch and her poor eyesight think!
So she's just like, fuck it! imma eat the little shit. and his mangy sister, too!, and tells Gretel to go stick her head in the oven and see if it's warm.
Gretel, who, let's not forget, has been living off of nothing but crab shells for almost a month, senses danger.
She's like, huh? check the oven? butbutbut how do i do that? and the witch is like, bitch, get out of my way and i'll show you and leans right into it.
We all remember what happens next, right?
And I dare you to say that as a kid, this next part didn't make you clap your grimy child hands together with glee.
Gretel gives the cannibal witch a swift kick in the pants, knocking her into the oven, then slams the door and roasts the absolute fuck out of her.
She savors the sweet smell of burning meat for a few minutes, then she unlocks the cage and saves her brother.



The siblings find the witch's treasure, and a duck (it's either magical or it's on steroids) takes them across a pond back to their home, where they find out their stepmother has died off and their father has missed them terribly.
And they alllll live happily ever after.
Now, there is a lot wrong with that last little bit.
Did Hansel and Gretel not harbor any residual anger against the man who actively participated in abandoning them to a fate that, had Gretel been slightly more squeamish about murder, would have left both of them as pie filling?!
All I can say is that I hope they managed to find a good family therapist.



Recommended.

[Leo . · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hansel and Gretel, who are they?

Brother and sister lost in the woods, astray

Abandoned by their parents, so cruel, so awful

Left to fend for themselves, wrong, unlawful

Find a house made of sweets, and cake, a lure?

A sinister woman, a witch, a predator, for sure

Fatten them up, tease them, and be unkind

Kept in a cage, mk- ultra springs to mind

Fatten them up, all juicy, and succulent, and fresh

The witch, this cannibal, craving pure clean, untouched flesh

Like the child catcher, (Sir Jimmy Saville), chitty chitty bang! bang! Protected, by law

High ranking officials, clients, a cabal, a troll

Preying on children, everywhere, abound

Like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, a monster, a hound

Hansel and Gretel, too clever for them, too smart, too aware

Outwitting, setting traps, turning tables, giving the witch a scare

A taste of her own medicine, the oven for her, Ha! Ha!

To perish, meet her demise, burn, gone, goodbye, Ta! Ta!👍🐯👍🐯

[Ahmed Ejaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in peace, God will not forsake us.

I read this short story long ago but didn't know what's its name.
Great short story. Really loved it. ^_^

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite stories when I was a child and still loved by my grandchildren today. Pure nostalgia.

[Carlos De Eguiluz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi favorito de los hermanos Grimm hasta el momento.

[Arman · Rating 5 out of 5]

قصه‌های برادران گریم
قصه پانزدهم
هانسل و گرتل


یکی از بهترین و یونیک‌ترین قصه‌های برادران گریم، تا اینجای کار؛ حتی با وجود داستان‌پردازی بی‌پیرایه و ساده کتاب.
داستان هانسل و گرتل را همگی با جزئیات می‌دانیم و دیگر چیزی برای گفتن نمی‌ماند.
فقط چیز جالبی که وجود داشت، در این نسخه اولیه، این مادر است که نقشه اصلی فرستادن بچه‌ها به جنگل را می‌کشد، نه نامادری. و در آخر داستان، وقتی بچه‌ها از دست ساحره نجات پیدا می‌کنند، به نزد پدرشان برمی‌گردند، راوی فقط به گفتن اینکه مادر مرده است، اکتفا می‌کند. بنابر آنچه در ویکی‌پدیا خواندم، آقای ماکس لوته می‌نویسد که احتمالاً در اینجا، مادر با ساحره یکی است.

چیز جالب دیگر، اینکه گویا در دوران قرون وسطی، با وقوع خشکسالی و قحطی، والدین مجبور می‌شدند که بچه‌هاشان را در جنگل‌ها یا در مقابل کلیسا بگذارند. و این را می‌توان دلیل فراوانی این تم (رها کردن کودکان در جنگل) در میان قصه‌های عامه‌ی آن دوران دانست.

[Ram Alsrougi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard enough to sentence two little children to death for starvation for lack of money and resources.
The father's character was very weak and the children were very intelligent. Besides, I thought that the cannibal witch had more prominence.

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEW OF EDTION ILLUSTRATED BY LISBETH ZWERGER, TRANSLATED BY ELIZABETH D. CRAWFORD

Well, textually speaking, Elizabeth D. Crawford's English language translation for Hansel and Gretel (1991), it for the most part very nicely and verbally delightfully follows and totally mirrors both contents-wise as well as with regard to narrational cadence and flow Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm's Hänsel und Gretel tale from their 1857 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, with Crawford thankfully not toning down and removing the obvious and also the only hinted at violence, the horror of famine, of two children abandoned in the woods to die by their cruelly selfish stepmother and weak, easily manipulated father, an evil cannibalistic witch luring children with gingerbread and other sweets, except that Elizabeth D. Crawford's text in Hansel and Gretel for some reason does not show Hansel and Gretel (after them defeating and basically roasting the evil witch) returning home to their thankfully now windowed father, that the cruel stepmother who had wanted her husband to leave Hansel and Gretel in the forest is now thankfully deceased (and indeed, which is how Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm do specifically end their Hänsel und Gretel).

