Idioms By Kids

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel Hansel and Gretel are children whose father is a Woodcutter who chops down trees to for his bread and butter.

When he wasn't making much money, the woodcutter's nasty second wife talks him into taking the children into the woods and leave them there, so that she and her husband will not starve. The woodcutter at first opposes the plan and tells his wife to shut her trap, but finally and agrees to his wife's plan. Hansel and Gretel had overheard their plans but thought that

talk was cheap.

After their paremts had gone to bed, Hansel sneaks out of the house and gathers a pile of white pebbles and puts them in his back pack.

The next day, the family walks deep into the woods, the parents kept telling Hansel and Gretel to hurry up but Hansel lays a trail of white pebbles under their noses. After their parents who were partners in crime , leave them, the children wait for the moon to rise before following the pebbles back home.

When Hansel couldn't see the pebbles in the dark he would ask Gretel to bring a fresh pair of eyes to find the next pebble.

They return home safely, much to their stepmother's frustration who thought she had got them out of her hair .

Once again, the stepmother says to her husband wake up and smell the coffee , that they didn't have any food and orders her husband to take the children farther into the woods and leave them there to starve. Hansel and Gretel attempt to leave the house to gather more pebbles, but find the doors locked and escape impossible.

The following morning, the family goes back into the woods. This time Hansel takes a slice of bread and leaves a trail of bread crumbs to follow home. Gretel urges him to keep it up. However, once they are again abandoned, the children find that birds have eaten the crumbs and they are lost in the woods.

After days of wandering, they discover a cottage built of bread and cakes, with windowpanes of sugar. Hungry and tired, the children fill up and begin to eat parts of the house when the door opens. An old woman, leaning on a crutch, comes out and tells them to feel free to come inside, offering them dinner and cozy beds.

The children do not know that this woman is a bloodthirsty witch, who built her house of goodies had a hidden agenda to lure children to her so she may fatten them, then cook and eat them.

The following morning the witch locks Hansel in a cage, and forces Gretel to be her slave. The witch feeds Hansel everything he wants to fatten him up. Because she is half-blind she demands that Hansel offer his finger for her to examine, but he cleverly covers up by giving her a bone instead. She is fooled into thinking Hansel is still too thin to eat. After four weeks of this, the witch decides to eat Hansel anyway.

The witch prepares the oven for Hansel, but decides to kill Gretel as well. She coaxes Gretel to open the oven and asks her to lean over in front of the oven to see whether the fire is hot enough.

Sensing what the witch's wanted to do, Gretel not wanting to play fair, pretends that she does not understand what she is being told to do. So the witch demonstrates, which was a slip up, because Gretel instantly shoves her into the oven and slams the door and used the thing-a-ma-jig to keep the door shut. Gretel frees Hansel, and the pair discover chests of hot goods. Taking the jewels with them, they set off for home.

Nobody cried their eyes out over the death of the witch.

Their father is overjoyed to find Hansel and Gretel alive, and tells them that they had lost a family member and their stepmother has died. The family is now rich, thanks to the witch's treasure of hot goods, and they live happily ever after.

Moral of the Story:

Don't take candy from strangers.

Idioms in the story:

bread and butter

shut your trap

talk was cheap

back pack.

hurry up

under their noses

partners in crime

fresh pair of eyes

out of her hair