Hansel and Gretel Was A True Story And A Horrible Tragedy
The witch in the woods will break your poor heart
Trigger Warning; This story references cannibalism, but does not include graphic details. Please don’t read this to your kids without pre-reading it first.
Hansel and Gretel is one of the most famous fairy tales of all time. Except, it wasn’t a fairy tale, it was a tragedy. And it was true. At least, most of it. There are two parts the fairy tale got wrong. So terribly wrong.
I wonder if you can recognize the parts that weren’t true. If you don’t know the story, it goes something like this…
Once upon a time there was a poor woodcutter who lived with his wife and two children. They were starving, because it was a famine. One night in bed, the woodcutter’s wife whispered that they have to sacrifice the children. He was horrified and said no. No! He cannot.
Of course, it didn’t help that she was their stepmother. He protested that she must not love them the way he does. No, she said. That’s not it. It has nothing to do with being a stepmother or loving the kids.
She explained that if they die, the children will not survive anyway. But they don’t have enough food for all four of them. They don’t even have enough food for two people, much less…
