Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel is the story of
two young children abandoned by
their stepmother in the forest. The
children, who are lost in the forest,

stumble upon a chocolate and
candy-coated house. An old witch

who lives in the house invites
Hansel and Gretel in.

VOCABULARY

woodcutter nap

cottage house chores

breadcrumbs hug

VOCABULARY

arguing

a chocolate and
candy-coated house

firewood cage
witch

IDIOM

1. heavy heart = a feeling of sadness or
unhappiness

2. gobble down = to eat something very
quickly or eagerly

PHRASAL VERB

stick out

Once upon a time,
there lived a very poor
woodcutter, his wife,
and his two children,
Hansel and Gretel.

They lived in a tiny
cottage at the end of
the village.

One evening,
Hansel and Gretel
overheard their father
and stepmother
arguing.

“We don’t have enough food
to eat. Soon we will all starve,” said
the stepmother.

“You’re right, but I don’t know
what to do,” their father answered.

“I have a plan,” said the
stepmother. “We have to leave the
children in the forest. This is the
only way to save on food.”

Finally, after much argument
the father reluctantly agreed.
Hansel went to bed with a heavy
heart.

The next morning, Hansel and
Gretel were taken to the forest.

Hansel kept some
breadcrumbs in his pocket. He
dropped them along the way
without his parents’ knowledge. He
hoped to find the way home.

“Children wait here. Your
father and I are going to collect
some firewood,” said the
stepmother. Hansel, however, knew
that they would never return.

Scared and all alone, Hansel
and Gretel walked deeper into the
forest. They were cold, hungry, and
tired.

Suddenly, they saw a
beautiful but curious looking
cottage. They ran to the cottage.
To their surprise, it was made of
chocolates, candies, cakes, and
sweets. Hungrily the gobbled down
chocolate bricks from the walls and
the candy knob from the door.

All of sudden, the door
creaked open and an old lady
appeared. “Who is eating my
house?” asked the lady.

“We are sorry,” said Hansel
and Gretel. Cackling, the old lady
replied, “Don’t worry, help yourself
to whatever you want. Then come
inside for a nap,” she said.

Hansel and Gretel ate as much
as they could and then went into
the house. They were very tired
and soon fell asleep.

The next day, the old lady put
Hansel in a cage and forced Gretel
to do the house chores.

Hansel and Gretel soon
realised she was actually a witch.

Every day, the witch fed
Hansel lots of food. She wanted to
make him fat, as she planned to eat
him.

Every morning she said,
“Hansel, stick out your finger. I
want to see how fat you are today.”
Hansel knew she had poor eyesight,
so he would stick out a chicken
bone instead.

“Why aren’t you getting fat
Hansel? Oh! I have to fed you
more,” said the witch.

Finally, the day came when
the witch would wait no longer…

“I will not wait any longer.
Gretel! Go and start the fire. I am
going to cook Hansel!” shouted the
evil witch.

“Have you started the fire?”
the witch shouted impatiently.

“I… I… I can’t get it started,”
Gretel stuttered.

“Move aside!” the witch
shouted.

This was the moment Gretel
had been waiting for, the moment
she could save her brother.

As the witch moved closer to
the oven, Gretel gathered all her
strength and pushed her. The witch
fell into the oven.

“I did it! I did it!” screamed
Gretel with great excitement.

She rushed to the cage and
freed Hansel. Hansel hugged his
sister. He was proud of her. She
was his hero.

Hansel grabbed his sister’s
hand and they ran towards the
door. As they were running out,
they stumbled upon a room full of
treasure. They…