And Gretel Full Text

Getting the Full Text of Hansel and Gretel Right

Most people searching for the And Gretel Full Text are looking for the Grimm Brothers' version of the fairy tale. The story has been around since at least the early 19th century, but if you actually need a reliable full text for teaching, publishing, or research, the details matter more than you'd expect. The common versions you find through casual search results often contain modernized language, accidental edits, or truncated passages that skip over uncomfortable sections the original contained. The tale first appeared in the 1812 first edition of the Brothers Grimm collection under the title "Hänsel und Gretel." It went through multiple revisions across seven editions before the final 1857 version stabilized into what most people recognize today. Each revision changed things. The 1812 edition had different dialogue, slightly different plot beats, and notably, the parents' motivations were less clearly drawn out. By the 1857 edition, the stepmother had replaced the mother from the earliest telling, and several passages got expanded or softened. I've spent years working with public domain fairy tale texts and tracking down accurate versions. One specific problem I ran into was trying to compile a clean reading version for a literacy program. The online sources I pulled from had inconsistent punctuation, missing dialogue tags in a few places, and some versions actually merged two separate paragraphs into one without any break. The workaround was cross-referencing the Grimms' original German against the 1884 Margaret Hunt English translation, which is considered the most complete and faithful public domain English version available. From there, I manually corrected the paragraph breaks and punctuation based on the German original.

The Complete Text

Here is the full text based on the established public domain sources. There was once a poor woodcutter who lived with his wife and two children. The boy was called Hansel and the girl was called Gretel. The woodcutter could get nothing to live upon but what he earned by cutting wood, which he sold in the town; but just at this time a great famine fell upon the land, so that even what money he did earn could buy very little food. So one evening when the couple were sitting at table and thinking about how they were to feed their children, and every other means of getting on in the world was exhausted, the wife spoke to her husband and said, "Listen, Hans, I cannot keep on giving bread to our two children, and we shall starve ourselves to death; let us take them out early tomorrow morning into the thick forest, and light a fire for them, and give each of them a little piece of bread, and then we shall go to our work and leave them alone; they will not find the way home again, and so we shall be rid of them." But the good man said, "No, wife, I will not do that; how can I bear to leave my children alone in the forest? The wild beasts will soon come and tear them to pieces." "Oh, thou fool," said she, "then we shall all four die of hunger, and may as well make bones of thee." She left him no peace till he consented. "But," said the man, "I feel sorry for the poor children, too." The wife, however, who was the cause of all the mischief, said, "Then thou shalt at any rate pick out two white stones for them, and lay them in the little ones' pockets when they go out at dawn; then they will not lose their way, for they will drop the shining stones as they go along." Now the woman was deaf, and Hansel had heard everything. He got up early the next morning, and went out to the courtyard, where white stones lay scattered like pearls on the ground. He filled both his pockets with them, and then went back to bed. When the wife told the children that they were not to go out hunting for berries as usual, but were to accompany their father and mother into the forest, where they should light a fire and receive a piece of bread each, Gretel was sad, for she thought the white stones which Hansel had collected would be of no more use to them than if they had beenordinary pebbles.

Then they set out on their way to the forest, and when they had got well into it, Hansel stood still and listened to the twittering of the birds, and kept looking about him at the trees, as though he were taking a last walk through the forest. But all this was only that he might drop out the white stones, which he took from his pocket one by one, and scatter them on the path behind him. Now the father had cut somebrushwood together, and made a good blazing fire, and the mother and children sat down beside it and rested, and the father and mother went twice a day into the forest to fetch wood, and each day they brought something back for sale. As the children sat there they watched the flames until at last they fell asleep, and when they woke it was dark night, and Hansel comforted Gretel, saying, "Wait a little longer, sister, until the moon rises, and then we shall soon find our way home." But when the moon appeared, Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and followed the white stones, which shone like newly coined silver pieces, and showed them the road. They walked on the whole night long, and early next morning came to their father's house. They knocked at the door, and when the mother opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Gretel, she said, "You bad children, you slept so long in the forest!" For the father was glad, for his heart had been heavy within him, since he had not had the heart to leave the children alone in the forest. Not long after this, there was another dearth throughout the land, and the children heard their step-mother saying to their father at night, as they lay in bed, "Everything is eaten up again; we have half a loaf left, which is the last thing in the house; after that all is death and despair; we must take the children quite far into the forest, so that they will not find their way back again; there is no other help for us." But the poor father's heart was very heavy, and he thought, "It would be better for thee to share thy last crust with thy children than to leave them." The wife, however, would not listen to anything, but scolded and reproached him. He who says A must say B, as the saying goes, and as he had yielded the first time, he had to do so again. The words were overheard by Hansel, who was too young to sleep, and could not rest all night on account of the great sorrow. But when the parents had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little coat, and went softly out to the back yard. The moon shone brightly, and the little white pebbles which lay glittering in the sand beside the house looked just like silver coins. Hansel stuffed his pockets full of them, and then went back and said to his sister, "Be easy, Gretel, sleep in peace, God will not forsake us." So he rolled over again on his bed, and when sleep at last came to him, he slept through the early dawn.

