HANSEL AND GRETEL CHARACTERS: Hansel Gretel Mother Father White Bird SCENERY: PLACES: The action takes place in Europe: 1. At the woodcutter's cottage on the edge of the forest. 2. Deep in the forest. 3. At the Witch's house. TIME: In the days when there were famines in Europe (not recently). This story comes from the Grimms Fairy Tales, which is over a hundred years old. PROPS: 2 buckets wagon with firewood stacked high bouquet large stick white pebbles ("moonstones") and 2 cloth sacks 3 stools SOUND: Ominous music Bird sounds NOTES: Hansel and Gretel, when speaking to their parents, call them "Mother" and "Father", like respectful European children would do. When they're talking to each other, they call them "mom" and "dad", like kids do now and probably did then. The Witch may be old or young, ugly or beautiful. She is nearsighted, so she may not wear glasses. She wears fancy clothing, with lots of jewelry. She walks with a "cane for the blind"; her vision is poor, but her sense of smell is keen. Hansel and Gretel, in scene 5, sing a rhyme that refers to "heaven". If you are playing to an audience of mixed faiths (or none) you may be interested to know that this is not necessarily a Christian reference. Paganism survived in this area until well after the time of Hansel and Gretel and the Brothers Grimm, and there are many pagan songs dating from that time that refer to "heaven" or "the heavens". RUNNING TIME: Unknown AUTHOR: Leo Heska STORY SOURCES: Grimm's Fairy Tales from the public domain, plus Leo's woodcraft.and other additional bits. Published and distributed by www.FreePlays.org Scene 1 Outside the woodcutter's cottage. We see stumps, bushes, and a forest. 2 water buckets onstage. Hansel runs onstage. He is playing "hide and go seek" with Gretel. Hansel leans against a tree, covers his eyes and counts. HANSEL: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, ... Gretel runs on while Hansel is counting. HANSEL: ... 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20! Ready or not, here I come! (Gretel moves further away from him, into the forest. Hansel keeps looking.) HANSEL: Gretel? Gretel! Where are you? No fair hiding in the forest. Are you in the forest? (Hansel is again looking away from Gretel. She starts making faces and gestures at him. Hansel suddenly turns around and sees Gretel.) HANSEL: Ha! Found you! GRETEL: But you didn't tag me! (she runs) (Hansel chases Gretel, trips, falls down) HANSEL: Aaahhh! Gretel! Darn it! GRETEL: Didn't catch me! HANSEL: You tripped me! No fair! GRETEL: I did not trip you and you did not catch me. HANSEL: I would have got you. GRETEL: Listen, Hansel. I won, you lost. You have to go get the water from the stream. (Holds out the buckets to Hansel) HANSEL: (Not taking buckets) I don't know why we have to get the water. We always get the water. GRETEL: (Handing him the buckets) Go on. HANSEL: I'm too hungry and tired to go all the way to the stream. GRETEL: Hansel, it's for our soup. HANSEL: The soup is too thin. GRETEL: There won't be any soup at all if you don't get the water. Now go get it. MOTHER: (Calling from within house) Hansel? GRETEL: See? Hide! (Hansel hands buckets to Gretel, then runs and hides. Gretel sets down the buckets and hides. Mother enters from the house, sees buckets.) MOTHER: (She picks up buckets.) Empty. Hansel? Gretel? (She looks but can't see them.) I told you I needed water for soup. Hansel? Your father will be home from the market and he'll be thirsty and hungry. Gretel! (Hansel pushes Gretel out, but the Mother doesn't see her. Gretel hides again.) MOTHER: Children! If you don't get the water I can't make soup! (Hansel and Gretel stay hidden.) (Father enters pulling a wagon with firewood stacked high on it.) FATHER : Finally... home... (Sets down wood.) What a way to live. What a time to live. MOTHER: (Embraces Father, quite warmly and strongly) You look exhausted. FATHER: I didn't sell a single thing. (Sees buckets.) Ah, water! MOTHER: No, they're empty. I asked the children to bring some up for you. FATHER: They didn't? MOTHER: I thought they had. I heard them playing, but I don't see them now. You couldn't trade any wood? FATHER: There's no food to trade for. MOTHER: None? FATHER: It's all gone. The market is empty of food, but full of people. Farmers, basket-weavers, weavers... MOTHER: (interrupting) And their children...? FATHER: They stay inside. They're tired from hunger. We've been lucky so far, but there's nothing left in the forest. How can we feed Hansel and Gretel when we have nothing? MOTHER: I have thought about this. Tomorrow morning we will take the children into the thickest part of the forest. We will light a fire, and give each of them a piece of bread; then we will go do our work and leave them. FATHER: (horrified) I could never leave my children alone in the forest. MOTHER: Will you find us food? FATHER: No child deserves to be left in the wood. MOTHER: (Challenging) Will you find us food? FATHER: I have until now. We've eaten until now. MOTHER: Will you find us food? FATHER: (silent) MOTHER: You already gathered all the last berries. We don't have enough food for winter. You and I may be able to survive until next summer. Kids can't. I've seen this, remember? My 3 brothers and sisters all died in the last famine. It was terrible! I can't let that happen to Hansel and Gretel! FARTHER: The wild animals would tear Hansel and Gretel to pieces. MOTHER: (emphatically) It's better than dying of hunger. And if they stay, we all die. FATHER: They're our children. MOTHER: (desperately) I know they're our children. I cannot watch them starve to death. Can you? Gretel is so pale already. And maybe, in the forest, somehow, they'll find a way to survive. FATHER: They'll never survive alone. MOTHER: We don't know. (Picks up buckets) We won't know. I'll never know. (Desperate) I can't... (her voice fades as she runs offstage, carrying buckets.) FATHER: Wait. Wait! (He runs after her.) (Hansel and Gretel come out of hiding, look after their parents, stunned. Gretel sits on the ground, cries.) GRETEL: Do you really think they'll leave us in the forest? HANSEL: We'll have to find our way back. GRETEL: At night? HANSEL: I'll find our way back. GRETEL: How, in the dark? HANSEL: You know those white stones that shine in the moonlight? Tonight, when the moon is out, we'll go gather them. Then, when we go into the forest, we'll drop them one by one. Then we can follow them back home. GRETEL: Hansel! (She hugs him.) HANSEL: (Hugging Gretel, comforting her) Don't worry, Gretel. Don't worry. We'll find our way back. END OF SCENE 1 SCENE 2 In the deep forest. Very large trees, large rocks, campfire, a stack of wood. Occasional bird songs. Father enters, followed by Mother, Gretel and Hansel. Gretel runs ahead gathering wild flowers. FATHER: It's just a little further. GRETEL: (Picking a flower.) Another yellow one. (Hansel stops, turns back, drops a white pebble.) FATHER: Here's the fire I built for you. (Hansel runs to check the fire.) HANSEL: Isn't this a beautiful place? GRETEL: We've never been here. MOTHER: Look, there are some bushes with berries. GRETEL: (Picking a berry.) I've never seen a berry like this. FATHER: They're not very good. But you can live on them for a few days, if you have to. GRETEL: (tasting berry) Yuck! MOTHER: Here, children. Some of your favorite cake for your supper. I made this for you last night. GRETEL: Will you have some with us, Mother? MOTHER: We ... have to get wood before it's too dark. GRETEL: I'll give you part of mine. MOTHER: But it's so small; and I made it for you. I want you to have your favorite cake. And here's some water. GRETEL: Cake is better with milk. MOTHER: (emotionless) I wish I had milk to give you. HANSEL: (To Father) Why did we come so far in the forest? There's wood by our cottage. FATHER: A good question, Hansel. You are a smart boy, aren't you? HANSEL: And how are you going to bring the wood back? You didn't take your wood cart. MOTHER: Eat your cake now. FATHER: The fire will burn slowly, all night. See how I built it? And there's more wood. Enough to last all night. HANSEL: But we won't be here all night. FATHER: Well, the fire will also protect you from animals. And keep you warm. MOTHER: When you've eaten, lie down by the fire and rest. We'll see you later, after you sleep. GRETEL: Here. (She gives her mother the bouquet of wild flowers.) MOTHER: Gretel... FATHER: Yes, you sleep while we gather wood and... we'll come back for you. (Mother starts off, Father hesitates.) FATHER: You ... you're smart, Hansel, very smart. And you're brave, aren't you Gretel? (He kisses her.) Very brave... (He exits, followed by Mother.) GRETEL: I'm not so brave. HANSEL: I'm not so smart. GRETEL: Will they come back? HANSEL: They said they would. Dad said he would. GRETEL: They wouldn't leave us here. Not here. (Standing against an enormous trunk.) These trees are big... It's getting dark, already. HANSEL: We're safe by the fire. (Eating.) Cake. See, she made us our favorite cake. GRETEL: It's good. (A faint, slow banging sound, like chopping). GRETEL: Listen... HANSEL: That's dad, chopping wood. I want milk with this cake. (Behind Gretel the Bird swoops in.) HANSEL: (Seeing Bird) Gretel! GRETEL: (Scared) Father! Mother! HANSEL: What does it want? GRETEL: Scare it away; kill it! HANSEL: Father! GRETEL: He said the fire would protect us from the animals. (The Bird moves toward them, flapping and calling. Hansel and Gretel scream and back away.) (The Bird moves off toward an opening in the trees. Bird turns back, and beckons with one wing. Bird turns, sees Hansel and Gretel aren't moving, then moves off again, beckoning.) GRETEL: Let's stay together. Follow it! (Moves slowly toward Bird.) HANSEL: Gretel, what shall we do? What if it bites? (Gretel walks cautiously up to the Bird, reaches out to touch it. The Bird cozies up to Gretel to be petted.) (Hansel picks up large stick) HANSEL: (Shouting at Bird) Go! Go away! (Bird, startled, moves away.) HANSEL: Go! Go! (Bird exits) HANSEL: Hah hah hah! GRETEL: Hansel, you dumb head! You scared off the Bird! HANSEL: Yes, I did! (Boasting) I am the bold protector, saving us from wild animals! GRETEL: The Bird was not trying to eat us, Hansel. I was petting it. (Bird approaches Hansel and Gretel from behind; they don't see it) HANSEL: It's a big bird, Gretel. Weren't you scared? GRETEL: Not really. I'm hungry. Let's finish our cake. HANSEL: She didn't give us very much cake. It's not enough for a whole day. GRETEL: Not even for a whole night. Can you see the moon? (Hansel and Gretel stand and peer up and away) HANSEL: Not yet. (Hansel and Gretel are still peering. Bird comes up from behind them, snatches cake and flies off with it. Hansel follows, shouting.) HANSEL: Hey! Give back our cake! GRETEL: (speaking) (possibly as an aside, to the audience) We