The Alarming Scent of Cinnamon

II

Hansel and Gretel finally discovered the source of the gingerbread smell: the walls. The house was made of gingerbread! Gretel snapped off a piece and ate it, savoring the spicy cinnamon taste. 

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Hansel asked. "What if the house caves in?"

"Eat all you like," said a voice from behind them. 

Hansel and Gretel spun around to see a plump old woman. She did not appear threatening in the slightest. Hansel and Gretel were too stunned to respond.

"You probably had a hard day," the woman said. "Eat your fill."

Hansel snapped off a large piece and bit into it. The delicious smell of cinnamon filled the air.  He and Gretel kept eating more and more, until Hansel noticed a strange taste in the gingerbread. He ignored it and kept eating, but the more he ate, the more tired he felt. A few minutes later, Gretel fell to the ground.

"Gretel?" He said, feeling tired. He began to see dark spots. Then Hansel fell to the ground, unconscious.

He awoke in a cage of some sort. He didn't know how much time had passed. 

"Hello?" Hansel called. He scanned the room he was in. Gretel was sleeping on a burlap bag in the corner. The cage was hanging a little bit off the ground. It swung whenever Hansel moved too much. That was probably to keep him from moving around, but he quite enjoyed it. He got an exhilarating feeling in his stomach whenever he got it to swing around. 

Giggling, Hansel swung around in the cage. Then he heard a loud

CRACK!

The cage fell to the ground. It wasn't a long fall, maybe about a foot or so, but it shifted a couple of bars ever so slightly apart, just enough that he could reach his fingers through it.

"What was that noise?" the woman who had told Hansel and Gretel to eat the gingerbread burst in through a door.

"I was swinging and this cage fell off." Hansel said. "Could you help me out of here?"

The woman laughed, not a witch's laugh, but a cheerful laugh, which made it all the more chilling when she said,

"Of course not. I put you in there. I'm going to fatten you up and then eat you."

Hansel's eyes widened. He was too shocked to speak, which, as you will soon find out, happens a lot. The old woman left, closing the door behind her.

"Gretel?" Hansel said, his voice trembling. "Did you hear her?"

Gretel opened her eyes. 

"I was pretending to sleep. I woke up before you and came up with a plan."

"Is it anything like your last plan?" Hansel said, remembering the time Gretel had cut up a sheet and covered it with mud to make a pit trap for a Faerie. It hadn't worked, and they had both been in big trouble.

"No!" Gretel said. "Just listen."

Hansel nodded.

"I found these bones under a bag," Gretel said.

"Whose bones are they?" Hansel said. He and Gretel both shuddered.

"Let's not think about that right now," Gretel responded. "I'll give you one, and you hold it out to the witch when she feels your finger."

"Why is the witch going to hold my finger?" Hansel said.

"I heard her telling the cat her plans. She thought I was sleeping. She can't see, so she will squeeze your finger to see how plump you are. If you get plump enough, she will eat you."