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The aunt could scare Hansel and Gretel without intending to do so because it had been so long since she had been around children. When she joked about fattening up the children they did not understand that she meant them no harm. However after a while, the aunt started to get offended by Hansel and Gretel's persistent unfriendliness and whining and complaining. Afterall she really did have their best interests in mind. So finally when they once again threatened to run away back to their parent's house she told them to do just that. The aunt wished Hansel and Gretel good luck finding their way back through the vast forest that many wild animals called home. Hansel and Gretel were so frightened of their aunt and longed to see their parents so much that they took their aunt up on the offer. The children set off from their aunt's house with nothing but one slice of bread each, and were determined to make it back to their parent's home one way or another. Hansel had one trick up his sleeve though - he had thought to drop stones along the way from his parent's house to his aunt's. Though some time had passed since then, Hansel and Gretel still managed to follow the stone markers all the way back to their parent's house. In this way they learned independence and were able to live with their parents once again, with some help from their aunt's treasure too, of course.