Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

In the flickering firelight, Lake, Polo, and the others watched the two children devour their food.

Whether it was Lake, Polo, or the veterans, all possessed survival skills far beyond the average person. With their current abilities, they could easily gather more than enough supplies along the way.

Therefore, there was still plenty of game left over from the day's hunt on their vehicle.

Now, brought out, Hans and the two children ate with great relish.

Though seasoned with only ordinary spices, it tasted like a feast of delicacies.

"What are your names?"

Lake looked at the two gaunt children, her eyes filled with compassion. Watching them swallow their food so hungrily, she asked carefully.

The little boy stole a glance at Lake, swallowed the roasted meat in his mouth, and revealed a hint of gratitude.

"My name is Hansel, and this is my sister Gretel."

He lowered his head and said softly, "Thank you for the food."

The little girl Gretel also hid behind Hansel, looking somewhat shy and timid, only nodding slightly and humming in agreement.

"What's this about wanting to go home?"

Polo asked. In such a dark forest, two children… going home?

In any case, it was far too dangerous. And if they had a home, why would they be lost so far away?

"They said they seem to be lost in the forest."

Hans, who had recovered somewhat after eating the roasted meat, chimed in, pursing his lips.

"We came out with our parents to log wood, but when it was time to go home, we couldn't find our father."

Hansel said in a low voice, "I guess they forgot about us, but we should be able to find our way back. But by the time we realized it, it was already getting dark…"

Lake, Polo, and the others exchanged glances, but they didn't speak.

However, they all knew that these two children had probably been abandoned by their parents. After all, who would bring two such young children, the oldest of whom, Hansel, looked no more than twelve or thirteen, to do logging work?

Even if they were lost for a moment, such well-behaved and precocious children wouldn't run too far.

As long as they were searched for, it wouldn't be too difficult to find them.

"Does your family… not have much to eat? You look very thin."

Lake thought for a moment, took off her hood, and asked the two children, who seemed downcast, in a comforting tone.

Polo also pricked up his ears, listening to the children's answers.

"Well, Father said things have been difficult at home recently. A lot of the wheat we planted froze to death, and we can't even afford to buy bread anymore."

Hansel said with some disappointment.

Hearing these words, Polo became even more certain of his thoughts.

These two children had been abandoned by their parents!

"How do you know where your home is?"

At this moment, a trace of pity flashed in Lake's eyes. She stepped forward and touched the heads of the two children. "How about this? Why don't you come with us to the town ahead?

Maybe there will be kind uncles and aunts who can take you in."

Polo knew what Lake meant.

In this day and age, "kind" uncles and aunts were definitely rarer than mages. Most people were struggling to take care of themselves, so how could they adopt children?

Even they themselves had other things to do.

Furthermore, they would encounter many dangerous journeys ahead. It was impossible, and there was no room, to raise two children.

Therefore, the only way to meet "kind" uncles and aunts was—

With money.

He and Lake had exchanged the giant tongues they had hunted with the king for a lot of money at the Bo Ren Palace before the final battle with the giants began.

Even more than the bounty.

Overall… they could buy a dozen or so houses in Bo Ren Capital and still have a lot left over.

With such wealth, as long as they found someone slightly trustworthy, not necessarily someone with great love and selflessness, but just an ordinary kind person, they would be happy to raise two children.

The two children looked at Lake's friendly face, and their emotions calmed down a little.

But Hansel, who was older, shook his head:

"Thank you, Sister, but we can find our way home!"

Hansel pointed in a direction and said to them, "I have a good sense of direction, and during the day, I secretly carried some pebbles and placed them on the ground—we can find our way back by following those pebbles!"

Hearing this, Polo's pupils shrank.

From the beginning, he had found the names of the two children somewhat familiar, and when the little boy mentioned pebbles, a distant memory finally flashed in his mind!

This boy and girl were also the protagonists of a well-known fairy tale from Grimm's Fairy Tales in his previous life!

This story was called "The Candy House."

In some versions, it was also called "Hansel and Gretel."

"But, such a long way, relying on stones… can you really find the way?"

Lake asked.

Yes, Polo already knew that although this world had some inextricable connections with the fairy tales of his previous life, the darkness and reality of this world were by no means comparable to those ethereal fairy tales!

Along the way, even with the moonlight and torchlight, Polo had not seen any special pebbles.

He looked at the two children in front of him again.

Although Hansel's pants had pockets, those tattered pants and small pockets didn't seem like they could hold many pebbles.

"I can, I will go home."

The little boy Hansel clenched his fist, as if talking to himself and comforting his sister, "Gretel and I will go back. I'm good at finding my way, although this time it's very far… but we have pebbles! It will be okay!"

