When my children came home at last, I understood what had been going on in my own house. The twins never told me that my new wife beat them. I had no idea that she had sent them out to the gloomy wood to serve a witch who would happily eat them if they didn’t please her.

Once I understood what I had allowed in my own house, I cleaned things up. From here on out, I will care for my children myself.

The Father Who is No Longer Negligent in The Witch, Yellow Fairy Book. Illustration by John Hassall.