diff --git a/lib/utils/simpleconfig.rb b/lib/utils/simpleconfig.rb
index 63c285dbc..2a60314e7 100644
--- a/lib/utils/simpleconfig.rb
+++ b/lib/utils/simpleconfig.rb
@@ -73,7 +73,13 @@ class SimpleConfig
     m = opts[:group_re].match(line)
     return nil if m.nil?
     @groups.push(m[1])
-    @vals = @params[m[1]] = {}
+
+    # We use a Hashie::Mash to provide method syntax for retrieving
+    # values. For configs that have keys whose values may be hashes
+    # (such as a mysql config that has [sections]), providing
+    # a hash whose values are accessible via methods provide
+    # a better user experience with `its` blocks.
+    @vals = @params[m[1]] = Hashie::Mash.new
   end
 
   def parse_implicit_assignment_line(line, opts)
diff --git a/test/unit/utils/simpleconfig_test.rb b/test/unit/utils/simpleconfig_test.rb
index 6f2f65a32..130fd3365 100644
--- a/test/unit/utils/simpleconfig_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/utils/simpleconfig_test.rb
@@ -77,4 +77,11 @@ describe 'SimpleConfig Default Parser' do
     cur.params.must_equal(res)
     cur.groups.must_equal(['g', 'k'])
   end
+
+  it 'provides methods to access returned hashes' do
+    cur = SimpleConfig.new("[section1]\nkey1 = value1\n\n[section2]\nkey2 = value2\n")
+    cur.params['section1'].key1.must_equal('value1')
+    cur.params['section2'].key2.must_equal('value2')
+    cur.params['section2'].missing_key.must_be_nil
+  end
 end