Illustrated by Frank Adams, published by Blackie and Son in 1930
Father and mother got very ill and died. Before their death, they decided to trust their children, a boy and a girl, to their uncle. They left all their possessions to the kids. The uncle should take care of it until they grow up.
Uncle looked nice at first. Kids were not afraid of him.
He played with children and they soon adapted to the new situation.
But uncle had plans on his own. He was deeply indebted and wealth inherited by children would help him out of trouble. So he made a vicious plan.
He found two corrupt men who were willing to help him get rid of children in exchange for some money. One meeting in the inn was enough to determine the details.
The uncle introduced these men to the children as his friends who would take kids into the woods and entertain them.
Children were very enthusiastic about the promised adventure.
They enjoyed in the forest, singing and laughing. They forgot about their problems and just enjoyed themselves. They were adorable.
Their joy was infectious and men who were hired to kill them started having second thoughts.
Should they really kill them? So cute innocent kids? After a while, one decided to kill them anyway. The other was strongly against and they started a fight.
The one who wanted to keep children alive won. The other died. But the winner had no idea what to do with children. So he took a horse and promised to come back with some food.
Children were waiting.
Waiting and waiting.
The night came but they stayed alone.
They were starving.
And they were scared.
They started wandering through the forest hoping to find food.
They didn't find anything useful.
Children were hungry and exhausted.
Adventure in the woods turned into a nightmare.
They lay under a tree. They fell asleep.
They slept for a long time and then they died.
Animals brought leaves to cover their bodies.
This sad ballad is almost forgotten today but it was very popular in the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century. It shares several characteristics with the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel:
dead parents,
children lost in the woods,
very dangerous superior opponent,
hunger and exhaustion,
dark tones from the very beginning to the very end of the story.
Well, the last claim is just partially true. Hansel and Gretel end a bit more optimistic. Yes, the witch and stepmother (we can look at them as two sides of the same person) died but the kids and their father survived. They even become rich, so there is a happy ending which is absent in Babes in the Wood.
It looks like that happy end really makes a difference.