Once Upon a Time… We asked students to come up with their own Beijing adaptation of their favorite childhood fairy tales. Thank you to all the students who have submitted their work. We’ll be publishing them online and selecting the best story that fits all the criteria to be included in the upcoming issue of Jingkids.
Once upon a time, there was a man. His first wife divorced him, took all the money, and left him with two kids. Having nothing, he was unable to feed his kids and had to move to Beijing with his kids to find a higher-paying job. Right after moving, he met a woman from a powerful family and fell in love with her instantly. The woman was beautiful, had countless pursuers, but she always wanted to marry someone who truly loved her. When she met this man, she decided to marry him.
Everyone disagreed of her decision, but the woman ignored their advice and eloped with the man. However, things did not work out well. The man, even though he married the women he loved, was still poor; the woman, even though she got to experience “true love”, soon realized how love wasn’t all-powerful. The two kids, Hansel and Gretel, suffered even more. Their father was focused on his new lover and his career and didn’t have time to take care of them. Their stepmother was pretty and acted nice but was not even close to being kind, as she always saw them as liabilities.
The man got a job at a factory, and the woman had no job at all. With the high price of everything in Beijing, the family could barely afford enough food. The only property they had was a siheyuan the woman had under her name before the elopement. One day, two months after the man and women got married, the family ran out of rice again.
“Husband, we are out of rice again.” The woman said, walking into their bedroom. “What do you think should we do?”
“Well,” The man slowly answered, “maybe we could sell this house. You know how valuable siheyuans are.”
“But then, where should we live?” The woman questioned.
“I suppose we could rent a small apartment somewhere.” The man said.
“No, husband, we must not!” The woman began to freak out. She spent all her life being rich and spoiled, and she definitely did not have what it takes to live in a shabby apartment. “Those cheap apartments, they are filled with rats, cockroaches, and all kinds of nasty things! Besides, this house is family property, it has meanings to me!”
“Then…”
“I know exactly what to do!” Interrupted the woman. “We can take them to a busy district, maybe Sanlitun, and leave them there. By sundown security guards would find them and send them to an orphanage or something. That would be the quickest way to get rid of them.”
“My dear wife, what are you talking about!” The man raised his voice. “They would be kidnapped! I can’t believe you would come up with such a cruel and inhumane idea!”
“Then would you rather have all four of us starved to death in a small, dark, and creepy apartment room instead?” Yelled back the woman. Angry, she stormed out of the room and slammed the door like it was the most hateful thing in the entire universe.
The next morning, the woman took the kids to TaiKooLi, Sanlitun, while her husband was asleep. She told the kids they were going shopping, but then left them at the mall. She thought that had gotten rid of them, but the moment she stepped into their house, the woman saw her husband, Hansel, and Gretel having lunch. What she didn’t know was how Hansel and Gretel heard her plans last night and formed their own. Hansel sneaked out of the house, looked at the signs around their house, then memorized the address. Gretel stayed in their room and she took out all the money she and Hansel saved. They had exactly sixteen yuan and with the address, that was all they needed for a taxi ride back to home.
With this experience, the woman realized how smart Hansel and Gretel are. She then thought about how she needed to send them somewhere else, somewhere farther, somewhere harder to escape from. What she did was when the man was on night shift, she rented a car and drove the kids to an orphanage in Daxing, far away from where they lived. In order to avoid signing contracts and taking possible responsibility of anything, she dropped them at the door and left without saying a word.
The orphanage was only a small cottage, but there were crops in the yard and dried sausages and pepper hanging onto the eave. It looked like any normal house one would have. Hansel and Gretel were not prepared for this, and they had to walk into the yard. They knocked on the door, and an old lady answered.
“What are you doing here? Where are your parents?” The old lady asked.
“Good evening, ma’am, our stepmother dropped us here to get rid of us, and I don’t think we can find the way back on our own.” Hansel answered.
“Oh, you poor kids. Come inside, I’ve got plenty of food.” Said the lady, welcoming them in, “You can stay for tonight and I will send you home tomorrow.”
After they went in and sat by the table, Gretel noticed something wrong.
“Ma’am, this is an orphanage, right?” She asked.
“Of course, dear, why ask?” The old lady answered.
“Then why aren’t there any children?”
“Well, you know how far from town this cottage is, and the only orphans I had were adopted last month.” The lady said.
Hansel and Gretel still felt like something was wrong, but they decided to stay, since that was their only option. After dinner, the lady settled them in a big bedroom, and they went to sleep. However, Hansel and Gretel woke up the next morning being locked inside. Before they said anything, they heard the old lady talking on the phone.
“Yes, of course I have the kids.” She said, “If you are so worried, why don’t you drive your car faster so you can check yourself? And don’t forget my reward! I need the money by the end of today!”
“Are you selling us?” Hansel shouted immediately.
“Of course, you little fools. Now, I will be heading out and you will spend the last free hour inside the room. Good luck!” Yelled back the old lady, as she headed out.
From the window, Hansel and Gretel watched her leave. Just when they were about to freak out, Gretel thought of something. She pulled out a hair pin, then picked the lock. After a few minutes, the door was open and they ran outside. Hansel then called the police with a telephone in the cottage, and by the time the old lady came back, there were police officers waiting in her house.
Hansel and Gretel were sent back home, and they told their father everything. The man angrily questioned his wife, then decided to divorce and sue her after her confession. Winning the lawsuit gave the man more money, and he also managed to find a better job. The man, Hansel, and Gretel then moved into a small but heartwarming apartment and lived happily ever.
THE END
KEEP READING: Oh My… Snow White Loved to Snack
July Wen is a 13-year-old student at International School of Beijing.
