After Hansel and Gretel trapped the old hungry witch in her very own oven, and ate her for their dinner. They stayed in the house to live and fed off the house made of sweets, little by little.
Every day Hansel set out into the woods in hopes of finding his father. Each day he set out he left markers in the ground to help him find his way back. He used stones, branches, pieces of his clothing he torn off to tie to branches, anything to help him get back to his sister.
The day came when Hansel’s search proved successful. His father was thrilled to see his son and hugged him tight. His father told him his step mother was no more and asked after his daughter Gretel.
“Gretel is alive and well, father. She is staying in the only home we’ve known since we lost you”.
Father was overcome with tears and demanded to be taken to her right away. So Hansel took the hand of his father and led him deep into the woods, farther than his father had ever dared to trek. Then the house of sweets came into view and Father was flabbergasted seeing the house before him. As he stood in awe taking in the sight of the house, Hansel ran ahead and called for his little sister to come out.
Gretel hearing her brother, she stepped out to see her father standing there before her, tears of joy in his eyes. He opened his arms to her as she made a dash to her father and embraced him. They all hugged each other as one unit. Then Father broke away to ask the children how had they survived this long alone. The children exclaimed how they’d been eating off the house of sweets for some time after eating all the food the witch had in storage. The father marveled at their story and dared to walk closer to the house to inspect it.
“I see you rascals aren’t the only ones doing some nibbling”, Father joked as he pointed out some missing pieces to the side of the house. The children giggled.
Father turned to face his children knelt down and opened his arms again to welcome them back in.
“Come now, all that indulging in sweets cannot have been good for your teeth. Let me see them”.
The children both displayed their teeth that definitely showed signs of lasting decay. Father stood up resting his fists upon his waistline. Thoughtfully, he looked to them both and sighed.
“Well my children, it’s definitely time for you both to return home, so if you have any belongings here, gather them to you and follow me out. They did as they were told, grateful to have their father back in their lives.
As they followed, Father lectured them, that they were never to return to this house again, in fact forget it’s very existence. Life was about to get way better for all of them.
“But !! First order of business” he said holding up his index finger and stated ” is to take you both to the village dentist. I heard the old lady who lives in a shoe, no longer runs an orphanage but now has converted her home to a dentist office”. The children looked to each other, both their mouths shaped in an O. Father turned to quickly look at his kids and saw their worried little faces.
“No worries children, this is only a check up” he told them then turned back to continue leading them out of the forest and onto an old familiar dirt trail that would take them to town.
Upon arriving at the office, the lobby had a few other patients waiting. The old woman was at the desk and welcomed Father and the children in. The children looked around the office and how it was decorated with canvases of paintings clearly done by other children that hung on light colored blue walls. Toys were scattered on the floor and books lined the tables and bookshelves. Father instructed the children to have a seat while he talked to the old woman.
When Father finished signing the kids in for their visit, one patient was escorted out by a very tall wolf. His snout was covered by a face mask. Hansel’s eyes looked to the child patient with tears streaming down his cheeks. Hansel’s eyes darted to the wolf as he spoke to his receptionist, then back to the sobbing child.
The child was clearly upset about the work done on his teeth. His teeth seemed to have all been sharpened into canines, and were freakishly too large for the child’s little mouth. The upper teeth hung out long and heavy out of the child’s mouth as drool dripped from his lower lip.
“Umm Father?” Hansel called as he pulled on his father’s shirt sleeve. Father had been deeply engrossed in a magazine and had not seen the child come out of the office and leave with his parent. Father turned his head to look down to see his son in obvious distress.
“What is it, my boy? I told you not to worry, now”. Father laid his magazine face down on his lap and shifted his attention to Gretel who happily played on the floor with another child and all the toys before them.
“And how is my girl getting along down there?” he asked Gretel.
“Fine Pa Pa” she answered dutifully as she continued playing without breaking her attention away from playtime.