barely had any. GRETEL: (suddenly realizes Hansel has disappeared into the woods) Hansel? Hansel! Don't leave the fire! Hansel! Come back! Come back to the fire! (Pause) GRETEL: (scared now) Hansel? Mother? Father? (Pause) (Hansel returns) HANSEL: I couldn't catch it. It got our cake. GRETEL: I'm tired of this. (Taking his hand, pulling him.) Let's go to where dad is chopping wood and tell him and mom about the Bird. (Hansel holds back) HANSEL: He's gone. GRETEL: No, he's over there. I hear him chopping. HANSEL: He isn't chopping. There's a dead tree branch hanging, and it hits the tree trunk when the wind blows. That's what we hear. I saw it while I was chasing the Bird. GRETEL: Then he left us. They left us. HANSEL: It's all right, Gretel. The moon is up and look, there, on the ground... there, see? Gretel, look. GRETEL: The white stones. HANSEL: You can see them, now. And they will lead us right to our house. GRETEL: You ARE smart, Hansel. Come on! END OF SCENE 2 SCENE 3 At the woodcutters house. Father sits near house; he's despondent. Hansel and Gretel run onstage. GRETEL: Home! HANSEL: We're home! We made it! Father! GRETEL: Father! FATHER: Gretel? But... Hansel! You've come back. (He embraces them.) You've come back to me. I was so worried about you. Oh, you're home. You're home! GRETEL: We walked all night. HANSEL: Then the moon went down and we couldn't see... GRETEL: So we had to wait until the sun came up... HANSEL: But then we could see the house. GRETEL: We did it! FATHER: Hansel! Gretel! HANSEL: And we saw a great white Bird! GRETEL: Hansel chased it! FATHER: A great white Bird? HANSEL: I ran after it. It took our cake. FATHER: And you found your way back. My children are alive. (He embraces them again.) GRETEL: Father! (Still hugging, they all spin around, laughing.) MOTHER: (Enters from house. They stop spinning.) Children ... FATHER: Both of them home, and not even hurt. GRETEL: Mother. (They go to her and Gretel embraces her.) GRETEL: We were scared that we'd never see you again. MOTHER: (Stunned) Why did you sleep so long in the wood? We thought you weren't coming back any more. HANSEL: We didn't sleep. We walked all night. MOTHER: (Wringing her hands) You got lost. You wandered off and got lost. GRETEL: We weren't lost. Hansel knew the way home. MOTHER: Hansel... HANSEL: Do you have something to eat? MOTHER: (To Father) Anything to eat. GRETEL: Yes, we walked all night. MOTHER: (To Father) Hungry, you see? HANSEL: More cake? GRETEL: Yes, more cake. That was good. MOTHER: There's our last loaf of bread in the cupboard. Cut it in half and bring it to me. HANSEL: Just bread? GRETEL: We want more cake. HANSEL: With milk! MOTHER: We don't have cake. We don't have milk. That one loaf is all there is! No more bread! No more flour! (Hansel and Gretel run into the cottage.) MOTHER: How could they find their way back! FATHER: They're smart kids, and they learned their forest craft. (Father starts into the cottage.) MOTHER: They must go, again. (Father stops.) They must go, now. This time we'll take them further into the forest so they won't be able to find their way back. FATHER: I couldn't sleep all night. (She stares him down.) FATHER: I don't think I can do it. MOTHER: If you did it once, you can do it again. Children! (The children enter with bread.) MOTHER: We're going back into the forest. HANSEL: We are? GRETEL: Are we, Father? FATHER: Bring your bread with you, but save it for supper. GRETEL: We're going to stay in the forest all day? MOTHER: (To Father.) Take your axe. We'll need to chop firewood. HANSEL: Do we have to go now? Couldn't we wait a while? We want to gather some pebbles, to play. But first we want to rest. MOTHER: We have to go now. GRETEL: (Goes to pebbles, tries to sort out the white ones.) But Father, we have a new game we want to play with these white stones. But we need a lot of them. HANSEL: We can't go yet. Can't we go tomorrow? FATHER: We could wait... MOTHER: We have to go now so we can be back by night. Come along. Bring your bread, but remember, wait until supper. FATHER: (Giving in) Come now. You can play in the forest. (Father's compliance stuns Hansel and Gretel and they stop sorting. Hansel drops stones, having thought of something else.) HANSEL: All right. Come on, Gretel. GRETEL: But Hansel ... HANSEL: Don't worry. We won't get lost. I know what to do. Drop your stones. You can't tell the moonstones in the daylight, anyway. GRETEL: (Drops stones) Oh. All right. MOTHER: (To Father) Lead the way. (He leads them. Hansel is last. He moves slowly, deliberately dropping bread crumbs.) (they exit.) END SCENE 3 SCENE 4 The deep forest. Father has just finished lighting another fire. Hansel drops his last bread crumbs. Mother holds Hansel and Gretel by the hand. Hansel and Gretel are exhausted. FATHER: Stay by the fire and you'll be safe and warm. MOTHER: We're going further on to cut wood; when we've finished we'll come back for you. FATHER: Here, Gretel. (He takes off his coat, lays it on ground. Gretel lies on it.) MOTHER: You'll sleep well, since you didn't sleep last night. FATHER: Lie here, Hansel. (Hansel lies down.) MOTHER: Sleep a long, long time. FATHER: Dream of food, a mountain of food, all the food you ever wanted. And then you'll play and play. (He exits. Mother starts to follow, turns, looks back at them. Gretel opens her eyes, sits up, looks at Mother.) GRETEL: (A simple question, not accusatory