Hänsel and Gretel

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Hansel and Gretel

Hänsel and Gretel

fairy tale by Grimm brothers

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July 19, 2026

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Hansel and Gretel — Hansel and Gretel An illustration of Hansel and Gretel with the Witch on the doorstep of her gingerbread cottage, by Arthur Rackham for Grimm's Fairy Tales, 1909.

"Hänsel and Gretel" is a classic fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812. The story follows two young siblings, Hänsel and Gretel, who are abandoned in the forest by their impoverished parents. Lost and hungry, they discover a house made of gingerbread and sweets, inhabited by a wicked witch. The witch intends to eat the children, but Hänsel and Gretel cleverly outsmart her, pushing her into her own oven and escaping with her treasures. They find their way back home to their father, and their stepmother has since passed away. The tale highlights themes of resourcefulness, sibling loyalty, and overcoming adversity. The story was later adapted into a famous opera by Engelbert Humperdinck.12

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Today in History—December 20
“Hansel and Gretel” and the Gingerbread Boom
The tale of “Hansel and Gretel”—two starving children outsmarting a witch with a tasty home—remained mostly intact from the 1812 publication to later editions. Revisions hedged on whether it was the children’s mother or stepmother who twice abandons them in the woods, and the brothers added a fuzzy…
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The tale of “Hansel and Gretel”—two starving children outsmarting a witch with a tasty home—remained mostly intact from the 1812 publication to later editions. Revisions hedged on whether it was the children’s mother or stepmother who twice abandons them in the woods, and the brothers added a fuzzy…
Read More

Grimm’s Fairy Tales
The best-known tales include “Hansel and Gretel,” “Snow White,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Tom Thumb,” “Rapunzel,” “The Golden Goose,” and “Rumpelstiltskin.” The universal appeal of these stories—whether they are considered as psychological archetypes or as fantasy
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The best-known tales include “Hansel and Gretel,” “Snow White,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Tom Thumb,” “Rapunzel,” “The Golden Goose,” and “Rumpelstiltskin.” The universal appeal of these stories—whether they are considered as psychological archetypes or as fantasy
Read More

gingerbread
…the Brothers Grimm published “Hansel and Gretel” in 1812, a fairy tale about two hungry children who happen upon a witch’s cottage “built of bread and covered with cakes” with windows “of clear sugar.” Elaborately decorated gingerbread houses are especially popular in modern-day Sweden and Poland, as well as…
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…the Brothers Grimm published “Hansel and Gretel” in 1812, a fairy tale about two hungry children who happen upon a witch’s cottage “built of bread and covered with cakes” with windows “of clear sugar.” Elaborately decorated gingerbread houses are especially popular in modern-day Sweden and Poland, as well as…
Read More

ogre
…works, including “Tom Thumb”; “Hansel and Gretel,” where the witch is a type of ogre because she intends to eat the children; and “Little Red Riding Hood,” where the wolf resembles an ogre. The Cyclops of myth and heroic literature who devours humans is a form of ogre.
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…works, including “Tom Thumb”; “Hansel and Gretel,” where the witch is a type of ogre because she intends to eat the children; and “Little Red Riding Hood,” where the wolf resembles an ogre. The Cyclops of myth and heroic literature who devours humans is a form of ogre.
Read More