Oh and by the way, even though there is only a very basic and pretty limited amount of biographical information on the Brothers Grimm and their oeuvre included in Hansel and Gretel (barely adequate and which I for one consider rather a folkloric lack, as a detailed author's note on the Brothers Grimm and on Hänsel und Gretel and its genesis, how it was collected etc. would make Hansel and Gretel much better and also considerably more interesting), because in Hansel and Gretel, there certainly exists an evil stepmother, this factoid totally indicates that Crawford most definitely and obviously is translating the Grimms' Hänsel und Gretel story from the 1857 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, since in the earlier, since in the 1812 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, it is in fact and creepily Hansel and Gretel's biological mother who wants to get rid of her children, and that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in fact only ended up changing the cruel mother to a cruel stepmother for their 1857 edition because of increasing parental complaints.

However, albeit what Elizabeth D. Crawford textually provides with her very good and very readable translation of the Brothers Grimm in Hansel and Gretel is solidly four stars for me (and no, not yet five stars, as no detailed and expansive author's note for Hansel and Gretel does aggravate and chafe just a wee bit), I am indeed rather majorly visually frustrated regarding one of Lisbeth Zwerger's accompanying illustrations for Hansel and Gretel. Yes, Zweger's artwork for Hansel and Gretel is generally aesthetically adept and nicely descriptive (and I like how Hansel, Gretel, the parents and even the gingerbread house the witch uses as bait so to speak are all in my humble opinion nicely and also realistically rendered and as such a successful visual mirror of the presented text, no, no, no, how Zwerger has illustrated the evil witch in Hansel and Gretel makes me kind of shake my head with and in frustration.

For since the witch in Hansel and Gretel manages to quite easily trick Hansel and Gretel into accepting her dubious and dangerous hospitality and her gingerbread house etc., it would to and for me be much more realistic if Lisbeth Zwerger would visually render her witch as deceptively pleasant looking on the outside and horribly but invisibly evil and with an ugly and dangerous soul on the inside, and that Zwerger making the witch in Hansel and Gretel look warty, evil and scarily ugly looking, with a really creepily nasty face, this does make it rather strange and also a bit defying belief that in Hansel and Gretel with Lisbeth Zwerger's evil witch certainly looking the part of an ugly and frightening harridan, she so easily lures Hansel and Gretel with promises of a warm house, a comfortable bed and sufficient food. Because or me, it simply would make much more common sense if the witch in Hansel and Gretel would be depicted like a kindly grandmotherly type and then revealed both visually and verbally that internally she is rotten rotten rotten to the core (and that yes, I wanting the latter regarding Zwerger's visual depiction of the evil witch and not getting this in Hansel and Gretel, having the witch right from the onset so to speak look horridly evil, this has indeed made me lower my rating for Hansel and Gretel from four to three stars, although I still do recommend the general combination of Elizabeth D. Crawford's translation of the Brothers Grimm and Lisbeth Zwerger's pictures).

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان پانزدهم از همخوانی برادران گریم
این داستان از جذاب‌ترین و معروف‌ترین داستان‌های برادران گریمه که ورژن‌های مختلف زیادی ازش نوشته شده و در آن به یکی از اساسی‌ترین اضطراب‌های کودکان، یعنی «اضطراب جدایی» اشاره می‌کنه.
تو این ورژن ناماداری نیست که رهاشون می‌کنه تو جنگل و این کار توسط خود مادر اصلیشون انجام میشه. همون‌طور که در کودکان اضطراب جدایی نسبت به مادر بیشتر از پدر و سایرین حس میشود و تاثیر بزرگ‌تری دارد.
البته اینجا احتمالا طبق نظر بچه‌ها بیشتر از این نخواسته مادر رو خراب کنه و در نهایت براش مجازاتی در نظر نگرفت و مجازات ویلن داستان به همون جادوگر محدود ماند و در نهایت فقط گزارش داد که مادر نیز مرده.

حالا خوبه با اینکه ایده آدم‌خواری براشون دور نبوده، نیومده همین رو به پدر مادره بده بگه از فقر تصمیم گرفتند بچه ها رو دونه دونه بخورند و کاراکتر پلید دیگه‌ای وارد بازی کرد برا این کار.

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨ Dead Account; Not Coming Back · Rating 2 out of 5]

I asked Google to read me a bedtime story and this is what it gave me

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers galore!!

Who has not read Hansel und Gretel? I have but needed a refresher!!

Brother and sister in a very poor family. Stepmother says 'Lets leave them in the forest, so we do not have to share our food. They find their way back because Hansel has left stones along the path and they can follow them back. So Stepmother tries again. This time all Hansel has to mark the path are bread crumbs. Hungry birds eat them and the siblings cannot find their way back. Then their is a witch and she wants to eat them, but Gretel pushes her into the stove. Hansel and Gretel find many precious jewels. They find their way back. In the meantime. Stepmother has died and Father and the children live happily ever after!!

