INKtober 2026 - The Cookie Thieves

The truth is that Hans had always been a troublesome child. His parents had been forced to move out of town and into the woods because Hans had a rather serious case of thieving, and his parents suffered as a result. His father tried to earn a living by chopping wood, whilst his mother gathered whatever fruit she could find here and there, trying to keep their meagre household afloat. It was a time of crisis and hunger was on the rise. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep Hans under control, and the same went for his little sister, who copied everything he did.
Seeing as Hans would manage on his own anyway and was driving his parents nuts, they both decided it was time to get rid of the children. Necessity knows no law, and children would easier receive aid than a whole family.
A packed lunch was prepared and the whole family went along to chop and gather wood; then, when it was dark and Hansel and Gretel were playing, the parents slipped away quietly.

It was rather disappointing when the children turned up on the doorstep again, having managed to find their way home. Things went well for a brief moment, but when everything went off the rails again, the parents decided to try it once more, this time venturing deeper into the woods. If course, Mum had burst into tears late that evening when Dad announced that this was the only option left. He’d had enough of an overstressed wife and his rumbling stomach. And Hans? He didn’t sleep, because he wasn’t just a boy with sticky fingers who didn’t take much notice of other people’s property, but also a eavesdropper. He decided to leave a trail of breadcrumbs the next day. Getting home was more important than staying behind, but what Hans hadn’t reckoned with in the dark, cold forest was that there were others who were just as hungry as him mom, in this case, the animals, who gratefully took the breadcrumbs. And so brother and sister wandered through the forest in search of a glimmer of light.
Of course they found it, because Hans was indeed that clever lad who could look after himself perfectly well and cared little for others.

It was a godsend when they saw the little house made of cookies and sweets looming before them, and they ate from it greedily.
‘Is this allowed?’ asked Gretel.
Hans merely nodded whilst continuing to stuff his mouth full and breaking off large chunks of the house.
Suddenly a voice rang out: ‘Nibble, nibble, little one, who’s nibbling at my little house?’
Hans, who was also good at lying, replied with his mouth full: ‘It’s the wind, my little angel.’
It seemed like a good answer to him; after all, no one could accuse the wind of anything.
Unconcerned, the lying thief carried on tucking in, cookie after cookie,while kicking at a lollypop in-between the bites.

The door opened and an elderly lady appeared.
‘You must be hungry,’ she said. ‘Come in. I’ve plenty to eat, and he can whip up something warm for you too.’
Hans didn’t need to be told twice—that was too tempting to resist. He was lucky enough to stuff himself with all the goodies in the table piled high, and every time he thought he’d nearly emptied all, the bowls would fill up again, as if by magic.

Like a well-fed pig, he slumped down, and Grietje, who’d taken it a bit easier, could hardly stay seated either, so full she was. And of course the children were allowed to stay the night, and of course the elderly woman asked for help with the washing-up, but Hans, with his big mouth, had little desire to do so. He was used to nothing other than his mother doing all the work. He still went up against the old woman, who wouldn’t stand for that and decided to teach him a lesson. And so lazy Hans ended up in a cage, whilst Grietje took the wise choice and helped in and around the house, which also needed repairing.

Gluttonous Hans was made to eat so much as punishment that he would never go thieving again.
Hans, still a big mouth and not having learnt his lesson, talked Grietje round. Although they were lost and had no home left, he’d had enough of the cage and all the food. In an unguarded moment, he persuaded Grietje to murder the old lady by pushing her into the oven. So she did and next, in a total shock, set him free.

They stayed in the house for a while to survey everything and were, of course, delighted with the treasure they’d found.
‘You’ll see, Hans,’ she said, ‘Mum and Dad will surely want us back if we give them this money.’
Both knew they had nowhere else to go, because, let’s be honest, who would want a child who’s always lying, stealing, murdering adults and has absolutely no respect for the elderly?

The Process

I started with the sketch and used the Black fineliner (BIC). After that I added some watercolour paint. I used a cheap paint brush and just did something in the dark.

Issues

The fineliner smudges if getting wet.

Materials:

• sketchbook - bamboo paper
• pencil HB
• Fineliner - 4 mm - black - BIC
• Watercolour paint + waterbrush

_{30.10.2026
INKtober prompt: cookie
#artonsteemit #inktober #drawing #freewrite #inktober26 #creative #steemexclusive}