Gretel

*"Hansel, how will we get home?"*
―Gretel to Hansel[src]
**Gretel** is the sister of Hansel.

## Biography

### Getting Lost

Gretel lives with her brother Hansel and their parents. They live a happy and carefree life, with the children often getting up to mischief. One of their favourites is for Gretel to get on her hands and knees as Hansel stands on her back and sneaks cookies from the cookie jar before they sit on the kitchen floor and eat the cookies before being caught be their parents.

One morning, the children sneak away to play in the nearby wood, despite their parents having warned them never to enter the wood alone. Gretel picks flowers and smells them before asking Hansel how they will get home. He produces a loaf of bread and they leave behind a trail that they can later follow to get back home. They have fun playing in the stream for a while before deciding to return home.

Unfortunately, as the children follow the trail of breadcrumbs, they discover that it has been eaten by ducks. Realizing that they are lost, Hansel becomes frightened and begins to cry, at which point Gretel hugs and comforts him.

### Finding the Trail

The next morning, Gretel wakes before Hansel and begins looking for a way home. She finds a trail of breadcrumbs and returns to Hansel. She finds him awake and calls him to her, at which point he runs up and hugs her, having thought she had gotten lost. She informs him of the trail and they begin to follow it.

The trail leads the children through an unfamiliar landscape until they reach a house made of candy. Overcome with excitement, they begin to eat it. The door opens and a kindly-looking old woman emerges. She invites them in, warning them that the wood is dangerous and they will be safe in her house. As they approach, she holds a plate of cupcakes out to them. They each take a cupcake and as they eat, she reaches out and touches each of their faces, explaining that her eyes have grown weak in her old age.

The woman leads the children into the house, but it is dark inside. She lights several candles and the children are terrified to see that she has transformed into a hideous witch. She declares her intention to eat them and advances on them.

### Captivity

*"The log is heavy, the oven is high and I am far too small--"*
―Gretel to the Witch[src]
Over the course of the next week, the witch forces Gretel to perform slave labour while she keeps Hansel locked in a cage, feeding him to fatten him up. On the seventh day, the witch removes Gretel's shackles and orders her to lead her to where Hansel is being kept. The witch demands to feel Hansel's finger to determine how fat he has gotten. In an attempt to trick her, he holds out a bone, but she is not fooled.

The next dawn, the witch wakes Gretel and announces that she plans to eat Hansel that day. She orders Gretel to help her and removes the grate from the oven. Gretel takes a log and attempts to trick the witch by claiming that the log is too heavy, the oven is too high and she is too small. The witch grows annoyed and takes the log, carrying it to the oven. As the witch leans towards it, Gretel attempts to push her into the oven, but the witch is expecting it and grabs her arm. She threatens to beat Gretel and takes Hansel from his cage, putting down her walking stick as she carries him towards the oven.

Gretel grabs the walking stick and strikes the witch with it, causing her to release Hansel. As the enraged witch chases after them, Hansel steals her keys. Taking advantage of her poor eyesight, the children open the grate and trick her into running towards the oven. They push her into it and she burns to death. Hansel then takes the witch's magic seeing glass and uses it to find their house. He loses track of it as they make their way through the wood, Gretel takes the glass and finds it again. They run towards it and are overjoyed to be reunited with their relieved parents.

## Personality

Gretel is a happy and carefree little girl who loves to play with her brother Hansel. She and her brother get lost in the wood close to their home and she proves herself strong and resourceful, comforting her brother as he cries and finding a trail of breadcrumbs. As they are held prisoner by the Witch, she is forced to perform slave labor and makes unsuccessful attemts to trick the witch. She and Hansel overcome their fear and work together to defeat the witch and return to their parents.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Eggers, Robert, *Hansel & Gretel*, USA, March 12, 2007