Seeing the two children like this, Polo and Lake couldn't bring themselves to say, "Your parents don't want you anymore."

When the two children were eating just now, Lake had climbed a tree and looked around—

She didn't find any signs of cottages, towns, or lights.

As far as she could see, there was only the vast forest under the twilight.

And with the Starlight Killing Sword's starlight, plus the effect of the second sublimation stage's [Spiral Beacon: Hunter], Lake's physical fitness had improved like a rocket.

Although it hadn't been long, reaching the physical level of a witch hunter without the Starlight Killing Sword was not far off.

In this situation, Lake had determined that the two children's "home" would not be too close!

"Why don't you rest for a while before leaving? It's night now, and the road is a bit difficult to travel."

Hans also spoke at this time.

He looked at the two children. For some reason, these two children had a maturity far beyond their peers.

If they were ordinary children, being left in a dark forest would have scared them out of their wits, and if they met passersby, they would probably not want to leave.

But these two were different.

"Thank you, Uncle, but if we don't go back soon, Father… will be sad."

Hansel lowered his head slightly, a trace of loss flashed in his eyes, but looking at his sister Gretel's eyes looking at him, he still forced out a strong smile,

"And we saw the road to… to heaven. There are countless delicacies, cakes, and candies there—

As long as we get there, we won't be hungry anymore, and Father will smile again, have strength, and won't lose us again!"

Hansel said firmly.

The road to heaven?

At this moment, hearing Hansel say these words, Polo, Lake, and the others were stunned at the same time.

They didn't expect that the fertile plain that the veteran had mentioned would appear in a child's mouth so quickly.

The paradise that all the hungry and cold people longed for?

The night was as dark as ink, with only a faint crescent moon casting white moonlight, but under the cover of the forest branches, the ground in the forest still seemed somewhat dim.

Torches dispelled the shadows.

The group did not rest and followed the two children on the road "home."

But in fact, except for Polo, the others didn't think that the two children could really find their way home.

These two children couldn't possibly have many pebbles, plus it was a dark night…

The group just wanted to watch the two strong children fall asleep from exhaustion.

They were smart, as if they had things they believed in. Perhaps, after a night of fruitless effort, persuading them again would have a better effect.

"It should be on the right…"

Veteran Inve was leading the horse, and Hansel was sitting on the horse, pointing in a direction in the dark forest.

Next to him, on another horse, Lake was holding the tired-looking girl Gretel.

This poor girl was very quiet and hadn't cried much since eating dinner.

"Well… left, I remember, that fallen tree trunk, I dropped a pebble a little further ahead of that tree trunk!"

To the surprise of Lake and the others, following the direction pointed by Hansel, walking about dozens of meters past the dead tree, there really was an inconspicuous pebble on the ground!

"You can really… remember such a long way!?

Veteran Inve, next to the boy, showed a look of surprise on his face.

In such a dark night forest, although there was no magical influence, most ordinary people would have difficulty even recognizing the direction.

"Well, although the forest is big, I can still remember the roads I have traveled through special places like that…"

Hansel replied softly, pointing to the edge of the forest—

It was a sharp and protruding rock.

Hearing his words, the others also realized that the previously fallen old tree was probably also a landmark to help Hansel remember the road.

"If there is a long stretch of road with no obvious features, I will throw a pebble… this way, when I see the pebble, I will know that I have not gone the wrong way."

But these words were simple to say, but when actually implemented, even adults would find it extremely difficult to remember a route that was completely different from the daytime in the dark!

Undoubtedly, this was a special talent.

The trees moved backwards, and not far ahead, at midnight, the group finally saw… in a wide forest clearing, on the inside, a somewhat small wooden house appeared in front of them.

Judging from the expressions of the two children, this was their home.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The veteran stepped forward and knocked on the door. There were a few muffled sounds inside the house, and then the door opened. Inside, there was a man who looked somewhat tired.

He looked at the veteran and the others outside, noticed the military knife on the veteran's waist, and the face that looked weathered, and his expression changed.

"You, you are—"

But then, the veteran stepped aside, allowing the man to see Hansel and Gretel.

"We met these two lost children on the road. They took a lot of effort to find their way home… It's not something parents should do to leave such children in the forest!"

The veteran said, his expression somewhat cold.

"Thank… thank you, everyone, for helping us find our children."

The man looked at Hansel and Gretel, his face showing a hint of surprise, and then a clear sense of guilt.

He stepped forward and hugged Hansel and Gretel, which was different from what Lake and the others had expected.

The man's expression did not seem fake at all.

