Whatever it is, you Readers are probably aware that Rhinos are not high on the list of Leaping Critters.
We face this situation with no shame. We make an effort to be light on our feet, and let it go at that. When a Species is measured in tons, the results of leaping can be pretty amazing, a formula for Trouble.
We are of Good Cheer: tomorrow will be March. We think…
Our young gadabouts set off for home after plundering the Witch’s house of jewels and probably a few cupcakes for the road. For these two it is a Happy Ending; for the Witch, not so much. There is a lot to mull over in the resolution of this tale. Hansel & Gretel is just like War and Peace, only different.
An ongoing issue is Hansel’s weight gain. One of Us here at YIR is trying to be more “nutritionally disciplined”, so Hansel has our sympathies. A literary kindred spirit.
That Gretel, what a gal! While Hansel is packing on the pounds, she takes care of business.
In the Grimm Brothers’ story this involves some incineration, which is definitely NotRhino. No fire, no way!
Still, a girl has to do what she must to even the odds, using the equipment available.
When Push comes to Shove, call Gretel.
After the Witch snags them, Hansel and Gretel experience her hospitality for a month.
Hansel gets stuck in a cage and is fed on pies, cookies, donuts, macaroons, lollipops, bon-bons, and some apples . Gretel must clean house, carry water and firewood, and fatten up Hansel.
Is it any wonder that Gretel eventually goes ballistic?
Hansel and Gretel face heavy odds. Unfortunately, the Witch is more powerful than they, and grasps their points of weakness.
Ah, Generational Strife. We Rhinos understand this opposition; young Rhinos need to keep on the good side of bigger Rhinos. Older Rhinos discourage flippancy among the young, sometimes with cataclysmic results.
We must face it: Hansel and Gretel is packed with tension and psychological complexity; it’s exhausting. Only Your Inner Rhino would undertake a study so demanding.
Hansel and Gretel is power-packed with highlight moments, of which one has to be the discovery of the Gingerbread House. Hansel and Gretel do their very best to polish it off.
A feature of this tale is that the reader does not need to be hungry at all to understand the children’s fervor. All critters know what it is to go crazy in the face of Temptation.
Nibble, nibble, little mouse, Who is gobbling up my house?
Home Ownership v. Enterprising Youth.
Hansel and Gretel’s #1 problem is, they are starving. In the Wild, sometimes there just are no roots and berries, nor anything else. It impairs any critter’s judgment. Even ours.
Rhinos never get lost in the woods, or anywhere, because 1) We can smell our way back to basecamp, and 2) We don’t fret much about where We are headed anyway. If We had breadcrumbs, We’d eat them. Duh.
Supposing Hansel and Gretel were Rhinos, they would have to be cousins or pals. By the time a sibling shows up, like 3 years, the difference in age is prohibitive to getting into trouble together. Rhino foolishness is age-specific.
Your Inner Rhino, unexpected lessons lurking, with more to come. You’re welcome.
Once upon a time in Germany, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm famously started collecting folk tales. (Today is Wilhelm’s birthday, or it was, back in 1786.)
Clearly, many Grimm tales are based on Olde Rhino Stories, transformed for a human readership. The Very Absolutely Best Story Ever however is still Hansel and Gretel. Although everything in H&G is a perplexing distortion from a Rhino point of view, it has some haunting hold on Rhinoid awareness. Why, We cannot say.
Hansel and Gretel reverberates…
In the Wild, We rhinos have no names for things or phenomena. We acknowledge them, but do not limit them with words. Why make the effort to contain Being? Definition simply stops Us from seeing or thinking or perceiving.
Talk about odd…
After some reconstructive lollygaggin’, the Staff is again in the office and ready to ride.
Buckeroos Unite! (And thank you for your patience.)
Your Inner Rhino 