This story begins when Hansel and Gretel overhear their parent's concerns that they don't have enough money to buy food to eat. When they go to bed that night, Hansel tells Gretel that he knows where they can go in the forest to gather strawberries for the family to eat.

In the morning, without telling their parents, they decide sneak out of their little cottage and go deep into the forest to gather strawberries to bring back home. They find the strawberry patch and fill their baskets with fresh strawberries. As they head back home, however, they get lost and can't find the pathway home.

As they wander around the forest, they discover a little house made of candy and other sweet things. The house is inhabited by a witch—what happens next? And what are the consequences of Hansel and Gretel's decision to go hunting for food?