It is Aarne-Thompson type 1741 – Trickster Wives and Maids and was first published in the second edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales in 1819.

As soon as he was gone Gretel put the chickens to one side and said to herself, "All this slaving over the oven has made me hot and thirsty.

So down she went to the cellar where she raised the jug of wine to her lips and had a big swig, saying to herself, "God bless you, Gretel."

The aroma from the roasted chickens was delicious, and Gretel said to herself, "They smell fine but they may not be cooked properly.

Gretel said to herself, "These chickens are perfect now, but if they aren't eaten soon they will spoil", and she ran to the window to look for her master and his guest, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Turning back to the chickens she said, "That wing is burning, so I'd better eat it," and she cut it off and ate it, and it was delicious.

Just as she was finishing her meal she heard her master's voice calling, "Hurry, Gretel, for my guest is right behind me!"

The guest looked past her into the hallway where he saw her master sharpening the knife and he turned and ran down the street as fast as his legs could carry him.

But the guest thought he wanted to cut off one of his ears, and he ran as if the ground beneath his feet was on fire.

The Grimms' obtained the tale from Andreas Strobl's Ovum paschale oder neugefärbte Oster-Ayr (Salzburg, 1700, pp.

The story plays on the fears of the employers of servants as to what those maids and cooks get up to when their backs are turned.

The story has no moral or lesson for its audience, for Gretel is not caught and therefore does not face any consequences for her lies and her theft, and possibly for her alcoholism.

In Strobl's original version Gretel is caught and ends up living a miserable existence after her master throws her out.

[4] We are invited to admire Gretel's cleverness in outwitting her master; or we may feel sorry for him while his cook steals from him and loses him a friend, no doubt damaging his reputation at the same time.