Another grim Grimm for my series. This one took a bit of editing, so I think I may have to revisit it at some point to get the image I had intended... particularly having to edit out Hansel...

Hansel and Gretel are the children of a poor woodcutter. Fearing starvation, the woodcutter's wife (variably called the children's mother or stepmother) convinces him to lead the children into the forest and abandon them there. Hansel and Gretel hear her plan and gather white pebbles to leave themselves a trail home. After their return, their mother convinces the woodcutter to abandon them again due to food shortages; this time however, they can only leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Unfortunately, the various animals of the woods eat their trail of breadcrumbs, causing Hansel and Gretel to become lost.

Lost in the forest, they find a house made of ginger bread and candies, with sugar windows. Unable to resist, they begin to eat it. The inhabitant of the house, an old woman, invites them in and prepares a feast for them. The table is covered with candy, nuts, pancakes and other sweets. The woman, however, is a witch who has built the house to entice children to her, so that she may fatten and eat them. She locks Hansel in a cage, and makes Gretel her servant. While she prepares to cook Hansel, she orders Gretel to fetch her candies and fats to force feed Hansel. Unable to do anything, Gretel weeps bitterly and does as she is told. In the cage, Hansel finds a thin bone from his meals. When the witch tells Hansel to stick out his finger (so she can tell if he is fat enough to eat), he deceives her by sticking out the bone instead. The woman has poor eyesight and is very old, and thus cannot see that Hansel's "finger" is actually a bone. Days pass by, but the witch cannot perceive how fat Hansel is getting. She gets frustrated and decides to eat him anyway, "be he fat or lean." She tells Gretel to climb into an oven to be sure it is ready to bake, but Gretel guesses that the witch intends to bake her, and tricks the witch into climbing into the oven, closing it behind her.

Taking jewels from the witch's house, the children set off for home to be reunited with their father. After reuniting with their father and finding out that their stepmother has died, they all live happily ever after.