Once upon a time an unwealthy shopkeeper lived in a large city with his second wife and his two chldren. They lived in a small one bedroom shack with very little to eat or drink. On one very unlucky day the wife suggested that her husbad take his two children--Hansel and Gretel--outside the city and leave them so that they would not be able to find their way back.

         The husband soon agreed to get rid of the children, so he told them that they were going for an afternoon walk. The husband could not bear the thought of his children starving, cold, and alone, so he had made the decision to kill them both. Hansel and Gretel follwed their father outside the city until they got to an abandoned area, and their father pulled out a knife. "I'm sorry for this, but you need to know it's for your own good. I love you both," Their father told them. the children got scared and started to run. 

          They ran until they could no longer see their father, and the could no longer see the city. They walked until they came to a house in the middle of nowhere. The walls looked as if they were made of gingerbread and the roof looked as if it were covered with icing. Hansel broke a piece off the wall, and he discovered it was chocolate. "We can stay here for a couple nights until we figure out where we're headed," he said to her.

          Right then an old woman came walking out of the house. "Oh my you children startled me," she said. The witch invited the children inside, she and gave them a place to sleep. She fed them and took care of them like they were her own children. One day the witch had a visitor. The children recognized her face. The recognized her sly smile, her evil laugh, and her terrible taste in clothes. Then it clicked, it was their father's second wife. 

         The step mother immediatley recognized the children, but did not mention anything. The witch called the children over from the living room and said, "I want you both to meet my sister. She's going to be babysitting you while I make a trip to the farmer's market today." The step mother gave them a fake smile and hugged them both. "It's so nice to meet you lovely children," she said. The witch left, and the children were terrified. "You're father told me that he had killed you both. I thought you little brats were out of my life forever," she said as she looked at the children with her grim face. "I guess i'll just had to rid you myself," she said under her breath.

        The children had a plan. They were going to kill their step mother, and they were going to escape and see their father once again. The step mother grabbed Hansel and was about to put him in the oven, but before she could do so Hansel shoved her in and closed the door. He tied the oven door closed with rope so that she could not get out. They waited for the witch to return, and they would explain everything. As she entered the house, she stood in awe of the mess that the house was in. "What on earth happened in here?" she asked the children. They grabbed the witch and hugged her as tightly as possible. 

        Hansel explained to the witch that her sister had been married to their father, and she was the reason that they had no home. Hansel also told the witch that her sister had tried to kill them both; that's why he locked her in the oven. The witch hugged the children one last time and said, "I love you kids, and I have taken care of you like you were my own; I'm going to miss you both very much." The witch had not told them that she was actaully their mother, but she left their father after they were born. He did not have the money to take care of all of them. A few years later he fell in love with her sister, so the witch moved outisde the city so that none of them would ever know the truth. 

        The witch walked the children back to the city, and she said her last goodbyes. Hansel and Gretel found their way back home, and they found their father sitting in his recliner. He was immediatley brought to tears when he saw the children. "I'm so sorry my dear children. I will never abandon you again," he said as he hugged the children with compassion. The children were filled with joy, and they also told him that his second wife was dead; he did not seem very upset. 

        The family lived happily ever after, but no one would ever know the truth of the woman who had taken care of them for those many months when they did not have a home.