It Never Ends Hansel and Gretel

Chapter Three

Hansel and Gretel stepped onto the road that brought them to their cottage that was farther into the forest than of most homes. The road was only a cleaned path that had been worn down. Mother was sitting at the empty table, staring at the empty pantry. Hansel came bounding through the door. "We've got ourselves a meal tonight." He said excitedly. "He's going to be getting us a rabbit to cook." Mother laughed. "That'd be lucky." She snickered. "That's what I said," Gretel said softly.

Mother sat up. "Well, let me see what you have there." She said happily. Gretel opened the bag and then looked at Hansel playfully. "Why don't you go and get yourself the rabbit?" She teased. "I'm going and I won't come back till I have it!" Hansel declared. He grabbed the handle of the door and opened it.

"Hansel, don't go too far into the forest after dark, remember people have gone missing." Mother warned. "I know," Hansel grumbled.

He retreated out of the door before his mother could tell him to do anything else. He began to make his way into the woods as the leaves and twigs snapped and crunched beneath his shoes. He knelt down and placed his trap on the ground, making sure to set it perfectly. The trees towered above him as the light began to fade away from the forest.

He made himself comfortable on the ground and waited as the sky became darker. The air around his feet became cold but he stayed still, watching the trap. It was fully quiet in the forest. There were absolutely no sounds except for Hansel's breathing coming in small breaths. The sun kept going down until it was out of sight and the darkness swept across the forest. A gentle breeze blew through the trees that sounded like faint words or a mumble from the darkness. This forest always seemed to darken before every other place, to the point that it was nearly impossible to see anything.

Hansel reached his stick out the trap as it snapped closed. He couldn't see any light at all even though the cottage was nearby. " Hansel heard his mother in his head warning him about going too far into the forest at night. Hansel stood up and looked through the trees. "I put the trap facing the forest and my feet were towards the cottage so it must be... Behind me." Hansel walked slowly with his hands in front of his face for protection. He ran into tree, after tree, getting spiderwebs stuck in his face and arms that nearly turning him all the way around each time. He began to see a faint light in the distance, even though it could have been the moon and that was Hansel's worst fear. His hands became clammy as he walked towards the light and he felt as if he was hearing whispers from behind. He began to walk faster.

"Hansel..." Said a soft voice from behind. It was cold and a horse.

He slowly turned around but saw nothing but a faint shape.