Matt Doeden - Hansel and Gretel: An Interactive Fairy Tale Adventure

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YOU are about to enter a world filled with magic, mystery and candy. A world where your wildest dreams are within reach. And isnt it good to grab for your dreams? Maybe not. At least not in these tales. Whether youre a witch, an explorer on an uncharted planet, or a kid lost in a virtual world, some treats might be too good to be true.

In this fairy tale, you control your fate. Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

Gingerbread, candy, cakes everywhere you look, youre surrounded by them. You find yourself in a wild and fantastic world, and it seems to be filled with delicious treats. Your mouth is watering. All you have to do is reach out and grab them.

Of course its not as simple as that. Nothing comes without a price. And the price may be steep for these tasty treats. Because for every move you make, someone is watching. Someone is waiting.

The fire in the oven is stoked. As you look around, you cant help but wonder what is next on todays menu. A little voice inside your head keeps warning: Maybe its you.

You step forward and take a deep breath. The smell of sugar and flour fill the air. The time has come. Its time to make the choice that could alter the course of your life forever.

Its a lovely autumn evening. The sound of hooting owls wafts in through your open window as you add wood to your oven.

Its the perfect time to bake gingerbread, and youre going to need a lot of it. Ever since the kids from the nearby village discovered your house, its been a constant battle to keep things standing. They break off pieces of the gingerbread walls. They run off with your candy-cane fence posts. They even eat the chocolate candies that you use to pave your walk. It makes you wonder if having a house made of candy is even worth the trouble.

Honestly, you mutter to yourself as you sprinkle powdered sugar onto a slab of gingerbread. Im going to have to do something about this.

As much as you love children, you cant keep rebuilding. You tried posting a sign that read: PLEASE DONT EAT MY HOUSE. But they ate the sign. In hindsight maybe you shouldnt have made it out of peanut brittle. You tried spreading a rumor that you were a witch, hoping the idea would scare them off. That didnt work either. Apparently kids are willing to risk a witchs wrath if theres enough candy on the line.

Your thoughts drift as you put the pan of gingerbread into the oven.

Ah, you think. Nothing like baking to calm the nerves.

Just then you hear it: Voices. Theyre small and quiet. Its a boy and a girl, and theyre fairly young from the sound of them. You strain to hear them.

What is this place? asks the girl.

Look, Gretel! says the boy. Candy. Everywhere you look, candy! Its like a dream!

Im so hungry, Hansel, says the girl. Can we eat some? Just a little bit?

To your disappointment you hear a small Snap! Theyve broken off a piece of the house. Gretel squeals with delight as she munches away. What are you to do?

Nibble, nibble, like a mouse, you call out. Who is gnawing at my house?

For a moment all you hear is silence. Then in a small and frightened voice, Hansel answers, The wind.

You roll your eyes. They dont expect you to believe that, do they? But youve called out to them. That should be enough to send them on their way. You glance back at your oven. The smell of gingerbread is beginning to fill the house. You breathe it in deeply as your stomach growls.

Snap! comes the sound from outside. Munch! Munch! Munch!

Theyre at it again? you say to yourself.

You throw open the door and step out into the cool evening air, prepared to give the thieves an earful. The children cower in fear. Theyre dressed in rags, covered in dirt, and look painfully thin. The sight of them instantly melts your anger away. These poor children look like theyre starving!

Oh, you dear children, you say kneeling down and opening your arms. Do come inside. I wont hurt you. Lets get you something to eat. The children come inside. You make them pancakes, which they devour.

We havent had more than bread for weeks, Gretel tells you. The little girls huge grin brightens the whole room. Youre so glad that you didnt chase these children away.

The sun is getting low in the sky. The trees outside cast long shadows.

Oh my, look at how late its getting, you say. Im so sorry, your parents must be worried. Both children look down at the table. Gretels grin is replaced by a frown.

Our stepmother doesnt want us, Hansel says, his tone somber. She made our father the woodcutter leave us in the woods. Thats how we came to find your house.

The idea shocks you. Who would leave these precious children alone in the woods? Its unthinkable! You have to do something.

You could have a chat with the children, but right now you just dont feel like it. Putting a good scare into them sounds like a lot more fun. Nobody seems frightened by the rumors you spread about being a witch. So maybe a little demonstration will help get the word out.

A broom and dust pan stand by the door. You use them to keep the front step clean and crumb free. You grab the broom, put on your scariest face, and charge out the front door with a wild shriek.

The looks on the childrens faces almost make you burst out laughing. Their eyes grow wide, and their jaws drop. Both children are covered in dirt and gingerbread crumbs. Hansel steps back so quickly that he trips over Gretels feet. They both go down in a heap of squirming arms and legs.

Ill teach you a lesson for messing with a witch, you shriek. Ill eat you for supper! The children scramble to their feet and take off running.

You run after them, waving your broom around and pretend that youre going to whack them with it. Of course youd never do that. But they dont know that.

You chase the children around the woods until you have them cornered up against your front door. They have nowhere to go. As you move toward them, the children fling open your door and dash inside.

How dare they enter my home! you think. You follow behind them. The children back away toward your oven, cowering in fear.