The Revenge of Hansel and Grethel

There once was a little cottage at the edge of the forest, where a poor woodsman lived with his wife and two children. The boy's name was Hansel, and the girl's name was Grethel.
Times were hard for the poor woodsman. Food had become scarce in all the region, and soon bread was no longer obtainable. The woodsman would worry the night through about the welfare of his family.
"What are we to do?" the woodsman cried.
"Tomorrow morning, we will lead the children into the forest, where the brush is thick and the path hard to follow. We will lead them further in than they have traveled before. There, we will build them a fire, and give them one more crust of bread apiece. We will go to work, and leave the children in the woods."
"We can not do that! Wife, have you no heart?" scolded the woodsman. In truth, the woman cared not, for the children were not her children, rather they were her step children.
"Fool, what do you suggest? If they stay, we will all starve! We stand a chance if we send them away, and if they are resourceful, they will, too."
"Surely they will freeze with no shelter in the night, or some wild beast could come and devour them."
"At least it would save them the pain of starvation." The wife feigned concern for the children, but she was more afraid of herself starving than worried about the children being eaten by a wild animal.
The woodsman lay in thought for a long time. "It would be more merciful that way. That is what we will do then."
No more was said on the subject.
The children had not been asleep, and had heard the entire plan. Grethel began to tremble and cry.
"Do not fear sister. The good Lord will take care of us," Hansel whispered to her in the dark. He consoled his sister, but he could feel the anger at his father's betrayal growing inside of him. He let it fester, until they both fell asleep.
"Get up, you sluggards," the wife scolded the children. "We are going into the forest to cut wood. Here is some bread for dinner. Do not eat it all before then, for there will be nothing else." Grethel placed her bread in her apron pocket, and Hansel put his in his trouser pocket. Hansel immediately began crumbling his piece.
The woodsman and his wife led the children deep into the forest. Soon the paths became overgrown, and the children did not know which way would lead them home. Hansel, being a smart boy, had scattered his bread crumbs along the path, to lead them back.
When they were near the center of the forest, the woodsman and his wife told the children to gather brush and wood for a fire. Hansel and Grethel gathered enough for a large mound. The flames grew and rose to the sky. The woodsman and his wife were sure that it would burn through the night.
"We are going to work now. You two stay by the fire. Eat the bread when you get hungry, but there is no more to give, so eat it sparingly," the wife instructed. "If you get tired, you may sleep by the fire, and we will come fetch you when we are finished." The wife walked away, calling to the woodsman. He obediently followed, looking back at his children once more.
Hansel and Grethel sat by the fire for a few moments, letting the woodsman and his wife get a head start. Hansel and Grethel then followed the bread crumbs back toward their little home.
The children had not gone half a league when the bread crumbs had become so scarce they could no longer follow the trail. Though Hansel was smart in leaving a trail, thousands of birds called that forest home, and food was just as scarce for them as it was for the children. Hansel and Grethel tried in vain to follow the path the woodsman and his wife had left, but it soon occurred to them that they were walking in circles.
"Hansel, why would our father do this to us?" Grethel cried. She could hardly contain her grief.
"I do not know why he would leave his children out here to die!" Hansel snapped back. His anger was consuming him, and all he could think about was finding his father's home to confront him. Grethel began to sob. Hansel calmed himself to console his sister. "I do know that God would not let the innocent suffer such a fate. He will protect us. You will see."
Hours passed by with the children hopelessly lost in the forest. They decided to stop and have a bite of bread beneath a large oak tree. Just as they finished their meager meal, a black crow perched on a branch above their heads.
"Follow me! Follow me!' it squawked.
"I told you God would protect us!" Hansel exclaimed. "He has sent us a guide!"
The children ran after the crow as fast as they could. Just as night had settled on the woods, they came to a small hut. They could see a fire through a small window, and decided to plead with the occupants for help.
Hansel knocked on the door, hoping someone would answer. The door creaked open, and an old woman stepped through.
"Can I help you poor children? What are you doing in the forest so late at night?"
"We are lost and can not find our way home," Grethel sobbed. The old woman felt bad for the children, and ushered them inside to sit by the warm fire.
After Grethel had calmed herself, the old woman asked, "How did you come to be in the forest all alone?"
Hansel recounted the tale to the kind woman, feeling again the heat of his anger rising inside of him, threatening to consume him. The old woman nodded her head, but remained silent until their story was finished.
"Well, dearies, you are in luck." The woman walked across the room to stoke the fire. "I can show you the way home, and I can even prepare you to take your revenge when you get there." The old woman looked Hansel square in the eye as she said this.
"Revenge? We just want to go home," Grethel cried.
"How could you prepare us?" Hansel asked, intrigued.
"I suppose it is my turn to tell a story. See, children, I am a vampire." The children gasped at this revelation, having heard all the stories about the evils of vampires. The old woman laughed at their expressions.
"It is not as bad as the stories say. I am a child of the night. I do have to have living blood to sustain me, but I have been granted power and unending life in return." Grethel was in shock, sobbing and blubbering.
"I do not want to die! I just want to go home!"
"Oh, Grethel, can you not see?" Hansel was yelling at his sister at this point. "Our father has left us in the woods to die. He wishes to be rid of us! He does not care for us anymore!" Hansel's anger and rage had finally reached a peak. He could no longer contain his animosity. The shock of Hansel's reaction immediately humbled Grethel, and she began to feel the anger and hate, too.
"Again, I ask, how can you prepare us?" Hansel asked the old woman.
"I can make you one of my kind, but only if you wish it."
"See," Hansel said to his sister, "I told you God would protect us."
The old woman again laughed. "I know nothing of God, but I will protect you."
Hansel took all of a heartbeat to reply. "I wish to have my revenge." His words came through gritted teeth.
"And you, dear?"
"I wish it as well."
"So be it."
Too quick to be seen, the old woman grabbed Grethel by the shoulders and lifted her off of her feet. Before Grethel could react, the old woman had her teeth sunk in Grethel's neck. As the woman savored the taste of the innocent blood, Hansel watched, knowing that his anger would be satiated.
The woman laid Grethel on the floor, and turned to Hansel. He stood motionless as the woman's teeth punctured his skin. The room began to spin, and all went black.

A week had passed since the woodsman and his wife left the children in the woods, and still they hungered. The woodsman was haunted by the thoughts of his children dying alone in the forest, while his wife continued to complain about their situation.
Evening had settled in around the cottage as the woodsman and his wife were preparing for bed. A knock came to the door. The woodsman ran to it, hoping it would be his children. He could hardly believe his eyes when before him stood Hansel and Grethel.
"My children!" he cried as he lifted them up in his arms. He was embracing them both when his wife came in.
"Naughty children! We were so worried about you."
The woodsman released his children to reprimand his wife, when he noticed something was different about his offspring.
"How did you survive so long?' he asked.
"We were 'resourceful,'" was Hansel's only reply.
Before the wife could even see what was coming, the children toppled her. Hansel ripped her arms off of her body, as Grethel claimed the legs. She lay on the floor crying and pleading for her life, but no mercy remained in the children. Grethel got to finish the wife by draining her of every drop of blood that remained in her torso.
Hansel then turned to their father. He was on his knees, crying and begging.
"Please, I am your father. Spare me! I never wanted to leave you!"
"Then why did you do it?" Grethel had learned much of hate in the past week.
"I did not want you to suffer the pain of starvation. I was trying to spare you!"
Hansel and Grethel circled their father. Hansel had wanted to kill this man, but a new punishment entered his mind.
"Rest easy," Hansel said then. "We will spare your life, but know this: we did die out in the forest. We did as you asked."
The children walked out of the hut, leaving their father alone, with just his guilt and the corpse of his wife to comfort him.