"Sorry, Dad accidentally… lost you during the day… I really… won't do this again in the future, forgive Dad, okay?"

At this time, a footstep came from the house behind the man again.

This time, a woman came out. When she saw Hansel and Gretel hugged by the man, a trace of astonishment appeared on her face,

"How did you—"

But then, she saw Lake, Polo, and the others behind Hansel and Gretel, and the disgust vaguely revealed in their expressions was instantly covered up by her. This time, she really looked like a mother who cared about her children.

She quickly stepped forward, and like the man, leaned down and touched the heads of the two children:

"Oh, you two are really worrying. How did you suddenly run into the forest? Your father and I have been looking for you for a long time!"

After the woman finished speaking, she put her hand on her face and wiped it a few times.

But Polo could see clearly in the darkness that there was not even a trace of tears on the woman's face.

And among the two children, the younger Gretel clearly trembled when the woman stroked her!

But seeing the expressions of this man and woman, Lake and the others really couldn't say anything more.

"Don't forget such young children in the forest again in the future."

Lake said, looking at Hansel and Gretel's parents.

"Yes, thank you, thank you, everyone."

The man said gratefully.

Lake looked at Hansel and Gretel in the man's arms, her eyes flashed, and she thought of something, and said again:

"It's getting late now, can we borrow a place to stay…"

But before she could finish her words, the woman behind the man preemptively said:

"Sorry, there is no space in our bed and house, you should—"

"Madam, we don't mean that."

Lake was stunned for a moment and added, "We will borrow the open space in front of your house to rest for the night."

As she said that, Lake took out several gold coins from her backpack and handed them over, "This is the money for borrowing the open space in front of your house. With this money, you should have enough to buy a lot of food, right?

Don't let the children go hungry."

The man looked at the gold coins in Lake's hand, his eyes widened in astonishment.

But quickly, the woman behind him, as if afraid that Lake would regret it, snatched the gold coins!

"Haha, you're too kind, little girl. Use them as you please. You can occupy it for as long as you want!"

The woman smiled radiantly and said enthusiastically, then nudged the two children who had just returned home, "You two playful children, hurry up and say thank you!"

Hansel and Gretel looked at Lake and the others.

"Thank you, sister, thank you, uncle... and little wolf, thank you..."

The voices of the two children were low, but their words were extremely sincere.

This made Polo feel happy.

Late at night, Lake and the others fell asleep in the carriage.

And the distant cabin also fell into deep darkness.

"Polo, with the gold coins, they should be able to... take good care of the two children, right?"

Lake leaned against Polo, her blue eyes looking at the somewhat dilapidated house, "Those gold coins, anywhere, can be exchanged for several years of food."

"I... I don't know, but abandoning children is mostly a helpless act due to lack of money."

Polo's eyes flashed with a faint green light, "Looking at that man, with food, he shouldn't do what he did before."

Polo leaned closer to Lake's arms. Under the girl's cloak, he could faintly smell a faint fragrance.

"Instead of this, do you want to hear a story?"

"A story?"

The girl's eyes lit up, and she looked down at Polo, "Of course, I love listening to your fairy tales!"

"Um... the name of this story is 'Hansel and Gretel', the main content is about two children who were abandoned by their parents in the forest..."

//The picture is the original text, you can skip it if you don't want to read it, or look at the synopsis in the author's notes

In a faraway village, lived a poor man with two children, Hansel and Gretel. The man's wife died, and he remarried a woman as the two children's stepmother.

Due to poverty and food shortages, the man and his wife decided to abandon the two children. Late at night, they took the children deep into the forest, left them in an open space, and lied that they were going to collect wild fruits for them.

Hansel cleverly scattered white pebbles on the road beforehand as a marker. The next morning, when the sun shone through the treetops, they followed the pebble road back home.

However, the stepmother once again had malicious thoughts and led them to a deeper forest. This time, Hansel used breadcrumbs as a marker, but the birds quickly pecked the breadcrumbs clean.

In despair, the siblings discovered a house made of candy, the roof was chocolate, the walls were gingerbread, and the windows were transparent hard candy. They were starving and couldn't help but taste a part of the house. At this moment, the owner of the house—an evil witch—appeared, she planned to fatten the siblings and eat them.

The resourceful Hansel and Gretel decided to strike first. They tricked the witch into checking the oven to see if it was suitable for baking them, and the witch foolishly jumped in. Hansel quickly closed the oven door, and the witch was burned alive.

In the end, the siblings returned home safely with the gold, silver, treasures, and jewels they found from the witch. They not only escaped their abandoned fate, but also used these riches to improve their family's situation and live a happy life.