Hänsel and Gretel

The best-known tales include “Hansel and Gretel,” “Snow White,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Tom Thumb,” “Rapunzel,” “The Golden Goose,” and “Rumpelstiltskin.” The universal appeal of these stories—whether they are considered as psychological archetypes or as fantasy narratives—inspired a myriad of print,

…the Brothers Grimm published “Hansel and Gretel” in 1812, a fairy tale about two hungry children who happen upon a witch’s cottage “built of bread and covered with cakes” with windows “of clear sugar.” Elaborately decorated gingerbread houses are especially popular in modern-day Sweden and Poland, as well as…

…works, including “Tom Thumb”; “Hansel and Gretel,” where the witch is a type of ogre because she intends to eat the children; and “Little Red Riding Hood,” where the wolf resembles an ogre. The Cyclops of myth and heroic literature who devours humans is a form of ogre.