or loaded) Are you leaving us again, Mother? (Mother starts to say something, but stops herself, then exits.) (Gretel lies down.) GRETEL: Hansel, they left us again. HANSEL: It's all right. We'll wait until the moon comes up, then we can see the bread-crumbs I dropped to show us the way home. (He tiredly points to where he dropped them.) GRETEL: Here, take half my bread. (He takes it.) I'm going to sleep. HANSEL: I'll eat it when I wake up and then we'll go home free, again. Don't worry. GRETEL: I'm not. Don't worry. I'm not worried. (They sleep) (Quietly, carefully, the Bird comes in. Bird moves toward the children, inspects them. Bird moves its head and shoulders in Bird fashion, searching the forest.) (Ominous music.) (The Bird becomes alert.) (Witch enters.) (Witch sniffs the air, scenting the children. The Bird watches her intently. The Witch finds her way to the children, by sniffing.) WITCH: (In a stage whisper) Sniff, sniff, I know well, a lost child is what I smell. (Witch moves close to Hansel and Gretel.) WITCH: Ah, here they are. I smell two. And no one else but me and you. WITCH: (To Bird) Shoo! Away with you, pesky Bird. Shoo! (The Bird moves but not offstage.) WITCH: (Looks closely, sniffs.) A girl... and a boy... young and tender. Far from home and hungry. We are so hungry. I will give you magic food my little ones, all the magic food you want. Here... (She places a little cake by Gretel) (She moves to Hansel, places little cake by Hansel) And here. A magic little cake. And more! More even than you are dreaming of right now. Sleep well, my darlings, while I cook a magic feast for you. We will all have a nice feast. (She goes off) (Begin bird sounds) HANSEL: (Moaning in his sleep.) No, no, I can't... don't... (Wakes up scared.) No! We'll never find our way! GRETEL: Hansel? HANSEL: We won't know what to do! GRETEL: Hansel, what is it? HANSEL: Oh... I was... I was dreaming. About birds eating bread crumbs. And a woman with a gold necklace. She smelled funny. GRETEL: Hansel, look. (She holds up cake.) A little cake. Mom must have left me a cake. HANSEL: Me, too, I have one, too. It smells like... HANSEL & GRETEL: Gingerbread! (They bite their cakes, roll on the ground in ecstasy.) GRETEL: Mmmmmm, it IS gingerbread. HANSEL: With berries and nuts. GRETEL: Where did she get nuts? HANSEL: Where did she get flour? GRETEL: Gingerbread with berries and nuts. Mmmmmm ... HANSEL: There isn't very much of it. GRETEL: I can't eat it slowly. I'm eating it right up! HANSEL: Save some... GRETEL: I can't. I can't stop myself! HANSEL: Neither can I. (They finish their gingerbread.) HANSEL: It's all gone. We ate it all up. GRETEL: Hansel, the moon is up. HANSEL: We should be able to see the crumbs I dropped. I dropped the last one here... around here somewhere... do you see it? GRETEL: No. Are you sure it was here? HANSEL: Yes, just by this tree. Don't worry, the next one is right there... here... near here... somewhere... GRETEL: Hansel... HANSEL: But I dropped it here! GRETEL: I think I know where they... HANSEL: I know I did. What could have happened to them? (Bird sounds get louder.) GRETEL: The birds! The birds in the forest ate them. They ate the crumbs. HANSEL: (crushed) I didn't think of the birds. GRETEL: This is bad. (Bird sounds fade out) HANSEL: Why didn't I think of the birds? GRETEL: We don't even know what direction to go. Do you remember? HANSEL: No. GRETEL: I don't remember, either. It's dark. HANSEL: (Takes her hand.) This way. (He pulls her.) (Gretel stops, pulls him back to fire.) GRETEL: Not when we don't know where to go! We stay by the fire! HANSEL: Come on, Gretel. The sooner we start the sooner we'll get home. (He pulls her. The Bird appears. Gretel stops Hansel, pulls him back to fire.) GRETEL: No! If you're lost, you stay by the fire till somebody comes! It's the first rule of being lost! HANSEL: That only works if someone's out looking for you. They abandoned us, remember? Let's go. (Hansel leads Gretel by the hand) (The Bird moves in front of him, squawks, denying them the path.) HANSEL: Get out of our way. (He tries to lead Gretel around the Bird - it won't let him.) (Hansel swings his fist at the bird.) Away! Go away! GRETEL: No, Hansel, no! (The Bird moves in front of him. Hansel again tries to lead Gretel around the Bird, in another direction.) (The Bird blocks their way.) GRETEL: You see, we shouldn't go. It doesn't want us to go. (The Bird reacts to this; bows.) GRETEL: It heard me. I think it understands me. (Hansel tries to push the Bird aside, tries to drag Gretel past the Bird. The Bird shrieks at Hansel - he stops, frightened) GRETEL: Did it hurt you? HANSEL: No, it just scared me. (Hansel and Gretel take turns leading each other off in other directions. Each time they start down a new path, the Bird blocks their way. Another direction, then another.) (Hansel and Gretel may solicit audience interaction here, asking the audience "Which Way?" and "This Way?") (Finally, Hansel and Gretel approach the spot where the Witch entered and exited. The Bird moves out of their way.) HANSEL: Look, the Bird's letting us go this way. GRETEL: But that's not the way we want to go! HANSEL: Well it's the only way we CAN go. Do you want to walk, or not? GRETEL: I don't trust this Bird, I don't know this Bird, and it is telling me to do something I don't want to do. HANSEL: Well, we have exactly two choices. We either go where the Bird lets