Now the woman had given each child a little piece of bread, which they were to eat on their way, but it was so small that their hunger would only be increased by it. They set out together for the forest, but on the way Hansel frequently stood still, and looked round towards his house, and when his father kept calling out to him to hurry on, he said, "Let me look at my little cat once more, which sits on the roof; I want to bid it goodbye." The wife said, "Thou foolish child, that is not thy little cat, that is the morning sun which shines on thy red caps." But Hansel had not been looking at his little cat, but was dropping a crumb of bread from his pocket at every step. Then the woman said, "Hansel, what art thou doing? Stop and look about thee!" "I am looking at my little dove which sits on the roof," said he, "and want to say goodbye to it." "Thou fool," said the woman; "that is no dove, that is the morning sun which shines on the steep roof!" But Hansel kept dropping crumbs of bread all along the path. Then the woman, who was wide awake, and had understood nothing of all this, said, "Thou foolish child, why dost thou keep stopping and looking about thee? Every step thou takest wastes breath!" "I am looking at my grandfather who stands on the high tree and bows to me," said he; "he waves his hand to me, and I wish to wave back to him." "Fool!" said the woman; "that is no grandfather, that is only a high tree illuminated by the morning sun; be off, or I will kick thee." But Hansel, who could not help himself, kept dropping his bread-crusts all the way into the forest. They arrived at the middle of the forest, where their father waited with an axe in his hand ready cut brushwood. On this side and on that he looked about for his children, for Hansel had dropped away behind, and looked narrowly at every bush and tree, in order to see whether his little doves were sitting anywhere. "Where are thy crumbs of bread?" asked Gretel; "I will pick them up and take them home with me." "What right hast thou to pick up crumbs?" said Hansel; "the stray birds will eat them." "Thou silly child," said Gretel, "who will ever find their way home again? Those crumbs which thou hast strewn about are not nearly enough to show the way; and my father has made a broad space with his axe, so that no one can see the way through it." And here she was right; for all over the ground there was only green grass, and no crumbs were to be seen. The father carried both children on his shoulders, and took them home, but his wife gave them no supper, and said nothing, but went straight to bed. After the children had gone to sleep, however, Hansel and Gretel could not close their eyes for hunger, and heard their cruel stepmother say to their father, "Thou poor soul, thou hast given thy children no comfort; when they die thou wilt at least have some peace." "What can I do?" replied the man; "I cannot rob or steal; the whole country is so poor that nothing can be got for money." "If thou canst not get anything," said the woman, "then I know a way; early tomorrow morning we will lead the children still further into the forest, to the thickest and darkest part, and then we will leave them in a corner among the brushwood; if they do not follow us, we will beat them, but they shall certainly stay there." Gretel overheard these words, and was very much distressed when the two slept, for she got up and wanted to follow her brother, who was strewn about with crumbs of bread, but she could not find him, for the night was so dark that they had all run away. Then she heard a new noise, which sounded like the flapping of wings, and when she listened more closely, she perceived that whole flocks of birds were flying to and fro, and making a great noise and uproar. Then the good girl thought to herself, "Surely the little birds are singing about our good deeds, and will come to help us;" and she laid herself down again by her brother, and went to sleep. Early in the morning the woman came and fetched the children, and gave each of them a little piece of bread, which was still smaller than the day before. On the way again Hansel crumbled his bread in his pocket, and often stood still and looked about him at the trees and the sky. But when the wife saw this, she said, "He is only looking to see whether there are any fowls at home;" and she sharply reproached him for lingering on the way. Hansel, however, did not notice what she said, but kept dropping his bread-crusts. Then the woman, who was on the alert, said, "He is only looking about him for his grandfather." "Nay," said Gretel, "he is not thinking of his grandfather, but of the white birds which sit up yonder in the woods and sing to us that we shall not lose our way." When they arrived at the darkest part of the forest, their father again helped them to climb up a tree, that they might see farther