Into the Woods

What’s it about?

A baker and his wife live next door to a wicked witch. Many years ago the baker’s father stole from the witch. So the witch put a curse on the baker’s house. The curse meant that the baker and his wife could never have any children. One day the witch tells the baker that if he goes into the woods and finds a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, a slipper as pure as gold, and hair as yellow as corn before the blue moon in three days’ time the curse will be broken. The baker and his wife go into the woods to look for the items and on the way they meet many fairytale characters, such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel.

What to look out for

• Jack’s mother slaps him across the face. Cinderella’s step-mother also slaps her in the face

• Jack throws a big rock at a lady giant and she falls down dead

• Cinderella’s step-mother cuts off the two ugly sisters’ toes to try and make them fit in the glass slipper

• The wolf eats Little Red Riding Hood and the baker kills the wolf with an axe to free her

• The wicked witch is scary

• Prince Charming, who is married to Cinderella, kisses the baker’s wife

Moral of the Story

The main message of this story is that taking risks might be exciting but it is better to be safe.