Grimms' Fairy Tales, Part 19 summary

What happens

1. Their stepmother persuades their father to abandon them, but Hansel leaves pebbles that guide both children home.
2. During another famine, the parents abandon them deeper in the forest, where birds eat Hansel’s trail of breadcrumbs.
3. A white bird leads the hungry children to an edible house, whose seemingly kind owner is a witch.
4. The witch imprisons Hansel for fattening and forces Gretel to work, while Hansel substitutes a bone for his finger.
5. Gretel tricks the witch into entering the oven, locks her inside, frees Hansel, and gathers treasure with him.
6. A duck carries them across water, and they reach their father, whose wife is dead, bringing enough treasure to end their worries.

In this part

What to notice

Gretel recognizes the danger and pretends ignorance. Her deception brings the witch to the oven and makes escape possible.

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