Hansel and Gretel's Revenge

Once upon a time a little boy named Hansel and his sister Gretel were tricked into a gingerbread house by a sneaky old witch. Or so she thought.

Hansel and Gretel wandered around the outside of the witch's gingerbread house, oohing and ahhing over all the scrumptious details. Gretel couldn't help herself. She swiped a gentle finger across a row of raspberry frosting and stuck her finger in her mouth. She bounced a little on her toes with joy and excitement as she tasted the sugary sweet.

Hansel plucked gumdrops from the edge of the windows and plopped them into his mouth whole. The two children circled the house, again and again, sampling the goodies that adorned the colorful gingerbread walls until they were startled by the sound of an old woman's voice.

"Eat! Eat!" she called out gleefully.

Hansel and Gretel stopped chewing for a moment and then smiled at the old woman.

"Eat all you want, Dearies!" she encouraged them as she pulled lollipop flowers from her garden.

Hansel and Gretel eagerly devoured them, though Gretel politely protested. "Oh, we shouldn't be eating all these sweets. We'll turn into cookies and candies ourselves if we don't stop."

The old witch cackled and covered her smile with her hands. "Nonsense! You children must eat!" And so they did.

After they'd gorged themselves on sugary treats, the witch invited them inside. "You must be tired. Sleep! Sleep! I'll wake you for dinner."

Hansel rubbed his stomach. "Oh, I couldn't eat another bite. I feel like I'm nothing but a big gingerbread man myself."

The witch clapped her hands. "Oh, but I insist on having you for dinner." Then she cackled and chuckled and went outside to collect herbs to add to her meal.

When she came back inside, the children were nowhere to be found. Instead, she spied two gingerbread figures on the table with a note from Hansel and Gretel:  We ate so much gingerbread, we've turned into gingerbread children ourselves!

The witch was aghast. Her dinner was ruined! She'd so looked forward to devouring these sweet, plump children. Now all she had left of them were cookies. She slumped at the table, but gobbled them up. When she finished, she rubbed her aching belly and laid down on the cot for a nap.

Imagine her surprise when she awoke to find herself being pushed into an oven. Hansel's strong arms forced her into the fiery pit.

"Wh-h-aa-t-t?? You!" she spat as she identified the children she'd planned to have for dinner.

"Hurry up, Hansel," Gretel said. "I'm hungry."

"It's not easy. We really fattened her up with those gingerbread cookies." Hansel pushed once more and thrust the witch all the way into the oven. "But I think dinner will be delicious."