Breadcrumb Trail

Dear Followers,


"The Acts Of Hansel and Gretel" - King James Bible:


1. In that time of old, the woodcutter and his wife of Kassal begat the young Hansel and Gretel
2. And then, when the youths were born in Kassal of Germany, behold, there came a great famine upon the village
3. And it came to pass that the wife, overtaketh by devils, resolved to abandon them in the woods to stave an early death
4. The woodcutter, her husband, just a man, and not willing to disagree with the good judgment of his spouse, was minded to agree with her plans
5. When Hansel heard these developments, he was troubled, and Gretel with him
6. And Hansel turned and spake upon Gretel, Thou must collect the pebbles on that far side of the home
7. And when the youths had gathered outside, they set to collect all the white pebbles their pockets would permit
8. Thrown then into the deep forest, they became lost, waiting from daybreak to dusk for the moon’s illumination to light the holy pebbles toward home
9. But the children of the household shall be cast out once more: there shall be weeping and the withholding of pebble and provision
10. And young Hansel, beset with fear and exhaustion, would be brought to loot a loaf of bread from that pantry
11. But behold, the breadcrumbs the young Hansel left behind had been for naught by the vice of the ravenous birds
12. When the youths had then lost the way, hearts which were sad became joyful at the sight of the small abode
13. And when they were come to the other side of the abode, there met them one possessed with devils so that no many might pass by that way
14. Hansel spake unto the witch, Let us enter thy abode lest we perish outside
15. Seeing about her two meals, the witch commandeth to not cast them, but instead to enslave Gretel and encage Hansel
16. And great adversity came onto the youths, having that which is cruel and unjust
17. The witch, beset by devilish glutton, would subject young Hansel to regular feasts to expand his girth
18. And, behold, the bone with which young Hansel overcame his doom through trickery and false pretense onto the witch
19. But now at the twelfth hour, the witch could hold no more, exceedingly wroth in anticipation of a two-fold meal
20. And the witch spake unto Gretel, See, I have need of you to check the stove
21. And Gretel did not as the witch commandeth of her, so did she not
22. And when young Gretel proved incompetent, the witch became positioned in front of the stove in example
23. Young Gretel cast her into the fire, to remain a damned soul in unabsolved sin for evermore
24. The youths then fell upon a vast treasure of every which jewel and coin in her sleeping room, filling each pocket with the scrupulous wealth
25. Having a path home illuminated by God’s grace, they reach that household of the woodcutter of Kassal
26. By delivery of justice, by which the mother had departed to the depths of hell, the youths bathed in harmony with a loving father

“Report: Local Woodcutter Reunited With Kidnapped Children”- The Associated Press


Oct 14, 10:46 PM EDT


KASSAL, Germany (AP) – A local woodcutter was reunited with his children this Monday when they reached home after having been kidnapped for 4 months.


The children, Hansel and Gretel, had planned on finding a way back home when sent into the woods by leaving a trail of breadcrumbs behind them. However, when birds ate the crumbs the two were lost in the forest.


The kidnapper, a blind elderly woman residing in the forest, had lured the lost children into her home before locking Hansel into an iron cage and forcing Gretel to become her slave.


“She would feed me every day, trying to fatten me up,” Hansel told us today in an interview. “If I hadn’t used a bone to convince her that I was too thin to eat, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”


Hansel went on to explain that the woman eventually decided to eat him and his sister, “be he fat or lean.” At this time the children managed to escape from their kidnapper.


The details of the children’s escape are unknown at this point. Authorities have found no trace of the kidnapper, and Hansel and Gretel refused to discuss their escape when we interviewed them.


“Gretel has been quiet through the whole investigation,” said Engelbert Humperdinck, member of the Kassal Police Department. “I almost get the feeling that she is hiding something that she doesn’t want us to know.”


Father Adolf could not be happier.


“I am just glad they are back safe and sound,” said the woodcutter. “I had been lamenting the loss of my children since the day my wife had sent them into the woods.”


This recent story draws attention to the increasing problem of negligent mothers in the region. A recent study released by the Brothers Grimm Institute showed that 67% of mothers in Kassal have abandoned their children in the past 5 years.


“These figures show a correlation with the recent famine in the region,” said Jacob Grimm, the institute co-founder. “This could be more of a case of desperation than negligence on the part of mothers in Kassal.”


Jacob Grimm and the institute plan to continue studying the issue and present their new findings at the German National Symposium on Parenting this fall.


© 2010 The Associated Press


Be He Fat Or Thin,
Noel