"Hansel and Gretel" is one of several European tales in which children outwit an ogre into whose hands they have fallen. Their plight is involuntary, unlike the hero of the 'Jack' tales who actively seeks monsters and ogres in order to obtain loot, engage in blood sports, or win enduring glory. The Grimm brothers learned "Hansel and Gretel" in Cassel from the young girl Dortchen Wild, who years later would become Wilhelm Grimm's wife.[1] The basic elements of the tale are found throughout the world, although their simplicity makes it hard to tell whether a given instance is a borrowing or an independent invention.[2] Another theory is that Hansel and Gretel is one of the first cases of what would nowadays be called industrial espionage. During medieval times when the story happened, the patent system was not in place yet and all trade secrets were handed down as family lore. Allegedly, the recipe for gingerbread was one such trade/family secret and the villagers sent out two children, i.e. Hansel and Gretel, to spy on the woman who owned the recipe. The children were caught by the woman and incarcerated but well fed. The villagers, however, came to their rescue and in the process killed and burned the baker. The tale was spun as a cover-up for the crime.