Story Voice

Hansel and Gretel Story

Hansel and Gretel is a classic story from Grimms' Fairy Tales, for children aged 4–8. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 3 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 5 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

In this Grimm tale, Hansel and Gretel get lost in the forest, find a house of bread, cake and sugar, and outwit the witch inside. With native English narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.

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Read Hansel and Gretel

Once upon a time, a poor woodcutter lived near a big forest with his two children, Hansel and Gretel. There was not enough food, and the family was always hungry.

One night, the stepmother said, "Tomorrow we will leave the children deep in the forest." The father was very sad, but at last he said yes. The children heard everything. Gretel cried. "Don't cry," said Hansel. "I have a plan."

That night, Hansel went outside and filled his pockets with little white stones. The next day, on the way into the forest, he dropped the stones one by one. That night, the children were alone in the forest. But the moon came up, and the white stones shone. They followed the stones all the way home.

Soon there was no food again. This time, the door was locked. Hansel could not get any stones, so he dropped bits of bread on the path. But the birds ate the bread, and the children were lost.

For three days they walked. Then a little white bird took them to a strange house. The walls were made of bread. The roof was made of cake. The windows were made of sugar! The hungry children began to eat.

"Nibble, nibble, little mouse, who is eating my house?" said a voice. An old woman came out. She gave them milk and pancakes and two soft beds. But she was really a bad witch!

The next morning, she put Hansel in a cage. "Cook lots of food for your brother," she told Gretel. "I want him to get fat." Every day, the witch said, "Hansel, show me your finger." The witch could not see well, so Hansel showed her a little bone. "Still so thin!" she said.

After four weeks, the witch made the oven hot. "Climb in and see if it is hot," she said to Gretel. "I don't know how," said Gretel. "Silly girl! Like this!" said the witch, and she put her head in. Gretel gave her a big push and shut the iron door. Bang!

Gretel let Hansel out. They took the witch's pearls and ran away. A white duck carried them over a big river, and at last they saw their home. Their father was so happy! The stepmother was gone, and they were never hungry again.

The Chinese version: 糖果屋

从前，大森林边上住着一个穷樵夫和他的两个孩子，哥哥叫汉赛尔，妹妹叫格蕾特。那一年闹饥荒，家里连面包都快吃不上了。

一天夜里，继母对樵夫说：“明天一早，把两个孩子带到森林最深的地方，留在那儿吧，家里就少两张嘴了。”樵夫心里很难受，最后还是答应了。两个孩子饿得睡不着，全听见了。格蕾特哭了，汉赛尔说：“别哭，我有办法。”

等大人睡着了，汉赛尔悄悄溜出门。月光下，门前的白石子亮闪闪的，像一枚枚银币。他捡了满满一口袋。第二天进森林时，他一边走，一边偷偷丢下白石子。到了晚上，大人果然把他们留在了森林里。月亮升起来了，白石子一闪一闪的，兄妹俩顺着石子，一直走回了家。

没过多久，家里又没有吃的了。这一次，继母把门锁上了，汉赛尔出不去，只好把一小块面包掰成碎屑，一路撒在地上。可是到了晚上，面包屑全被鸟儿啄光了。兄妹俩找不到回家的路，在森林里走了三天，又累又饿。

第三天中午，一只雪白的小鸟在树上唱歌，唱完就往前飞。兄妹俩跟着它，来到一座小房子前。哇，墙是面包做的，屋顶是蛋糕做的，窗户是亮晶晶的糖！汉赛尔掰下一块屋顶，格蕾特啃起了窗户。

屋里传来一个细细的声音：“咔嚓咔嚓，小老鼠，谁在啃我的小房子？”孩子们说：“是风，是风，是天上的风。”忽然，门开了，一个拄着拐杖的老婆婆走了出来。她笑眯眯地拉他们进屋，端来牛奶和撒了糖的煎饼，还有苹果和核桃，又铺好了两张干干净净的小床。

