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Jason Acoba

McGriff

Enc1101

2/5/2020

Grim: A Retelling of Hansel And Gretel

Some time ago, in a rural town in the south of England, lived a small family. They lived

in a small wooden house in the forest, secluded from most of the world. It was there they lived,

ate, slept, laughed, learned, and loved. There was the father, a dashing man of untold wisdom,

the vile stepmother who fooled all she came across, Ulrich the ignorant but kind son, and Tina,

oh Tina, the daughter. The children's mother, an angel that once blessed the earth, had passed

away years ago from cancer, and the lonely father remarried. Their new stepmother loved the

father as much as she could, but had not been kind to the children. Even though the stepmother

was cruel to the children, they loved her indefinitely and tried their hardest to please her, often

by singing, dancing, and writing stories. They were very trusting of her, even though whenever

they were kind to her, she was very cruel, always distancing herself from them. They followed

all the rules and didn’t stray from any path the parents told them, never thinking the parents had

anything but the best in mind for them. The children loved their father and would do anything to

be a family, even endure hate, ridicule, and torment from their stepmother. Although the

stepmother, in their eyes, was distant and cold, they would realize that looks often deceive. A

tumultuous journey was about to unfold, one that would lead them off the beaten path, through

trouble, and finally to redemption.

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One day the stepmother convinced the father that his kids were a burden, for it was time

of great famine and disease in their country. The stepmother's solution was to lead the kids into

the woods to abandon them. One morning as the children danced and sang along to the sounds of

“Indeed I Do” by Frank Wilson, the father sat in silence, pondering the severity of what he

himself, was about to do. He was somber and disgusted by even the thought of abandoning the

kids, yet he composed himself with the thought still in mind. The father said gleefully but in a

maddened state, “How about we go for a walk, it seems like as good a day as any?”. The kids

had no qualms with their father’s request and gathered their clothes and shoes in a hurry. The

father led the children deep into the unforgiving, green woods, heartbroken with his decision and

feeling ugly to the core. On their way into the woods Ulrich held his father’s hand, dancing

soulfully as they trekked further and further into the woods. The family, minus the stepmother,

seemed happy in this moment of betrayal. The father was distraught, wise enough to know the

wrong he was doing, but continued nonetheless. They made it, out of breath from dancing and

singing, to a calm clearing, deep in the ghastly woods. The children didn’t fret, they thought the

trip to be an invigorating adventure. The father told the children that he needed to gather wood,

and the kids to sleep, to rejuvenate from the long walk. As the father slashed wood, the children

slept peacefully, unaware of how far they had strayed from the path. When he was sure they

were fast asleep, he left downheartedly, and went back to the family home. When the children

awoke, they noticed their father had not returned. They decided to head home, never realizing

their abandonment. As they trekked back through the dark forest looking for the right way back,

they came across the tracks Ulrich left earlier. It was the stomps and swings from Ulrichs own

two feet that would lead them back on track, and back home.
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When the children returned to the home they were to be exiled from, the father was

overjoyed. He loved the children and had regretted his actions, and had regretted what he had

almost become. The stepmother was very angry and even more cruel to the children, pushing

them away. Although everyone was back together, things were still not right. The sounds of a

happy family changed from a light northern sound to that of a downhearted, harmonic melody.

As the kids sat quietly, listening to a sad Bitty McLean singing “Walk Away”, the parents

decided to lead the kids away again, into the wretched woods. The father led the children away,

certain of their doom. As they left Ulrich sang quietly “I'm leaving, yes I am, this time”. They

trekked through the overgrown green of the woods for a whole day and night. The father had to

slash limbs and leaves to make their path deeper into the forest than ever before. After walking

nonstop into the woods, the father once again abandoned the children. The children, too tired

from the journey, couldn’t do anything but watch the father walk away. They survived in the

woods, eating bugs and their own feces to survive, slowly maddening and wasting away. They

found solace in each other, and in each other's arms. On a cool night they thought they could

hear the sounds of music, “My Foolish Heart” by The Great Bill Evans might have been playing,

and may have been playing for them. To the sounds that they may have only imagined, the two

children shared a kiss. Tina spoke softly but with authority, into Ulrich’s ear “Never again

Ulrich. We won’t be fooled by this again.”. The girl spoke with the realization that they were not

only lost, but had been abandoned by the ones who were supposed to love them. When they

finally decided to go, untold days had gone from the last time seeing their father. With no path to

follow, the kids walked silently, fighting defeat, deeper into the woods. After a long walk

through the lonely, unforgiving forest that had become their new home, the kids were introduced

to a new path. This path took them to a small brown cottage in a quiet, serene, secluded clearing.
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The children were ecstatic and jumped with joy. Their luck had changed and they had found

something incredible. This was not only the first place they had seen in untold days; this place

was crafted of brownies, cake, and colorful candy. Ulrich and Tina sprinted towards the house as

fast as their kid sized legs would carry them, spirits uplifted, hearts singing out. When they

reached the door they gasped and paused, confused, for the door seemed to be made of a sweet

they had never seen before. Through the path of trouble and pain, the children had found a new

one, an incredible one.

