The forest.

It is now sunset. Hänsel is roaming about in the forest picking strawberries, while Gretel makes a crown of flowers and sings a little song. They begin snacking on the berries as they listen to a cuckoo singing in the distance. Soon they begin fighting over the strawberries, but Hänsel grabs the basket away from Gretel and eats them all. Gretel is aghast; now they’ll have to start over. Meanwhile, darkness is falling, and they realize that they are lost in the woods. Hänsel tries to reassure Gretel, but they begin to see strange shapes and lights. When Hänsel asks who is there, only an echo replies. Gretel thinks she sees ghostly figures coming for them and cries out for her parents. Out of the mist, a little man appears with a sack on his back. It is the Sandman, who sprinkles his magic sand on them to help them sleep. The children say their evening prayer (“Abends will ich schlafen geh’n”) and fall into a deep sleep as angels watch over them.

Act III

The Witch’s house in the forest. Dawn.

The Dew Fairy sprinkles dew on the children to gently wake them. Gretel wakes up first and greets the morning with a song. Then she tickles Hänsel awake. She tells him that she dreamt of angels; Hänsel is surprised, for he had the same dream. Suddenly, a beautiful gingerbread house appears in the forest. They run up to it, inspecting the candy and cake trim on the house, eager to start eating, and hoping that whoever lives in the house will invite them in. Gretel stops Hänsel from opening the door, but he argues that the angels they saw in their dreams must live in the house and that it will be all right if they just start eating. As Hänsel breaks off a piece of cake, they hear a strange voice from inside the house (“Knusper, knusper, Knäuschen”)—someone wondering what little mouse is nibbling at her house.

The children freeze with fear but then, concluding that it must be the wind, go on to taste the treats, which they think are delicious. Hänsel and Gretel continue to eat the sweets they pull from the house but once again stop in their tracks when they hear the voice again asking what is nibbling at her house.

They answer that it is the wind. Laughing at their own cleverness, they continue to eat, but soon they see that they are not alone. A horrible Witch takes hold of them, eyeing them hungrily and telling them how much she loves children—to eat. While Hänsel and Gretel struggle to escape, the Witch laughs at them, describing all the goodies she will feed them to fatten them up and make them tender and tasty. When they manage to break away, she freezes them with a spell that she casts, with a magic stick.

The Witch puts Hänsel in a cage and goes into the house, leaving Gretel frozen in place. Hänsel tells Gretel that he has a plan and that she should do whatever the Witch tells her to do.

The Witch returns with a basket of sweets, ordering Hänsel to eat. She unfreezes Gretel with another spell and orders her to go into the house to set the table for supper. Hänsel, meanwhile, pretends to be asleep. The Witch gloats over her plan to eat Gretel first by having her look into the oven and then pushing her into it, baking her into gingerbread. She dances with her broomstick in gleeful anticipation of her feast.

Now the Witch wakes Hänsel to see if he is fat enough. She tells him to put out a finger so she can feel it, but Hänsel pokes out a twig instead, and the nearsighted old hag is sorely disappointed at how skinny he is. She calls for Gretel to bring more sweets for him. While the Witch is feeding him, Gretel, seeing the magic stick unattended, grabs it and recites the unfreeze spell. The Witch suddenly turns to her and asks what she said, but Gretel merely replies that Hänsel will never get fat. The Witch stops Gretel’s mouth with food. As the Witch goes to check the outdoor oven, Hänsel tells Gretel to be careful. The Witch calls Gretel over and asks her to look into the oven to see if the gingerbread is done yet. Gretel pretends not to understand and asks the Witch to show her how. Annoyed, the Witch sticks her head in. Hänsel, meanwhile, has crept out of the cage, and he and Gretel shove the Witch into the oven and bang the door shut. They dance with joy at having beaten the Witch at her own game.

Hänsel rushes into the house and comes out again with all sorts of delicious food. Then the oven explodes, and all the Witch’s gingerbread victims are suddenly transformed into real children, frozen in place with their eyes closed. The children ask Hänsel and Gretel to touch them to open their eyes. Then Hänsel grabs the magic stick, recites the unfreeze spell, and frees the children. Everyone celebrates.

Suddenly Peter is heard in the distance sadly calling for his children. When he and Gertrude arrive onstage, Hänsel and Gretel rush into their arms. The other children take the Witch, who has now herself turned into gingerbread, out of the oven. All thank God for their rescue and dance triumphantly.