def prepare_return(x):
    '''
    Converts the etree to dict
    '''
    ret = {}
    for a in list(x):
        if a.tag not in ret:
            ret[a.tag] = []
        ret[a.tag].append(prepare_return(a))
    for a in x.attrib:
        ret[a] = x.attrib[a]
    return ret
Converts the etree to dict