The fairy tale known as Hansel and Gretel was first published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. Parts of the story may have originated during the Great Famine in Europe in the early fourteenth century.

Hansel and Gretel are twins, the children of a poor woodcutter and their stepmother. In the midst of a famine, the stepmother convinces their father to abandon the twins in the woods because they eat too much.

They are left in the woods twice, and the first time they find their way home. The second time, they are left farther away in the forest, and they can’t find their way back. Soon they come across a house made of cakes and candy. The twins begin to eat the house until an old woman emerges from it and invites them inside with promise of comfortable beds and delicious food.

The next morning, she forces Gretel to be her slave, and she locks Hansel in a cage, hoping to fatten him up to eat. One day, the witch prepares the oven for Hansel but decides she is hungry enough to eat Gretel, too. Before she can, Gretel shoves her into the oven, burning the witch alive.

The twins find the witch’s jewels, pocket them, and eventually make their way home to their father, finding that their stepmother has died while they’ve been gone. The whole time they’ve been away, their father has felt awful for treating his children so cruelly. He is thrilled to see his children again. With the witch’s fortune in hand, the family lives happily ever after.