Ball-carrier and the Bad One

There were two little houses, near the border of a forest. Hunter, his wife and children lived in that houses. Children were forbidden to play more than a short distance from the door, as it was known that, away on the other side of the wood near the great river, there dwelt a witch who had a magic ball that she used as a means of stealing children. One day the old witch happened to want a little boy, so she threw her ball in the direction of the hunters' huts.... What happened next? Read it till the end to know!