Hansel and Garfield

Garfield wakes up one morning and learns that it’s Monday, a discovery made worse when Nermal comes to visit. Garfield then tries to get rid of him by offering him free to anyone that asks; Jon quickly puts a stop to that plan. Nermal then asks Garfield to tell him a story, and Garfield settles on an embellished version of Hansel and Gretel.

Hansel and Gretel’s father is a woodcutter, and he comes into the house one day and alerts them that there is no more food, and because he can’t get work, he is unable to buy food. Gretel then says that she and Hansel will go and find food, and this search leads them to a gingerbread house.

Hansel and Gretel begin eating the house, and the witch that lives there is planning to eat them. At this point in the story, Nermal gets upset by what’s happening, and Garfield explains that it’s only a story, not real life. He then continues the story by stating that the witch invites Hansel and Gretel into the house and opens the oven door, but they push the witch into the oven instead. Nermal becomes completely traumatized by this.

Jon comes up and orders Garfield to stop making Nermal so upset, so Garfield changes the story by stating that instead of pushing the witch into the oven, they call the city building inspectors to report a house made of gingerbread. The inspectors quickly arrive and condemn the house, and it is eventually sold to a building developer, which in turn gives Hansel and Gretel’s father work. He also takes home the remains of the house for Hansel and Gretel to eat. Garfield expects Nermal to be satisfied with this ending, but he isn’t because the witch had such bad luck. Garfield then states that the witch starts a gingerbread daycare franchise, which finally pleases Nermal. Garfield then quips that it's hard to please kids though it's only a story, but afterwards he rips off a chunk of the wall and devours it.

[edit] Notes

Odie does not appear in this episode.
The woman that inquires about the free kitten (Nermal) appears to be one of the judges from Best of Breed.

[edit] Goofs

Audio/Visual Unsychronized: When Gretel proclaims, “I smell gingerbread!” her lips don’t move.

[edit] Quotes

Jon: You can’t give Nermal away.
Garfield: I know; I’ve tried.
Jon: And paying someone twenty dollars to take Nermal?
Garfield: You’re right. Make it fifty and I’ll throw in Odie.

Nermal: Tell me a story.
Garfield: Okay, come sit down. …Once upon a time, there was a kitty who was so obnoxiously cute that the handsome prince mailed him to Abu Dhabi and--
Nermal: Garfield!

Garfield: So [Hansel and Gretel] headed through the forest. As they walked, they dropped bagels with cream cheese so they could find their way back.
Nermal: Wait a minute. I thought they dropped bread crumbs. And where’d they get the bagels?
Garfield: [Clears throat] They passed a deli. Don’t interrupt.

Garfield: There it was: a house made entirely of gingerbread.
[Hansel and Gretel begin to eat it]
Nermal: Ooh, was it really made of gingerbread?
Garfield: Well, not quite. Actually, it was made of sugar, enriched flour, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, sodium pyrophosphate and various artificial colors, but they were hungry enough, it didn’t matter.