Hansel And Gretel Poem by Stephen Katona

The real Hansel and Gretel story,
Is far less gory.
True, their father cut wood,
But no more than he should,
For he loved all the trees,
And creatures including bees.
Their mother went away,
Simply for a holiday.
Now here comes the nasty part,
Two sisters each with an evil heart.
One was a dentist,
It's true I insist.
The other liked to make,
Lots of sweets and cake.
They cried, "We have a perfect plan,
We'll invite all the children we can,
And give them lots of sugary treats,
They'll never be able to resist our sweets.
Once they've had their fill,
I'll get to use my dentist's drill."
So many children came,
Their teeth would never be the same.
Soon they had lots of holes,
Like a patch of grass with many moles.
Their sweets tasted like honey,
And made them lots and lots of money,
Until Hansel and Gretel walked by,
The house with so many goodies to try.
They thought it terribly wrong,
This had been going on so long.
Each looked at the sweets for a while,
Then said, "No, we love our white smile.
This sort of food makes me sick,
I think it's part of a wicked trick.
These grown-ups see our teeth as gold,
And think it's right because they're old.
But what can we do?
We're so small and few.
Just then their mother returned from Brazil,
With leaves she'd found growing on a hill.
They tasted so sweet,
She'd brought them home for a treat.
"See this amazing Stevia plant,
I've been given a grant,
To start growing it on a farm,
And end these sweets that harm."
Now the sisters were not alone,
Rich people began to groan,
"This plan will stop our cash,
It's obvious this plant we'll have to smash.
We can't allow people to know,
Or let their Stevia grow."
But then tooth fairies cast a spell.
They wanted to keep the people well.
No more could they watch children grow fat.
Long had they smelt a rat,
And it really did not please,
Them seeing teeth like Swiss cheese.
They opened everyone's eyes,
To see how they could be wise.
Each cried, "We have been fools,
We'll change all the rules."
They built houses made of Stevia sweets,
Now these were different sorts of treats.
They tasted just as good,
But behaved the way they should.
Holes in teeth became a thing of the past,
And so children and adults were free at last.