us, or stay here dancing with it all night. GRETEL: No, that's wrong. Dad says there's always a third choice. We can sit here and wait till the bird goes away. HANSEL: Yeah, and starve to death. (Bird moves to where Witch exited, beckons) HANSEL: Come on, let's follow the blasted bird before it leaves without us. GRETEL: (Gives in) Okay, let's go. (Hansel and Gretel start following the Bird offstage.) GRETEL: I have a bad feeling about this... (All exit) (Music, lights fade.) END SCENE 4 SCENE 5 (Outside the Witch's gingerbread house, which is in a forest.) (There's a large outdoor oven and a small stable.) (Three stools sit somewhere onstage, near the house) (The Bird flies onstage. Hansel and Gretel run onstage, stop in amazement.) GRETEL: It's someone's house. GRETEL: I wonder who lives here. HANSEL: I smell good food. GRETEL: Sweet cooking. HANSEL: Do you smell bread? GRETEL: Yes! And cakes! (They move toward house.) HANSEL: Gretel... the house... Am I so hungry that I think... GRETEL: It looks like... HANSEL: It looks like it's built out of bread! GRETEL: This window is made of sugar. (Breaks off a piece of window, tastes it, drops it, makes a face.) Whoa! Way too sweet! HANSEL: It's a house made of food! A whole house made of food! Let's eat it! GRETEL: Except for the windows. HANSEL: The roof... (He breaks off a piece, bites it.) GRETEL: The wall... (She breaks off a piece, bites it.) HANSEL: Mmmmmm; yummy... GRETEL: It's covered with cakes! With fruit and nuts in 'em! This house has everything! HANSEL: Except tofu! GRETEL: No jelly, either. HANSEL: Can't build a house out of that stuff, I guess. GRETEL: This is better than our house. We can eat here forever. (The Bird flaps and flies away. Hansel and Gretel watch it go.) HANSEL: Good-bye, Bird. GRETEL: (Pensive) I guess you got us here, all right. WITCH: (From within house) Munch, munch, honey bunch Who is munching at my little house? GRETEL: (to Hansel) (stage whisper) The wind!? WITCH: (Still from within house) Munch, munch, honey bunch Who is munching at my little house? HANSEL & GRETEL: The wind, the wind, the heaven-born wind! (No answer) (They wait a short while, then pull off more pieces of the house and resume eating.) GRETEL: I think this is... (She bites it.) Cinnamon cake... with berries. Mmmmmm. Cinnamon cake. Cinnamon cake, Hansel! (Hansel bites it, they laugh together.) WITCH: (Still offstage) Munch, munch, honey bunch. Who is eating my wall? (This time they stop eating, and drop their food.) GRETEL: Who's there? HANSEL: I'm thirsty. Do you see anything to drink? GRETEL: There might be something in the house. (The Witch enters.) WITCH: Children. (Hansel and Gretel hug each other, startled and scared) WITCH: Children are nibbling at my house. Dear children, how did you come here? This deep into the wood. HANSEL: The... the Bird showed us the way. WITCH: Ah, is that so? And are you so hungry that you eat my house? GRETEL: It's made of bread. WITCH: I know. I baked it in my oven. HANSEL: And cakes! WITCH: Yes! You poor dears; you won't be hungry, ever again. How unfair of the world to allow such lovely, tender delicious children to be so hungry, for so long. I've prepared a breakfast. Would you join me? We're having milk. HANSEL: You have milk? WITCH: Oh, yes, all the milk you can drink. HANSEL: I knew you would have milk. WITCH: And pancakes with sugar, apples and nuts. GRETEL: Apples! HANSEL: Where could you find apples? WITCH: Sit, I will serve you. (They each take a stool and sit.) WITCH: (Hands them each a glass.) Here. HANSEL: Milk! Hooray! (They drink.) WITCH: And... (She lifts top off server.) GRETEL: Pancakes! With nuts! (Hansel and Gretel grab pancakes.) WITCH: And apples! (She uncovers a bowl of apples, tosses them each one.) GRETEL: Apples and nuts - apples and nuts - apples and nuts. WITCH: Eat. (They eat.) WITCH: Eat all you can, my little ones. (They eat pancakes with their hands, laugh, bite their apples.) WITCH: Yes, that's it. A breakfast just waiting for you. A breakfast you deserve. Your breakfast. You will never be hungry again. HANSEL: Pancakes! Pancakes, Gretel! GRETEL: (Stands.) I-LOVE-PANCAKES! (In her exuberance she throws her pancake into the air, catches it, bites it.) WITCH: Yes, eat. Enjoy! Have a Grand Feast! HANSEL: Apples! GRETEL: Pancakes! HANSEL: Pancakes! GRETEL: Apples! (Witch indicates for Hansel to come to her. He does. She takes his hand.) WITCH: Ah, my young boy, you are a fine, sweet one, aren't you. WITCH: (Sings slowly) Be happy, be happy, be happy. HANSEL: (Entranced.) I am. GRETEL: Happy! WITCH: (Feeling his arm.) But you are thin. We'll change that, won't we? How about dessert? HANSEL: Yes! GRETEL: Dessert! WITCH: (Still entrancing Hansel) The sweetest... HANSEL: Sweetest... WITCH: Tenderest ... HANSEL: Tenderest... WITCH: Dessert. HANSEL: Dessert! WITCH: Here. In here, boy, my boy, in here. (The little stable.) GRETEL: In the chicken coop? WITCH: It's not a chicken coop; it's a stable! (To Hansel) Go in and you'll see. GRETEL: (She is not enchanted) But I can see into there and I don't see anything. WITCH: (To Hansel, still entrancing him) Go on in, little one. You'll get a surprise! GRETEL: Hansel! (Hansel goes in. The Witch shuts door and locks it.) WITCH: There, my boy, now I have you; you won't escape me. HANSEL: What did you say? Where is the dessert? WITCH: It's in there! It's you! A wonderful meal, and later, a wonderful