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horse-with-a-name ago

I can probably clear up one issue: the wool. If you unravel it while walking, you can trace your way back (home). This is basically what Haensel and Gretel did it in this old narrative, although they used bread crumbs instead.

neverobey ago

that's a logical explanation but I've checked all the versions of the story I could find and they always use crumbs.

l23r ago

From what I remember, the story went like this: The kids overheard the parents talking about leaving them in the middle of the forest. One of them sneaked out and collected rocks. The next day, as the parents led them into the woods, the kid dropped the rocks. Then they used the rocks to find their way back. The parents were pissed off, locked the kids up, then took them into the forest again. This time the kids used the bread crumbs, but when they tried to find their way back, they couldn't because birds had eaten the bread. That's when they got mixed up with the witch.

I don't remember wool really playing a role in the story, except maybe with what the kids were wearing?

MattHelm ago

Grimm's fairy tales were based on real incidents so obviously back then kids were being abducted and abused then cooked and eaten. All the Grimm stories are based in fact.

horse-with-a-name ago

I just found another explanation: if you look at the wool, you can see that it is supposed to form a "&" which would make the name into "Haensel and Gretel". I really think that's all there is to that.

neverobey ago

Sorry, I can't see that. :(

horse-with-a-name ago

Yes, I know, no mention of wool anywhere else. One explanation could be that bread crumbs would have been too difficult to be incorporated in a logo because nobody would have recognized them as such. Also, when we were kids, we did use wool to play "trace back".