HANSEL AND GRETEL

FAIRY TALES OF GERMAN ORIGIN

M. RANGGA

There once lived a poor woodcutter and his wife who had two children named Hansel and
Gretel. The woodcutter’s wife was evil. Because they could not take care of their children, his
wife asked him to leave their children in the middle of the forest.

Hansel and Gretel knew about their parents’ plan, so they came up with a plan of
dropping pebbles along the way their father took them. All they had to do then was to follow the
line of the pebbles back home. Their parents were surprised to see them back and decided to take
them again with a different route the next day.

This time, Hansel and Gretel could not find any pebbles. Luckily, Hansel had some
breadcrumbs in his pocket and dropped them along the way. Alas! The birds ate up all the
crumbs and now they were completely lost.

They kept walking and went deeper into the forest. After walking for hours, they saw a
hut that was made out of chocolate, cookies, and candies. “Look, Hansel! It’s a chocolate door!”
shouted Gretel in delight. Then they both hungrily ate it.

Suddenly, a wicked witch who owned the hut came and caught them. She locked up
Hansel in a cage and planned to make a soup out of him. Then she asked Gretel to help her to
heat a large pot of water for the water. But just as the witch bent to check the water’s
temperature, Gretel pushed her from behind and the witch fell into the boiling water. She howled
in pain and died instantly. Gretel immediately freed Hansel and they both filled their pockets
with the witch’s jewels.

At last, Hansel and Gretel managed to find their way back home and gave the jewels to
their parents. Their parents were so sorry and welcomed them back with tears of joy. The family
was never poor and hungry again.
 HANSEL DAN GRETEL
DONGENG ASAL JERMAN
M. RANGGA

Dahulu kala, hiduplah seorang penebang kayu miskin dan istrinya yang memiliki dua
orang anak bernama Hansel and Gretel. Istri penebang kayu tersebut jahat. Karena mereka tak
bisa merawat anak-anaknya, istrinya memintanya untuk meninggalkan mereka di tengah-tengah
hutan.

Hansel dan Gretel tahu rencana orang tua mereka, jadi mereka berencana menjatuhkan
kerikil sepanjang jalan ke mana ayah mereka membawanya. Yang perlu mereka lakukan
hanyalah mengikuti barisan kerikil untuk kembali pulang. Orang tua mereka terkejut melihat
mereka pulang dan memutuskan untuk membawa mereka kembali dengan rute yang berbeda di
hari berikutnya.

Kali ini, Hansel dan Gretel tak bisa menemukan kerikil. Untungnya, Hansel memiliki
remah-remah roti di dalam kantongnya dan menjatuhkannya sepanjang jalan. Sialnya, burung-
burung memakan habis semua remah-remah dan sekarang mereka benar-benar tersesat.

Mereka terus berjalan dan pergi semakin dalam ke hutan. Setelah berjalan beberapa jam,
mereka melihat sebuah pondok yang terbuat dari coklat, kue, dan permen. “Lihat, Hansel! Ini
pintu dari coklat!” teriak Gretel girang. Lalu mereka berdua memakannya dengan lahap.

Tiba-tiba, seorang penyihir kejam yang memiliki pondok tersebut datang dan menangkap
mereka. Dia mengunci Hansel di dalam kurungan dan berencana membuat sup darinya.
Kemudian dia menyuruh Gretel untuk membantunya memanaskan air dalam sebuah belanga
yang besar. Namun ketika si penyihir membungkuk untuk mengecek suhu airnya, Gretel
mendorongnya dari belakang dan penyihir tersebut jatuh ke dalam air yang mendidih. Dia
meraung kesakitan dan mati seketika. Gretel segera membebaskan Hansel dan mereka berdua
memenuhi kantongnya dengan perhiasan milik penyihir tersebut.

Akhirnya, Hansel dan Gretel berhasil menemukan jalan pulang dan memberikan
perhiasan tersebut ke orang tuanya. Orang tua mereka sangat menyesal dan menyambut mereka
kembali dengan air mata kegembiraan. Keluarga tersebut tak pernah miskin dan lapar lagi.