Franz Stassen made the next set of pictures for the book titled Hansel and Gretel and five other beautiful fairy tales by Brother Grimm and Ludwig Bechstein. This work was published at least twice (in 1921 and 1922) by Schroeter in Berlin.
The edition from 1921 should have 102 line drawings and the titles were:
- Hansel and Gretel
- Thumbling
- Cinderella
- Brother and Sister
- Rumpelstiltskin
- The Poor Mand and the Rich Man
There supposed to be 140 pages altogether in 1922 edition with six full-color illustrations of Hansel and Gretel (one belonging to Hansel and Gretel, used for cover and frontispiece) other five probably belonging to other five selected stories, and numerous line drawings, all signed by Franz Stassen who was then at the top of his popularity. Two of the other five stories were Sleeping Beauty and Brave Little Tailor but at the moment I can't say which were others.
Times were bad and people were dying of hunger. Hansel and Gretel were brother and sister living with their father, who was a poor woodcutter, and a stepmother. It was the latter who suggested father to take the kids into the woods and leave them so they would not be a burden to the family budget anymore.
Hansel overheard their talk and took white pebbles so he could mark the way home. It worked and they safely returned.
But the stepmother was determined to carry out the plan. The next day the family went to the woods again. This time they made an even longer walk. Unfortunately, Hansel didn't have any more pebbles, so he tried to mark the path with breadcrumbs.
The breadcrumbs were eaten by birds and the children could not find home anymore. They were forced to spend the night among forest beasts. None of them hurt them, yet they were starving and it was just a matter of time before they would die.
The next day, things changed. Hansel and Gretel found a cottage in the wood which was entirely made of sweets. Without hesitation they started eating the house, enjoying gingerbread, cake, and other candy.
They didn't know that the house belonged to an evil cannibalistic witch who constructed this house with one goal only - to lure lost children to her home where she could eat them.
The witch locked Hansel in a cage and Gretel was obligated to serve her as a maid. The kids were not eaten immediately because they were too skinny. The witch decided to fatten them and after a while, Hansel should be baked in her oven. She checked every day if he was fat enough by squeezing his finger. Her sightseeing was so poor she mostly relied on touching and snelling.
Gretel was smart and gave her brother a chicken bone. So the witch squeezed the bone instead of his finger. To her surprise, Hansel wasn't gaining any weight despite eating well. So she changed her plan. Instead of waiting, she would bake both kids.
When the oven was already hot the witch tried to trick Gretel into entering it just to check if it was hot enough. But the girl outsmarted her again by asking how to enter it. When the witch tried to demonstrate to her this simple task, Gretel pushed her in and closed the door.
Children were free again! Even more, they found all sorts of treasures in the witch's home so they could return home rich.
There was just one obstacle to overcome. To return home, brother and sister had to cross a river. There was a duck which could help them and it was Gretel again who suggested to cross the river one by one so their feathery helper wouldn't carry too much of a burden at once.
A happy ending follows. Hansel and Gretel's stepmother died in the meantime and the kids safely reunited with their father. They lived happily ever after.