When the children knocked on the door an old woman slowly opened it. It seemed that

she was surprised to have any visitors. When she looked at the children her eyes opened wide,

crying with happiness. She told them she had not had a visitor in many years, and that darkness

had almost grasped her to doom. She let happiness overcome her and led Ulrich inside, clutching

him, leading him by his hand. She rushed the children inside feverously and fed them no sooner

than their feet had touched the cold, splintered wood floors. The kids ate, and continued eating,

eating as much as the woman would feed them. They didn’t think anything unnerving about the

situation. The woman seemed to be just a nice old lady. After ten days of nonstop eating the

children were getting full, fat and dumb. Being nice children, they just wanted to show thanks to

this woman by doing what seemed to please her. The children, eating still, were getting even

more plump, fat, useless, and lazy. The woman’s demeaner seemed to change as the days went

on. She had surprised the children with her kindness and gained their trust. Now she seemed to

be getting irritated and pushy to the children when they tried to stop eating. No matter how much

they pleaded, she continued feeding them, sometimes by force, day and night. The children had

finally had enough. They wanted a break from the endless food and from the woman’s constant

nagging. One night, when the woman went to bathe, they plotted, looking for a way to be free.
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Tina laid out a plan, one that was vicious and fulfilling. In the children’s circumstance they could

see no wrong or right, only the chance to be free. The children were going to eat one last meal

with the woman, of the woman. All the woman wanted was for the children to eat, and eat they

would. When the woman returned, so fresh and so clean, they sprang into action. Tina jumped

into the air, almost six inches above the floor, clutched her neck putting the old woman in a

chokehold. Ulrich moved as fast as he could, relatively slow, over to the woman, and began

punching the old woman in the stomach. All he could think of was how tender her flesh would

be, drooling. Tina choked the woman until she heard a loud snap, while Ulrich began to bite

directly into the woman's flesh. The two children sat with the woman, eating her down to the

bone gleefully, crazed. These two kind, gentle children had become something horrid. On a

record player in the corner of the tasty woman’s home, a slow tune played, “I Am A Fool To

Want You” by Chet Baker, while Ulrich pondered, were they evil? Why had they devoured the

kind woman who helped them, who could have loved them?

When the children were done eating the last meal the woman had provided them with,

they sat. They sat for days, not moving and not speaking. The realization of what they had done

seemed to have a heavy toll on their minds. They wished to go back to being nice kids, and to go

back to their father and home. Tina, having lost all sense, began screaming, screaming at the top

of her lungs. The record player screamed, scratching out music; “Better Half” by Jawbreaker.

Ulrich was enraged at this and tried everything to quiet his sister. She wouldn’t stop, could she

stop? Ulrich thought to himself, “Is she the evil one, is she Evil?”. Ulrich had no other choice in

his clouded mind, he would eat her too. Tina died screaming, all while Ulrich laughed as he ate

of her flesh. He laughed and thought about the times before, and the journey that led them both

to this fate. Tina screamed until Ulrich ate every last bite of his beloved sister, and when he
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finished there was silence. Afterwards, Ulrich sat peacefully, alone and quiet. Horrors had

happened in the cake and candy house, yet Ulrich sat contentedly. Sometime after Ulrich ate his

sister, he decided to finally get up. There was no telling how long it had been since they ate the

old woman, or how long it had been since he had seen the outside. He walked to the door and

opened it. As the glare of the sun blinded Ulrich he felt warmth and a peace he never thought he

would feel again. The sounds of ska protruded his ears, “Things Of The Past” by Phyllis Dillon

seemed to be playing, helping him take the first steps out of the door. He gleefully trotted around

the candy cake cottage’s garden and sang songs to welcome the day. His words and voice

penetrated the forest, and a voice called out back to him. His father appeared, and rushed to greet

the son he had previously rejected. The father could tell something had happened but couldn’t

figure out what. Ulrich felt confused by the sight of his father. Why had the father who

abandoned him heartlessly returned? They embraced and sobbed watching the color drain from

the sky. As they began the journey back to the house, that now only seemed like a dream to him,

Ulrich felt renewed. Even after losing his father, and then sister, life was giving him another

chance. His father asked many questions about where the son had been, and what had happened

to him since the last time they were together, but he never once mentioned Tina. When Ulrich

finally caught sight of the family's home he was overwhelmed by fear. He had been cast out from

this place and descended to the life of a monster. His father looked at him with tear-filled eyes

and spoke, “Life’s but a walking shadow, come home and we can learn to be better, together.”

As they walked up the path to the small house in the woods, a woman came running out to greet

them. The stepmother grabbed Ulrich, squeezing the air from his lungs tenderly, crying with

happiness. Why was this woman happy to see him, had she not convinced his father to abandon

him and his sister? The stepmother spoke softly, voice and heart breaking with every word, “I’m
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better now, cured. I can hold you close without fear, I promise I won't let you go again. We were

certain you weren’t...” Ulrich was perplexed, was she mad, was this all some kind of joke?

Again, she spoke softly, but now with resolve, “We don’t have to fear anymore.” The family,

reunited, swore to forget the trials and evil that had befell them. Again, no one ever mentioned

Tina.
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W.C. 2237