This literary fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff carries a warning for children … treat adults with respect. A boy helping his mother sell vegetables in a marketplace makes unkind remarks about an elderly woman’s appearance. The woman is a witch. She kidnaps and drugs the boy, forcing him to work for seven years as her servant. When he escapes, he finds that she has changed him into a misshapen dwarf even his parents don’t recognize. Fortunately, a similarly enchanted goose-girl saves the day. Themes include magic, the consequences of rudeness, appearance vs. inner character, alienation, self-respect, empathy and compassion, redemption