And Grimm ends his story thusly: My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.

4 stars

[Salembrocolilectora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nunca había leído este cuento, sólo había visto la ópera basada en él. Es bastante duro condenar a muerte por inanición a dos niñites por la falta de dinero y recursos.
Muy débil el carácter del padre y los chiquitines fueron bien inteligentes.
Creí que la bruja caníbal tenía más protagonismo, pero bueno, es un relato muy breve.

Leído en La Isla Perdida II
Criatura: Caníbales

[Lör K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn't know the story of young Hansel and Gretel, abandoned in the woods, and stumbling across a witch? A piece of media that has been retold in so many ways, the original story has been twisted beyond recognition. However, the original tale itself, twisted and shocking, is definitely not for
children.

I was someone who grew up on the faerie tales of the Brothers Grimm, in their child friendly forms, so when I got a chance to read the original of Hansel and Gretel, I immediately jumped at the chance.

This was amazing. The Brothers Grimm did an absolutely stunning job with this. It was well written, alarming and shocking. Really, isn't that what every horror themed short story should be?

This original of Hansel and Gretel will never be forgotten in my head or my heart. Definitely check it out.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than having a slightly Flowers in the Attic vibe (which I assume wouldn't register for little kids) this was very nicely done.



Although I don't know what kind of dope would go into this lady's house:



(And what's up with her hand henna and feather necklace?)

[Abril G. Karera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho la interpretación que Browne hace del cuento. La versión es la de los hermanos Grimm y es terrorífica, uno podría pensar: claro, en esos tiempos era de esa manera. Pero acompañar la lectura con las ilustraciones que propone Browne donde todo es terriblemente actual, me deja pensando en la vigencia de esa historia. Han pasado cientos de años, pero se sigue abandonando a las infancias. Estamos lejos de tener lugares ideales para ellos y de protegerlos de gente tan malvada como la madrastra y la bruja.

[Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

moral: don't trust old people

[Saffron Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rating is for the Little Golden Book edition illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.

[Camila ✧°• · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tendría que haber otro castigo para esa madrastra que los abandonó en el bosque a su suerte, (se lo tomaba en serio jaja), porque fuera de la casa, Hansel y Gretel(dos personajes muy adorables como todo lo que escriben los Grimm)... con ellos se me ocurren miles de aventuras, la casa hecha de dulces no me parece fea considerando la escasa comida que tenia la familia en ese momento, me gustó como jugaba con eso, la bruja también hizo de las suyas, y creia que iba a terminar macabro esto (Cenicienta). No entiendo porque no siguió por el lado fantasioso. (Me siento una nena pidiendo cosas más infantiles)
Igual cada uno con cada versión que le quepa.

[Lesincele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realmente fue un audiolibro de Storytel. Me encantó escucharlo con los ruidos ambientales y lo bien que lo hacía hacía narrador. Me recordó a cuando mi madre me contaba cuentos de niña.

[librosgatosyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otro cuento original del que ignoraba, más macabro de lo que pensé, pero es tan corto que al final no se disfruta como cuento de terror tampoco, pero la moraleja que saqué, aunque estés en problemas hay que ser astuto, hasta el último momento siempre puedes hacer algo. 😅

[Florencia Bianco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This classic short story has exerted a tremendous influence on me. First of all, it is one of the first books I received from my mother when I was a child. Talking about this book is like evoking memories of the precious moments spared with the person I deeply miss: my loving mother. Regarding the plot, I have found it so touching that whenever I remember it, a sense of sorrow wells up inside me- the same feeling I experienced when I first read it. The world explored in this story is that of children being abandoned and deprived of their rights of being loved and protected by their parents. Besides, there is a direct reference to some burning issues such as poverty and starvation, which also affect today’s world deeply. Reading about this has made me reflect upon how fortunate I was during my childhood. Having a close family has been undoubtedly a great blessing.

[Gabyal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hansel y Gretel, un clásico de todos los tiempos como cuento infantil, pero nunca siendo una niña me puse a pensar que la bruja fuera caníbal jajaja. La debilidad del padre por causa de su mujer me exaspera. Pero la tenacidad de los niños por salir adelante ante las dificultades me encanta

Cafeteria de Audrey La isla perdida 2 parte

[Gretchen W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A favorite fairy tale

[Michelle Farella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another version with the duck :-/

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I looked hard for this edition, as I remember loving the illustrations it had.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je pensais bien que Disney brodait beaucoup mais il y a quand même pas mal de différences entre les vrais contes et les versions en dessins animés.

Parfois plus cruels dans les mots et les actions, les vrais contes de Grimm n'en restent que plus "réalistes" si on garde une part d'âme d'enfant bien sûr !

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good! We all know the story of Hansel and Gretel - it was exactly the same! :)

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my childhood favorites and still very good.🥰

[Natasha Beekie · Rating 5 out of 5]

*read for ENGL 249 at Concordia University

[Saffron Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rating is for the edition translated by Elizabeth D. Crawford and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger.