Hansel & Gretel
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About this story
A woodcutter's family with nothing left to eat, two children led into the forest and left there, a trail of breadcrumbs the birds have already eaten. Then, in a clearing, a house with walls of bread, a roof of cake and windows of clear sugar — and an old woman who is very glad of visitors. Hansel and Gretel is the Grimms' great story about hunger, and about a girl who out-thinks the thing that wants to eat her.
This production is a directed retelling for young listeners, about twelve minutes long, with separate voices for Hansel, Gretel, their father, the stepmother and the witch. The frightening parts are frightening in the way children like — the cage, the oven, the finger held out to be pinched — and the ending is the one the Grimms wrote, with the children home and the house never hungry again.
It plays with a cozy hearth ambience, and the words appear on screen as they are spoken, which makes it a useful read-along for early readers. The Spanish edition tells the same story in Spanish for bilingual families and language learners.
The cast
- Narrator
- Hansel
- Gretel
- The Witch
- Father
- Stepmother
How this was made
This is a full-cast production, not a single narrator reading a book. Each character has its own voice, the lines are directed for pace and emotion, and the story plays inside a live sound environment — a crackling hearth and a quiet cottage — that shifts as the scenes change. The voices are synthetic (high-quality text-to-speech, directed by people), and the words appear on screen as they are spoken, so you can read along or follow in a second language.
Questions
Is it too scary for young children?
It is rated 6+. The witch is menacing and does end up in her own oven, as in the Grimm original, but nothing is described graphically and the tone stays adventurous.
Is this the whole Grimm story?
It is an abridged retelling of about twelve minutes, written for listening, and keeps every major beat of the Grimm version.
How much does it cost?
The opening is free to hear right now, no account needed. The full story is $2.99, a one-time purchase with a free account that stays in your library. Several stories on this site are free in full.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Press Play and it opens in your browser. It works on iPhone, iPad, Android and desktop.
Can I read along?
Yes. The text is highlighted word by word as it is spoken, and you can switch the on-screen text to Spanish while listening in English (or the other way round).
Source and rights
Based on "Hänsel und Gretel" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Kinder- und Hausmärchen, 1812), which is in the public domain. Abridged and directed by ImmersivePage. Cover art created for this edition.
