Hi there, this week we were working on commas, and not using run-on sentences. So I hope you enjoy.
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, lived a boy and his twin sister. They worked hard, scrubbing floors, chopping wood, and cleaning chimneys. Dirty, hard work.
At the end of each day, they nibbled on the crusts of bread they were given and collapsed onto the floor of the sitting room. If they were lucky, there might still be some warmth from the glowing embers in the fireplace. If they weren’t, they would huddle together and hope the dogs chose to sleep nearby.
“Hansel and Gretel, get up. There’s wood to chop and dishes to be done. And not a crumb to eat before they’re complete,” bellowed Uncle Stanley.
The twins shuffled outside, Hansel to collect wood and Gretel to swing the axe.
“Ah, hem.” The sound came from the bushes. “You’re disturbing my rest.”
“Sorry, sir,” replied Gretel, usually the first to speak. “We meant no harm. I wish we could stop and stay, but there’s work to be done.”
“And if we don’t get the jobs done as quick as a cat after a mouse,” added Hansel, “we’ll be whipped and our lunch fed to the dogs.”
The bushes rustled some more and an old man shorter than his shadow stumbled out, bleary-eyed. The man had a wispy beard longer than his arms, one eye lower than the other, and only one tooth. Hansel shifted uneasily on his feet. Gretel twirled the loose thread from her ripped hem. The man eyed them suspiciously.
“Ahh,” he cried at last. “The wood’s stacked by the back door, the dishes are done, and the floor’s already been swept even before you’re asked.”
The twins twirled around. The wood stack reached the top of the eave, enough for a bonfire or two.
“But how can that be?” The thread between Gretel’s fingers snapped in two.
“I don’t like doing things by halves,” the old man continued. “You wished to stop and stay, so there, the work’s done.”
“Oh, me,” said Gretel.
“Oh, my,” said Hansel.
They sat down on the log the old man had been sleeping under and shared his lunch. When they thought there was no more, he pulled another roasted chicken from one of his pockets.
“Hansel! Gretel!” came the call from the house. “Be here quick smart. Or else my boot will be used for more than just walking.”
“Quick,” Gretel grabbed Hansel’s hand.
“Thank you, kind sir,” added Hansel, jumping to his feet.
“Here. Take this,” said the old man, thrusting something into each of the twin’s hands. “I like to do things in threes. So, one wish each. But use it wisely, it only works once, and then don’t wish for anything more.
The twins fell out of the bushes and into the sunlight.
They stuffed the coin they had been given deep into their pockets and ran. Uncle Stanley never called twice.
As the two opened the door to the house, Uncle Stanley started list multiple jobs for each of them to do.
“You need to, do my washing, clean the dogs and MAKE ME MY LUNCH!” Uncle Stanley declared.
Hansel and Gretel, murmured some unpleasant things, to themselves.
As they walked away, Hansel put his hand in his pocket and felt something, it was the coin. A light bulb went off in his head. Hansel quickly pulled Gretel into their secret hiding spot, the basement.
“The coin,” Hansel spat in Gretel's face. “We can make a wish, remember.”
“I know, I know, but we need to think very carefully about what we wish for,” Gretel said wiping the spit off her. They started to look around the basement. There were pictures of, tropical islands, deserts in the middle of nowhere, and a sugar-coated gingerbread house.
“Wow, wouldn't it be cool, to be at one of those places right, now,” said Gretel in amazement, because they were standing in front of the biggest, sweetest, gingerbread house ever.
“You doofus,” Hansel said, “ You just used one of our wishes.” Suddenly, the door to the gingerbread house flung open, and Uncle Stanley appeared.
“He is everywhere,” Gretel said to Hansel. “ I wish he wasn't around, anymore,” and just like that,“POOF”, Uncle Stanley disappeared from existence.
“And you just used the other one, doofus,” Gretel said.
The two walked into their new home, gingerbread house, like nothing, had ever happened. Hansel and Gretel never spoke of this day ever again.