dessert! (Cackles, rubs hands) A nice, fat boy! Once you're not so skinny. HANSEL: Me? (No longer enchanted, Hansel tries to get out.) Let me out. Let me out! Gretel! GRETEL: Why did you lock him in? HANSEL: Gretel! (Gretel pulls on door furiously.) GRETEL: Let him out. Let him out! WITCH: (Eating food from the table.) You, girl, fetch water from the stream, go into the kitchen and cook good food for your brother. He needs to be fattened. When he is nice and fat, I will eat him. GRETEL: What? HANSEL: Gretel! Father! Mother! Help, somebody help! WITCH: You see? You won't be hungry ever again. We'll cook the best food for you. (Note: the Bird is not on stage or in sight) GRETEL: (Thinking of Bird) Evil, false Bird, that led us here! WITCH: (Throwing her a bucket.) Go now, girl, or you will go into the oven first. GRETEL: Hansel... HANSEL: Call for Father by the stream. GRETEL: He'll never hear me. HANSEL: What am I going to do? GRETEL: It'll be all right, Hansel. I'll find a way out of this. HANSEL: How? GRETEL: I will. Don't worry. Don't worry. WITCH: You will never find a way. Go fetch the water! Or I'll roast you both right now! (Gretel goes off. Lights fade.) END SCENE 5 SCENE 6 Three weeks later. Hansel is asleep in the stable. The oven is glowing; smoke comes out the chimney. Gretel enters, carrying a tray of food. GRETEL: Hansel... Hansel, breakfast! (Hansel wakes up.) I've made you a wonderful breakfast, Hansel. Eggs with onions and cheese, wheat berries and cake. And milk. I'm becoming a good cook. HANSEL: I'm not hungry. GRETEL: I am. She still doesn't give me anything to eat but pine cones. HANSEL: Eat some of my breakfast. I'll say I ate it, again. GRETEL: She said if I eat your breakfast, she'll roast us both. She wants me skinny, and you fat. If she sees me... HANSEL: She can't see, she's almost blind. GRETEL: (She begins to eat.) I watched her again this morning. She has jewels, all kinds and colors of jewels. She keeps them in a box under her bed. HANSEL: Jewels will do me no good. I need out! (Dramatically, hamming it up) I need freedom! GRETEL: She has to hold them like this (holds food next to her eye) so she can see them. She rubs them in her hands and mumbles old songs. GRETEL: (Singing like Witch, mocking her. As she sings, Hansel laughs:) I join the merry dancers dancing in the sun. I sing of pretty children, playing, having fun ... HANSEL: (He looks at oven.) Gretel, is there a fire in the oven?... Gretel... GRETEL: Early this morning, while your were asleep, we built it. HANSEL: A fire in the oven... GRETEL: She's baking bread. HANSEL: She baked yesterday. She has all the bread she needs. GRETEL: She didn't say anything about... you. Just bread. Hansel, ... (Gretel is interrupted by the Bird walking onstage.) GRETEL: The White Bird, again. Why do you come here? What do you want? (She runs at the Bird.) Despicable Bird! You led us to this Witch! (Gretel kicks at Bird, chases Bird around the stable. Hansel kicks at the protesting Bird through the bars.) HANSEL: Get away from me! GRETEL: You helped the Witch! Get away! (She gets a good kick in, Bird squawks and flies away.) Begone! And don't come back! GRETEL: (Regains her composure) As I was saying, Hansel, I think I saw a key. Maybe the key to this lock. I think I saw a key in her box of jewels. HANSEL: Can you get it? GRETEL: The box isn't locked, but she never lets me in the house alone. HANSEL: Try to go in when she comes out. When she checks to see how fat I am, go in then. GRETEL: You do something to make her forget about me. She likes you when you're funny. You can play and joke; she likes that. HANSEL: Here she comes. Where's the bone? GRETEL: Right behind you. Don't let her touch you! Only let her feel the bone. HANSEL: I know. WITCH: (Offstage, Singing) (Witch should sing the song as beautifully as she can - not cackling or otherwise badly) I join the merry dancers dancing in the sun. I sing of pretty children, playing, having fun ... HANSEL: Give me the food. (Gretel gives him the food.) WITCH: (Entering, singing) I sing of pretty children eating fruit and bread. WITCH: (No longer singing) Come here, girl. (Gretel doesn't.) WITCH: Come here. (Gretel goes to her. The Witch sniffs her.) WITCH: Give me your hand. (Witch holds out her hand, Gretel puts hers in the Witch's.) WITCH: You've been eating. His food. Yes? GRETEL: (Unable to resist - as if she's in a trance) Yes. WITCH: Do you make the food for him and not yourself? GRETEL: Yes. WITCH: (Swatting Gretel's hand once, hard.) Don't eat it! Or you'll go into the oven first! (Gretel pulls back hand, rubs her hand. Witch moves to stable.) WITCH: Hello, Hansel. My fat little boy. Are you eating your breakfast? Eat slowly, chew your food, enjoy yourself. HANSEL: I don't feel well. WITCH: No, dear one, what's wrong? HANSEL: I have a fever. I have spots all over me, red spots. I have the pox. See? WITCH: (Trying to see.) Yes, I see. HANSEL: And I'm dizzy and the food doesn't taste good, and I'm pale, very pale, I know I am. See? WITCH: (Trying to look, as Gretel slowly starts toward house.) I see. HANSEL: I have the plague! (He chokes and wheezes. Pathetically.) The plague. The bubonic plague. WITCH: Actually, my dear Hansel, if you're choking and wheezing, it is more probably the pneumonic plague. HANSEL: (Ignoring Witch) And I'm hot and then cold and then hot again. And then I'm asleep, and then I'm awake again, and I don't even know the difference. Then sometimes I don't feel like Hansel. I don't even think I'm a boy. I think I'm a... a chicken in a coop. (He acts like a chicken, flaps at Witch, startling her.) HANSEL: Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck cluck! WITCH: Oh! (She laughs at herself. Gretel goes in house.) WITCH: You frightened me. (She watches him.) Yes, yes, good, very good, a chicken. (She clucks back at him.) Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! HANSEL: And sometimes I think I'm a duck. (He acts like a duck.) HANSEL: Quack quack quack! Quack quack quack! WITCH: A duck. You sound just like a duck. (She also quacks. Hansel, in stable, and Witch, outside, both waddle like ducks.) HANSEL: Or a pig in the pen. (He grunts and oinks and acts like a pig.) WITCH: Oh yes, oh yes, yes, a pig, a beautiful, fat pig. A very energetic pig. Oh, my dear energetic pig, you're playing, aren't you. And well you should. Today is a day to celebrate. A day for the Grand Feast. Today I will let you out of your pen, my little pig. (She holds a large key, hanging from her waist.) HANSEL: (Reaches for key.) Give me the key. I'll unlock the door. WITCH: When all is ready, I'll let you out. Now, let's just check. Put your finger out for me to feel how fat you are. HANSEL: (Looking for bone.) But... but I told you... I'm thin and sick. WITCH: Put out your finger, my Hansel. HANSEL: I don't want to make you angry. WITCH: Come, my little tender fat one, your finger. (Hansel holds the bone to her hand, then slowly reaches for the key. The Witch moves, Hansel misses the key.) WITCH: Bony! Thin! How can you still be so thin? HANSEL: I'm sick. The spots - see? WITCH: Oh, you know I can't see. Give me your finger again. (He gives her the bone.) WITCH: I don't understand it. You should be fattened by now. Your sister hasn't been stealing THAT much. Or has she? (Gretel enters from the house, gesturing to Hansel that she couldn't find the key. Hansel points to the key hanging on Witch's waist.) WITCH: Gretel! GRETEL: Yes? WITCH: Come here. (Gretel moves to her.) WITCH: Give me your hand. (She holds out her hand, Gretel puts hers in it. The Witch kisses Gretel's hand.) WITCH: You see well, don't you? You see all things around you? GRETEL: (Seeing key on the Witch.) Yes. WITCH: And you would tell me what you saw, if I asked? GRETEL: I would. WITCH: Does our Hansel have spots, red spots? Is he pale? Is he still so thin? (Hansel groans.) (Gretel doesn't answer) WITCH: Oh, Gretel, Gretel. What shall I do? (She pets Gretel's hand, feels her arm.) Why, dear girl, you're as plump from eating his food as he should be. (She takes Gretel's face in her hands and kisses her on the cheek. Then she tastes the kiss. It tastes good - she makes lip-smacking sounds) Yum! You taste good. (Gretel gets scared) Oh, don't worry. Witches can't eat girls. It's against the rules. We all need to stick together, you know! (Witch cackles) (Gretel shudders). WITCH: Today I will eat Hansel. GRETEL: But he's sick. If you eat him, you'll get sick yourself. WITCH: We will just have to bake him longer. GRETEL: But he's so thin. WITCH: Fat or thin, sick or not, I will eat him today. I am tired of waiting! GRETEL: (Crying) I wish the animals in the forest had eaten us! At least we'd have died together. WITCH: Spare us your tears; they will do you no good. (The Witch crosses to oven.) Fresh bread for the grand feast. (Witch opens oven door, pulls out the board the bread is on. Firelight flickers brightly from within the oven, smoke drifts out of the door. Hansel slumps in his cage.) WITCH: The bread is baked. The fire is perfect. A day to celebrate. Gretel, dear Gretel, how many loaves of bread are here? GRETEL: Two. WITCH: But I put in three. One must have fallen off the board. Take these loaves off. (Using her apron to keep from burning her fingers, Gretel takes the two loaves off the board.) WITCH: Now, look inside, see if you can see the other loaf. I can't see very far, you know. GRETEL: I can't see the other loaf. WITCH: You must get on the board so you can see into the oven. GRETEL: But I CAN see into the oven. There isn't another loaf. WITCH: Simple girl, get up on the board and have a better look. GRETEL: Get up on the board? WITCH: Climb up on the board. GRETEL: I don't know how to do that. WITCH: You're a child, aren't you? You can climb. Just climb up here, like so... (She gets half up.) And look in. (Gretel pulls, or pushes, Witch all the way onto the board.) GRETEL: Show me. WITCH: I already showed you. I's a simple thing to do. Let me down. I want you... (Gretel doesn't allow her to get down.) GRETEL: No! (Gretel gets up on the board and pushes her toward opening.) WITCH: No! Gretel! You naughty child! GRETEL: Far worse than naughty! Have a nice roast, Witch! (The Witch stops herself from going in. Gretel pushes, the Witch holds her ground.) HANSEL: Push, Gretel, push! Push! (Gretel grabs key from Witch, pushes). GRETEL: Hansel! Help me! HANSEL: I can't help you, I'm locked up! Throw me the key! (Gretel throws Hansel the key.) (If Hansel misses the catch, add a bit where Gretel runs over, hands Hansel the key, runs back to Witch). (Hansel unlocks door and comes out. Together Hansel and Gretel push the struggling, protesting witch into the oven. Gretel latches the oven door.) (Witch screams in despair, piteously) HANSEL: Thank you! Thank you! You are brave! And smart! GRETEL: She's gone! (Hansel and