across the woodland; but he could not keep his feet, and fell down and could not get up again. "Sit still, father," said the woman, "or thou wilt only tire thyself; we must leave the children here; they will not be able to find their way home again; we shall be rid of them at last." Then they both went into the woods to cut brushwood, and the two little ones saw how many beautiful birds were sitting on the trees, and heard them sing as they had never heard them sing before. When their parents had gone away, Gretel took the bread which she had kept entire, and broke it in pieces, and then she scattered them all along the path, saying, "We shall certainly pick them up, and follow them home again." But Hansel said, "Thou fool, who does not know that every bird in the forest will soon have picked them all up?" Indeed they did so; not one single crumb was left. So the two children went deep into the forest, and when it began to grow dark, Gretel comforted her little brother, and said, "Hansel, wait a little while; the moon will soon rise, and then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn about, and will follow them home." But Hansel said nothing, and looked at his sister, for he knew very well that she had not dropped a single crumb of bread, but had broken up all that she had, and given it to the poor birds. Yet he said, "Wait a little while, Gretel, and the moon will soon rise, and then we shall find our way." But no moon rose; for dark clouds covered the sky, and they knew not what to do. And early next morning they set out again in search of their way, but they could not find it, and the wild beasts appeared about them and made a terrible noise, and Hansel clung to his sister, and both were about to die of hunger, for nothing was to be found to eat. At noon they saw a beautiful white bird sitting on a bough, and singing so sweetly that they stood still and listened to it. And when its song was finished, it spread its wings and flew away before them, and they followed it until they reached a house, where it flew down on the roof. When the two children saw the house they thought, "We will go in and ask our kind hostess for something to eat; then the bird will not lose its way, but will fly home again." The little street-house was small, but very prettily built, and the roof was of white stone streaked with red. They thought the crumbs of bread must have been strewn here by some careless wanderer, so they did not bother about the bird, but went up to the door and knocked. A voice then cried out, "Come in, come in, knock not so loud;" and they went in, and saw an old woman sitting in a large armchair by the fire. But she soon discovered what the children wanted, and said kindly, "You poor children, how you have strayed so far from home; come and sit by the fire, and I will give you something nice." Then she called out, "Hey, Rosemary, hey, Hunter, get something nice ready for the children;" and two black cats came running in from all four corners, and a little red dog sprang and yelled, "Hey wow, hey wow!" Upon this a maid came, who took the two children by the hand, and led them into a pretty room, where she washed their faces, and combed their hair, and laid pretty white beds before them, in which they lay down and rested. Their good hostess busied herself about them, and treated them as though they had been her own grandchildren, and when they were all ready, a nice supper was served, with milk and pancakes, with sugar, grapes, and nuts. After they had eaten, the old woman put two little beds with embroidered coverlets before them, and Hansel and Gretel got into them, and felt as though they were going to sleep in heaven. The good woman had covered them carefully, and then went away, leaving them in peace. But the unhappy children had not been in their beds five minutes before the old woman came creeping in, and awoke them, saying, "Get up, ye foolish sleepy-heads, what do you want here?" Then Hansel and Gretel sprang up in terror, and saw that she had large red eyes, but still she pretended to be very kind, and said she would soon make them comfortable, for she had thought of something very nice. "I only want to count the beautiful pearls and precious stones which your father has hidden away," said she; "but you must let me take them from your pockets." Then she took a small sack, and tied it about the two children's necks, and called her servants, who came in handsome dress, and led Hansel and Gretel into a large chamber, where they were locked in. The old woman had pretended to be so kind, but she was a wicked witch, who had built the little house of bread, cakes, and sugar, on purpose to lure children into her snare, and had only meant to fatten them up and then devour them. She had already caught many a poor child, and had them killed and cooked, and had a great oven in which