Narrator: How did you come to learn the story of these characters? And also, since you did end up getting crushed by the Giantess, how was the story supposed to end? Would it have made any difference if the Witch didn't offer you to her? - CheshireGirl0913

My Dear CheshireGirl0913,

How kind of you to inquire about my involvement with the story of Into the Woods. Quite often, the objective observer, having always to stay on the outside, goes unnoticed. That someone has chosen to pay tribute to my contribution to this tale… it is truly an honor, I must say.

Now, your first question. How did I come to learn the story of these characters? Well, that is very hard to say. I feel as if they have been with me all my life, truth be told, as if they were always a part of me, along with those who came before them and those to follow. However, the story really became clear to me as an older man. I was sitting one day in my library, poring over my many volumes, when suddenly I came upon an unwritten book. All of a sudden my mind filled with different characters: some from the stories I'd heard as a child, some based upon people around the village where I lived, even some whom I could not recall ever having seen the like of. One by one they came to me: a childless baker and his wife, a fair maiden, a sad young lad, a mysterious man, a beautiful witch turned ugly, a girl in a tower, two lustful princes… I eventually discovered how they all connected and all that will happen to them from my library, and since that day I began to tell their story.

That being said, things took quite a turn when the Witch decided it was best to sacrifice me to the giant in our midst. Although, I was not exactly crushed as much as dropped, Miss. "Crushed" might be a better word to describe what became of that daughter of hers not too long after I met my fate. That being said, had I not been killed, there would have been a few minor differences in the ending of the story. Many innocent people would not have died: for example, the Baker's Wife would have survived, and therefore their child would not have been deprived of its mother and the three other children the Baker would eventually also father would have been hers. That being said, the Baker might not have felt the need to be as protective of his children as he became after his wife's death, which could very well have significantly altered the fates of a Beast living in a castle deep within the Woods and of a cat in boots. Jack's mother might have lived as well, and perhaps even Rapunzel could have been saved. Jack and Little Red Ridinghood would have eventually married, and supported themselves, Jack's mother, Little Red's Granny, and their offspring off of the golden eggs laid by the hen, as well as the milk given by Milky-white. However, not every ending would have been a happy one. Cinderella, for example, the "Moment in the Woods" between her husband and the Baker's Wife having never happened, would be forever trapped in a loveless marriage to a husband who consistently betrayed her and the clutches of a fawning, greedy stepfamily. Rapunzel would fare no better; eventually her husband would run off with a maiden with skin white as snow, leaving her no option but to return, heartbroken, to her mother, taking the twins with her. She would not be imprisoned in a tower again, but it would be a long time before she recovered from the shock of her Prince's betrayal. The Witch, meanwhile, would never regain her powers, and would always have to suffer ordinariness combined with beauty. For the time being, the group would still stop the giantess, but one must wonder, what for? All things considered, the Witch may have had the right idea after all.

I thank you for your question and hope to receive more in the future. Yours,

The Narrator