Hansel and Gretel — Jacob Grimm; Wilhelm Grimm

In Hansel and Gretel, a famine has settled over the land. The children of a poor woodcutter are abandoned in the woods by their cruel stepmother who believes she and her husband will starve as a result of providing for the children. Days of wandering lead them to a beautiful cottage made of gingerbread and candy, which the children begin to eat. Lured inside by an old woman who promises hot baths, soft beds and more delicious food, the children are captured and enslaved by what turns out to be a cannibalistic witch. The resourceful children must rely on their wits to make a daring escape.