Once upon a time, a woodcutter lived in a small cottage near the forest with his wife and two children named Hansel and Gretel. The family was very poor and often went hungry.
One day, the stepmother decided they could no longer feed the children. She convinced the woodcutter to take Hansel and Gretel deep into the forest and leave them there.
Hansel heard his stepmother's plan. That night, he went outside and filled his pockets with white pebbles. The next morning, when their parents led them into the forest, Hansel dropped pebbles along the way to mark their path. When their parents left them alone, the children followed the pebbles home by moonlight.
The stepmother was angry when she saw them return. A few days later, she made another plan to take them even deeper into the forest. This time, Hansel only had bread crumbs to mark the path. But when they tried to find their way home, birds had eaten all the crumbs. The children were lost.
For days, Hansel and Gretel wandered through the woods, hungry and tired. Finally, they discovered an amazing house made entirely of candy and gingerbread. The walls were cake, the windows were sugar, and the roof was covered in cookies.
As they began eating pieces of the house, an old woman came outside. She seemed kind and invited them inside for a proper meal. The children were so hungry they gladly accepted.
But the old woman was actually a wicked witch who trapped children. She locked Hansel in a cage and made Gretel work as her servant. The witch planned to cook and eat Hansel when he got fatter.
Every day, the witch checked to see if Hansel was getting plump enough to eat. But clever Hansel held out a stick instead of his finger, so the witch thought he was still too thin.
Finally, the witch grew impatient and decided to cook Hansel anyway. She told Gretel to check if the oven was hot enough. But brave Gretel pretended she didn't know how to check. When the witch bent over to show her, Gretel pushed the witch into the oven and slammed the door shut.
The children found the witch's treasure and filled their pockets with jewels. Then they found their way home through the forest. When they arrived, they discovered their stepmother had died, and their father welcomed them back with tears of joy. With the witch's treasure, they never went hungry again and lived happily ever after.