Gretel jump in joy.) HANSEL: We did it. We pushed her in. (They listen; no sound from the oven) (They ponder what just happened) GRETEL: Did you hear that awful scream? HANSEL: It was terrible. GRETEL: I mean, we just killed a person. HANSEL: She was a witch! GRETEL: I feel sick. HANSEL: So do I. GRETEL: Oh, sure. Show me your red spots. HANSEL: No, really. I can't believe what just happened. GRETEL: She was going to roast you. (They listen) GRETEL: She's dead. HANSEL: (Soberly) I feel awful. But I guess we're free. GRETEL: (Excited) Yes, Hansel! We're free! HANSEL: (Dazed) Free! GRETEL: Let's get the jewels and take them home to Father and Mother. (They run into the Witch's house) (The Bird comes onstage, looks around, moves to the stable, then to the oven, moves to the side but remains onstage.) (Hansel and Gretel run out of the house carrying a large, ornate box of jewelry. They're both wearing jewelry. They set down the jewelry box and rummage.) HANSEL: Look at all these jewels. We're rich! GRETEL: We'll never be hungry again. HANSEL: That's only if we can find someplace to sell 'em. We may never see home again. We're lost, remember? (Gretel sees Bird) GRETEL: (To Hansel) The Bird! (To the Bird) Go away! We're done with you! (Hansel and Gretel chase the bird offstage, shouting at it) (Hansel and Gretel return onstage) HANSEL: Look, the house is melting away! GRETEL: All the beautiful food is disappearing! Quick! Eat while we still can! (Hansel and Gretel run around the stage, grabbing food and eating as fast as they can. They stop after about 15 seconds.) HANSEL: The food is all gone, and I feel hungry again! Oh, no! What will we do we do now? GRETEL: Go home, of course. HANSEL: How will we do that? We've been here 3 weeks. Everyone will think we're dead! AND they're too weak to find us! AND they'd get lost if they tried, 'cause we're deep in the middle of an enchanted forest! GRETEL: Your statement contains two inaccuracies. Firstly, the forest isn't enchanted anymore, now that the Witch is dead. Maybe it never was. Look; even the bird flew away and hasn't come back. HANSEL: Well, we're still lost, far away from home, deep in the middle of a forest. We'll starve! All we have left are these lousy, inedible jewels. I wonder why they didn't disappear? (Hamming again) Drat, blast and darn these useless jewels! Woe is me! Oh, cruel fate! Alas! Alack! Whatever shall we do? GRETEL: (Interrupting Hansel's lament) AS I was saying. Your second inaccuracy is, we're not lost. HANSEL: What do you mean, we're not lost? Did you find a map? Have you been exploring while I was locked up? GRETEL: I didn't find a map, and I didn't need to explore. I have been getting water from a stream, in case you don't recall. HANSEL: What does the stream have to do with anything? GRETEL: Don't you ever listen to dad when he tells his stories? HANSEL: I listen to mom when she tells me her recipes. GRETEL: You're never lost if you're by a stream. Every stream leads to a river, and every river leads to a village or town. Just keep going downstream and you're sure to find people. HANSEL: Yeah! I forgot about that! GRETEL: Do you still think the jewels are useless? HANSEL: Of course not. When we get to a town, we can sell some! And buy food! GRETEL: And pay someone to take us home! HANSEL: And make mom and dad rich! GRETEL: (Emphatically, like she really means it) I hate mom. HANSEL: (shocked) How can you hate mom? She's our mom! GRETEL: She left us in the forest to die. HANSEL: She sent us away from home, where we were all starving. Now we're not starving. Mom was right. GRETEL: But it was terrible! What she did. HANSEL: It WAS terrible. But in the end, mom was right. GRETEL: What, again? (Pauses) I guess you're right. We are alive. We would've been dead. In the end, mom was right. HANSEL: Don't you hate it when that happens? GRETEL: Yeah. HANSEL: Personally, it's that Bird that I hate. GRETEL: That Bird led us here. HANSEL: Exactly! Right to the Witch! I hate that bird for fooling me! You didn't want to follow it, remember? GRETEL: If we stayed there, we would have died. The Bird brought us here, the Witch fed us, and we lived. HANSEL: (Pauses) I guess you're right. Without the bird, we would've died. With the Bird, we didn't. GRETEL: I wonder if the bird was good, or evil? I mean, was it helping the witch, or us? HANSEL: I wonder, too. I don't know. GRETEL: I am tired of all this philosophy, and would like to go home. HANSEL: What are we waiting for? Let's grab these jewels and go! (They pick up the box of jewels.) (Hansel and Gretel face the audience) HANSEL and GRETEL: (together) Let's go home to mom and dad! (Lights fade)(Hansel and Gretel exit.) THE END -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Author: Leo Heska (adapted from a traditional folk tale) Distributor/Publisher: http://www.freeplays.org Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. In short: 1. You are free to print, copy, read, use, modify, and perform this work without royalty. 2. If you distribute this work in any form (including recordings of performances), with or without modification, you must grant these same royalty-free rights. For details, see the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ or at http://www.freeplays.org/license.html For details about how to share your own plays, including modifications you may have made to this one, go to http://www.FreePlays.org/HowWeShare.html