When Grethel heard this she began to cry bitterly; but it was all useless, she was obliged to do as the wicked witch told her.
Now, the stepmother of these poor children was a wicked witch. She had seen the children go away, and, following them cautiously like a snake, had bewitched all the springs and streams in the forest.
Only wicked witches and evil stepmothers, or ogres, monsters and beasts.
They've also entered educational programmes as "reading books" and helped give literature as a whole a set of motifs – abandoned children, wicked witches, brave men who save women.
