without the mistake in my input file 1 $VAR1 = { 'a' => { '13' => { '14' => 1 }, '12' => { '17' => 4, '15' => 2 }, '14' => { '19' => 5 } }, 'b' => { '10' => { '15' => 5 }, '12' => { '15' => 4 } } };