Hansel & Gretel

Hansel & Gretel is a fairy tale of German origin made famous by the Brothers Grimm.

Plot
During a famine a woodsman's second wife coerces him into taking his children into the woods and abandon them so she and their father will not starve. Hansel overhears the conversation and collects white pebbles. When he and Gretel are taken into the woods, he leaves a trail of white pebbles behind him. The siblings are able to return home by following the pebble path.

The mother makes them go out again. This time they use bread crumbs but find that the birds have eaten them. They get lost but find a house of gingerbread. A witch catches them eating it and lures them into the house where she forces Hansel in a cage and makes Gretel a slave.

The witch tries to fatten Hansel up but he uses a bone in the cage to make the blind witch think he's too thin to eat. Eventually she decides to stop waiting and prepares to eat him anyway. She tries to get Gretel to get the oven ready, but Gretel pretends not to know how to do it. The witch goes to demonstrate, and Gretel shoves her in the oven. She frees Hansel and they find their way home.

Their stepmother is dead, and their father who'd been lamenting their loss all this time, is happy to have them home. With some treasure they found at the witch's house, they live happily ever after.

Tales of Evermagic
The third book in Tales of Evermagic (A Witch's Song) is a Hansel and Gretel story with the witch as the main character.

A Witch's Song
Nim is a new magic-user trying to find her fit in the world. When she discovers that she is supposed to be the witch from the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, she refuses to become the villain again. The magic surrounding her goes wild and lures other witches to where Nim is keeping children safe from their abusive homes.

Her only hope turns out to be a flirtatious witch hunter, and her new stalwart convictions as the character Evermagic has helped her to become.