Project Gutenberg
2011-10-10
Public domain in the USA.
167
Anonymous
Anonyme
Anonymous, Anonymous
The Babes in the Wood
May Bells Series
Produced by Larry B. Harrison, and the Archives and Special
Collections, University Libraries, Ball State University
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
"The Babes in the Wood" by Anonymous is a traditional poem or ballad written during the late 17th to early 18th century. This narrative poem recounts the tragic story of two innocent children left to the mercy of their cruel uncle, highlighting themes of betrayal, loss, and divine retribution. The story begins with the death of a well-to-do gentleman and his wife, who leave behind two young children: a boy and a girl. Their uncle, who swears to care for them, instead plots to murder them for their inheritance. As the children embark on a journey with hired ruffians, their innocent chatter softens the hearts of one of the assassins, leading to an internal conflict that results in the children's eventual abandonment in the woods. They tragically succumb to starvation and cold, while their uncle faces the wrath of divine justice for his treachery, leading to his own downfall. In the end, it is Robin Redbreast, the bird, who buries the children under leaves, symbolizing their innocence and the tragic consequences of greed. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Reading ease score: 81.2 (6th grade). Easy to read.
en
Children's poetry
PZ
Text
Category: Poetry
Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore
Category: British Literature
37382
2025-10-15T09:50:34.337771
text/html
33843
2011-10-10T14:24:28
text/html
1073259
2025-10-15T09:50:38.208739
application/epub+zip
1071889
2025-10-15T09:50:35.996774
application/epub+zip
77624
2025-10-15T09:50:34.918728
application/epub+zip
1159049
2025-10-15T09:50:39.792724
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
1160696
2025-10-15T09:50:37.542751
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
147547
2022-09-17T09:12:43.748701
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
25975
2025-10-15T09:50:34.013807
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
25893
2011-10-10T14:24:28
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
18406
2025-10-15T09:50:39.919705
application/rdf+xml
12681
2025-10-15T09:50:35.402741
image/jpeg
3433
2025-10-15T09:50:35.159732
image/jpeg
1296375
2011-10-10T14:24:30
application/octet-stream
application/zip
9504
2011-10-10T14:24:30
application/octet-stream
application/zip
1479842
2025-10-15T09:50:34.365771
application/octet-stream
application/zip
Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at
https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog
More titles under Unknown
en.wikipedia