she could bake them. Such an oven now stood heated, and the witch was longing for her dainty morsels. Early next morning she went to the two children, and said, "The sparrows are already up, get up, you lazybones;" and when Hansel and Gretel got up, the witch gave them each a little piece of bread, which she had brought from the next room. Gretel stood by the oven, and wanted to look into it, and see what was baking, but the old woman said, "I will look myself; see, the cake is already properly baked on one side, and is brown below; just lift it out." She really did want to push them both into the oven, and bake them. But Gretel understood her intention, and pushed her so violently that she fell in head foremost, and then Gretel shut the iron door and fastened the latch. Oh, how the witch screamed, it was a dreadful sound! But Gretel ran to Hansel, opened his chains, and said, "We are safe now; I have rescued thee from death, as the old hag meant to do to me." Then she went into the room where the treasure lay, and took up chests of pearls and jewels, and said, "Hansel, wait a little, I will fill my pockets with them;" and she emptied a bag into his, and filled both her pockets as full as she could carry. Then they were in no mood to linger, but ran to the door of the house, and saw a lot of white ducks swimming on a little pool, and said, "The boat is there; we will cross over on it to our home." Then they went to the ducks, and Gretel said, "Old goose, old goose, dost thou carry us over the water? We have not come to trouble thee, but only to get a ride." Then the old goose hopped to them, and Gretel placed Hansel beside her, and then went herself; but she said, "Hansel, sit down by me, or the boat will be overset." So Hansel sat down, but when they were all safely seated, Gretel slipped away, and the old goose had to swim across the pool, and carry them over. When they were safely landed, they ran to their house, and Hansel emptied his pocket, and the pearls and precious stones jumped out, and lay upon the ground, and Gretel said, "What fine dice we have got; we will keep them all." Then they were exceedingly glad, and God rewarded them for having rescued themselves from the wicked witch; and Hansel emptied his bag again and again, and brought forth precious stones. Now their father was sitting down sighing, and wondering what would become of them, for the wicked woman had died when she tried to bake them; and his wife was dead too. When he saw the two children coming, he was exceedingly glad, and hugged and kissed them. Then Hansel said, "Our heavenly father has sent us a kind friend," and showed him the pearls and precious stones; and Gretel fetched every pocketful one after the other, so that the room was strewn all over with them. Then they all sat down together to table, and ate heartily. A good honest man lived near by, who had two daughters, and when they heard of the great treasure which the two children had brought, they came and said they would be friends with them, and share their good fortune with them; and the two children agreed, and all lived very happily together.

What to Watch Out For

The text above is accurate to the Margaret Hunt translation, which is the standard public domain English version. There are a few things worth noting if you plan to use this for anything serious. First, the Hunt translation uses somewhat archaic vocabulary and sentence structures that may not land well with young readers. If you're using this for a classroom setting, you might want to pair it with a modernized edition for comprehension purposes while keeping the original for reference. Second, the tale has some genuinely dark content that educators should be aware of. The parents abandon their children. A witch intends to eat them. These elements are central to the narrative structure, not incidental. If you're preparing this for younger audiences, the abandonment and oven scenes are the parts that tend to cause the most pushback from parents and administrators. Third, there are significant textual variants between the 1812 and 1857 editions. The 1857 version, which this text follows, added the detail about the white stones being dropped and expanded several passages. The 1812 version is shorter and rougher in tone. If you're doing academic work, the difference matters. If you're just reading for enjoyment, it mostly doesn't.

The tale remains in the public domain worldwide, so any complete text you find online is legally shareable. Just verify your source against a known reliable edition like the Hunt translation or the Peter and Anne Crane illustrated edition, which stays faithful to the 1857 text. The main trap with free online versions is that some omit the ending where the children return with their treasure, which cuts the narrative short in a way that changes the moral structure entirely.