In the Brothers Grimm tale “The Robber Bridegroom,” the heroine leaves peas and lentils to mark her path.
The heroine is suspicious of the bridegroom chosen for her and secretly follows him to his forest house. Along the way, she scatters peas and lentils so she can find the route again. Unlike breadcrumbs, these larger seeds remain identifiable and help her return to the house after escaping its danger.
Inside, she discovers that the bridegroom belongs to a murderous band of robbers. She hides while an old woman reveals the robbers’ crimes and warns her that the men intend to kill her. The heroine escapes and later exposes the gang at a wedding gathering by recounting what she saw.
This detail is easy to confuse with “Hansel and Gretel,” where breadcrumbs and stones mark a route. The Grimms’ “Robber Bridegroom” instead uses peas and lentils, reinforcing the story’s domestic, unsettling imagery.