其实，她是一个坏女巫，这座好吃的房子，就是专门用来骗小孩的。第二天一早，她把汉赛尔关进了一个小笼子，又叫格蕾特天天给哥哥做好吃的，想把他养胖了吃掉。

女巫的眼睛不好，看不清东西。每天早上，她都叫汉赛尔把手指伸出来，摸摸他胖了没有。聪明的汉赛尔每次都伸出一根小骨头。女巫摸来摸去，奇怪他怎么一点儿也不胖。

过了四个星期，女巫等不及了。她烧热了烤炉，对格蕾特说：“你钻进去看看，炉子够不够热。”格蕾特猜到了她的坏主意，就说：“我不知道怎么钻呀。”“笨丫头！”女巫说，“炉门这么大，连我都钻得进去。”她弯下腰，把头伸进炉门。格蕾特使出全身力气一推，把女巫推了进去，“砰”地关上铁门，插上了门闩。

格蕾特跑去打开笼子：“汉赛尔，我们得救了！”兄妹俩抱在一起，又哭又笑。他们在屋里找到好多珍珠和宝石，装满了口袋，赶紧离开了那里。

走着走着，一条大河拦住了去路。一只白鸭子游过来，把他们一个一个驮了过去。森林越来越眼熟，他们终于看见了自己的家。爸爸一把抱住两个孩子，那个狠心的继母已经不在了。孩子们把珍珠宝石倒出来，从此，一家人再也不用饿肚子了。

Hansel and Gretel Story: the moral of the story

When things go wrong, stay calm and think. Brothers and sisters who look after each other can get through hard times. And a treat from a stranger is never a reason to go with them.

Chinese words in Hansel and Gretel

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

  • 哥哥gē ge

    older brother

  • 妹妹mèi mei

    younger sister

  • 森林sēn lín

    forest

  • 面包miàn bāo

    bread

  • 糖táng

    sugar, candy (the Chinese title means candy house)

  • 女巫nǚ wū

    witch

  • 笼子lóng zi

    cage

  • 烤炉kǎo lú

    oven

Bedtime storytelling tips

  • When Hansel drops the white stones, line up a few buttons on the blanket and let your child walk two fingers home along them.
  • Lower your voice for the witch's "Nibble, nibble, little mouse," and let your child answer "The wind, the wind!", which is how the children reply in the Chinese version and in Grimm.
  • Spend a little longer on the end, when the children get home and their father is so happy, so the story stops somewhere safe before lights out.

Things to talk about afterwards

  • How did Hansel find the way home the first time? Why didn't it work the second time?
  • How did Gretel save her brother?
  • If a stranger offered you something sweet and asked you to come with them, what would you do?

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Hansel and Gretel Story: common questions

What is the moral of Hansel and Gretel?
Stay calm in danger, use your head, and look after each other. Hansel fools the witch with a bone, and Gretel fools her at the oven. It is also a reminder not to be lured away by treats from strangers.
Is Hansel and Gretel a Grimm fairy tale?
Yes. It is no. 15 in the Brothers Grimm's Children's and Household Tales, first published in 1812.
What is the witch's house made of in Hansel and Gretel?
Many picture books show a gingerbread or candy house. In the Grimm original, which we follow, the walls are made of bread, the roof of cake and the windows of sugar.
How did Hansel trick the witch?
The witch could not see well, so every day she asked to feel Hansel's finger to see if he was getting fat. Hansel held out a little bone instead, and she thought he was still thin.
How does Hansel and Gretel end?
Gretel pushes the witch into the oven, shuts the iron door and lets Hansel out of the cage. They take the witch's pearls and run, a white duck carries them over a river, and they find their way home. Their father is overjoyed, the stepmother is gone, and they are never hungry again.

Source and how we retold it

From the Brothers Grimm, Children's and Household Tales, no. 15, Hänsel und Gretel, first published in 1812 and now in the public domain. In Chinese it is often called the candy house. In the original, the little house is made of bread, with a cake roof and windows of clear sugar. In the 1812 first edition, the children's own mother plans to leave them in the forest; later editions made her a stepmother, and we follow the later version. In the original ending, Gretel pushes the witch into the oven and the witch burns to death; here Gretel pushes her in and shuts the iron door, the children escape, and we do not say what happens to the witch. The original says the stepmother has died; here we only say she is gone.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked Hansel and Gretel Story, there are more stories in Grimms' Fairy Tales. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.

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