"Once Upon a Time" is a mix of the fairy tales Mother Holle and Cinderella. Maria, Bello, and Mr. Bottle are quite happy. However, life changes when a wandering con artist tricks Mr. Bottle into marrying her. Mary has a new stepmother and stepsister, Mary Lou. Meeting a hunter in the woods, Maria falls in love and is given a garnet stone. She awaits being reunited with him. Meanwhile, Mary Lou and her mother hatch a plan to marry the Prince, whom search for a girl with a garnet necklace. The Prince, Mary Lou realizes, was the hunter they had met in the woods and had given Maria the necklace she had tossed down a well. Maria is tricked into retrieving her stone, both girls fall into the well, and they embark on a journey to find Mrs. Holly - the one whom holds the garnet stone and the way home.