Many centuries have passed since Hansel and Gretel died. Neither of them ever married; they both died alone. People used to sing songs about them-- how they cunningly outsmarted the witch in the woods, shoved her into the oven and left her there, burning, screaming in searing pain. No more children would ever fall prey to her candied seductions.
Many centuries have passed and everyone forgot to remember. They stopped singing their songs, and no one told their tales anymore. Hansel and Gretel have long been gone and buried. Their flesh has sunk deep into the earth and their bones chewed by vermins of oblivion.
And in the absence of their rhyming melodies, the people started to miss the witch in the woods.
"There in the clearing once...
PH