Once upon a time, there was a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel. They lived with their father and stepmother in a small cottage deep in the forest. One day, their stepmother decided that they could no longer afford to feed the children. She persuaded their father to take them into the woods and leave them there.

Hansel overheard their plan and came up with an idea. That night, he gathered a handful of pebbles from outside the house and secretly scattered them on the path leading away from home. The next morning, when their father led them deep into the forest, Hansel dropped the pebbles behind him as they walked.

As they wandered further and further from home, the pebbles began to glow faintly in the sunlight, lighting their way back. However, by the time they realized this, they had already strayed far from the familiar paths and were lost.

Just then, they saw a strange house in the distance. It looked like it was made entirely of candy! Excitedly, they approached the house and knocked on the door. A kind old woman answered. She invited them inside and gave them all sorts of delicious treats.

But soon, the truth came out. The old woman was actually a witch who lured children into her house to eat them. She locked Hansel in a cage and forced Gretel to do all the work around the house. Gretel knew she had to act quickly if she wanted to save herself and her brother.

One day, while the witch was checking the oven, Gretel pretended to help but instead pushed her into the fiery flames. With the witch gone, Gretel freed Hansel from the cage. Together, they gathered all the treasures in the house and returned home safely.

From that day on, their father was very sorry for what he had done and promised never to send them away again. And so, Hansel and Gretel lived happily ever after.

The end.

This story teaches us to be careful of strangers and not to be greedy for sweet things. Always remember, appearances can be deceiving!