Remember the innocent tale of Hansel and Gretel? When you were a kid, you probably heard the sanitized version, which went something like this: Hansel and Gretel get lost in the woods, but fortunately Gretel left a path of stones to find their way home. But first the two sibs get hungry and decide to go to a witch's house conveniently made of candy. The ugly hag is nice at first, but then she gets nasty and threatens to throw the two kids in the oven. Before she is able to carry out her plan, Gretel pushes the witch into the oven. The children quickly leave the house, follow the path of stones and return home. And, of course, everyone lives happily after. But then you knew that.
Actually the original Grimm fairy tale is a lot more shocking. It's more like Freddie Krueger Slashes His Way Up and Down Elm St. Krueger is the legendary monster most of us have seen on movies. An OCS child if left undisciplined can be a monster too. Watch what happens when we add more of Grimm's plot to the tale and Gretel becomes the OCS sib:
Once upon a time the parents of Hansel and Gretel battle a terrible famine in their town. The parents decide that Hansel and Gretel are giving them a lot of grief so they might as well encourage the two to leave home. After all, it's two more mouths to feed, and maybe the pair can find enough food in the forest. So Hansel and Gretel leave home but not before taking along some resources. Gretel grabs some bread crumbs, and Hansel fills his pockets with some white pebbles.
Off they go into the dark and scary woods. Hansel would like to have fun, but Gretel, an OCS sib, doesn't like hanging out with Hansel. She mocks his interest in the stars, plants, and nature in general. To Gretel, Hansel is just a big pain in the ass who if she didn't constantly watch would steal her thunder. Why does she have to be stuck with him when she'd rather be alone? Maybe if she gets lucky, he'll lag behind sniffing the leaves and gazing at butterflies. Maybe he'll get good and lost! So Gretel walks in a determined way, thinking all the while about how she'll look so beautiful in her Christmas finery, how she's going to save her allowance and buy a cape to go with her dress, and how she hates Hansel.
Meanwhile Hansel is trailing behind, but not for the reason Gretel thinks. He's dropping the white pebbles so they can find their way back home. Suddenly Hansel looks up from the ground and sees Gretel staring ahead at an odd-shaped house of twigs. "I'm hungry," she says, not bothering to ask Hansel if he were too. "I'm going inside this house and ask for some tarts or donuts."
"I don't think it's safe," says Hansel. "I can see through the window that the owner is an old hag with thousands of wrinkles and an evil grin. She could be big trouble."
Naturally Gretel doesn't bother listening to her brother. She knocks on the door, but doesn't even wait to be acknowledged. She walks in, asks for food and stands there gawking at the witch and waiting for her to supply her with sweet delicacies. Meanwhile Hansel peers into the house, assesses the situation and concludes that Gretel is headed for trouble. So he decides to go in the twig house.
"Hi there," says the old crone. "Wow, now I have two of you delicious dummies. I haven't tasted a doubleheader in ages."
"What you mean," says Gretel, correcting the crone, "is you haven't had many guests in a while."
"I know what I'm saying," says the witch as she rips off her apron and reveals a huge knife. "Now all I need decide is whether to cut you two up before I throw you into the oven."
Gretel is surprised that this old lady has the nerve to threaten her so she gets angry and throws the bread crumbs in the old crone's face. This unexpected move rattles the witch and gives Hansel the chance he was waiting for: to push the witch into the open oven. Gretel also helps by slamming the oven door shut.
"Oweeeeeeeeeeee" screams the monster. "You two were too smart for me. I thought you'd be pushovers since you hate each other." Hansel and Gretel clap as the witch falls silent.
"We're not going to die after all," says Gretel. "I'll get to go home and listen to Beyonce on my Ipod. But how will we ever find our way back? I was too busy daydreaming and don't remember the path."
"But I do," says Hansel. "I also dropped pebbles along the way so we should be able to make it home in no time."
"Well, aren't you the cool one today, mister," says Gretel. "I guess two ARE better than one."
And they lived happily ever after--now that Gretel realizes she needs help to stay alive so she can buy cute clothes and go to the prom.
Actually the original Grimm fairy tale is a lot more shocking. It's more like Freddie Krueger Slashes His Way Up and Down Elm St. Krueger is the legendary monster most of us have seen on movies. An OCS child if left undisciplined can be a monster too. Watch what happens when we add more of Grimm's plot to the tale and Gretel becomes the OCS sib:
Once upon a time the parents of Hansel and Gretel battle a terrible famine in their town. The parents decide that Hansel and Gretel are giving them a lot of grief so they might as well encourage the two to leave home. After all, it's two more mouths to feed, and maybe the pair can find enough food in the forest. So Hansel and Gretel leave home but not before taking along some resources. Gretel grabs some bread crumbs, and Hansel fills his pockets with some white pebbles.
Off they go into the dark and scary woods. Hansel would like to have fun, but Gretel, an OCS sib, doesn't like hanging out with Hansel. She mocks his interest in the stars, plants, and nature in general. To Gretel, Hansel is just a big pain in the ass who if she didn't constantly watch would steal her thunder. Why does she have to be stuck with him when she'd rather be alone? Maybe if she gets lucky, he'll lag behind sniffing the leaves and gazing at butterflies. Maybe he'll get good and lost! So Gretel walks in a determined way, thinking all the while about how she'll look so beautiful in her Christmas finery, how she's going to save her allowance and buy a cape to go with her dress, and how she hates Hansel.
Meanwhile Hansel is trailing behind, but not for the reason Gretel thinks. He's dropping the white pebbles so they can find their way back home. Suddenly Hansel looks up from the ground and sees Gretel staring ahead at an odd-shaped house of twigs. "I'm hungry," she says, not bothering to ask Hansel if he were too. "I'm going inside this house and ask for some tarts or donuts."
"I don't think it's safe," says Hansel. "I can see through the window that the owner is an old hag with thousands of wrinkles and an evil grin. She could be big trouble."
Naturally Gretel doesn't bother listening to her brother. She knocks on the door, but doesn't even wait to be acknowledged. She walks in, asks for food and stands there gawking at the witch and waiting for her to supply her with sweet delicacies. Meanwhile Hansel peers into the house, assesses the situation and concludes that Gretel is headed for trouble. So he decides to go in the twig house.
"Hi there," says the old crone. "Wow, now I have two of you delicious dummies. I haven't tasted a doubleheader in ages."
"What you mean," says Gretel, correcting the crone, "is you haven't had many guests in a while."
"I know what I'm saying," says the witch as she rips off her apron and reveals a huge knife. "Now all I need decide is whether to cut you two up before I throw you into the oven."
Gretel is surprised that this old lady has the nerve to threaten her so she gets angry and throws the bread crumbs in the old crone's face. This unexpected move rattles the witch and gives Hansel the chance he was waiting for: to push the witch into the open oven. Gretel also helps by slamming the oven door shut.
"Oweeeeeeeeeeee" screams the monster. "You two were too smart for me. I thought you'd be pushovers since you hate each other." Hansel and Gretel clap as the witch falls silent.
"We're not going to die after all," says Gretel. "I'll get to go home and listen to Beyonce on my Ipod. But how will we ever find our way back? I was too busy daydreaming and don't remember the path."
"But I do," says Hansel. "I also dropped pebbles along the way so we should be able to make it home in no time."
"Well, aren't you the cool one today, mister," says Gretel. "I guess two ARE better than one."
And they lived happily ever after--now that Gretel realizes she needs help to stay alive so she can buy cute clothes and go to the prom.
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