Woe to those who pass the dragons at my gate and come into this desolate wood!

Here, human hands reach out of the ground, and miserable people roam the cypress wood. They have cords tied around their necks, and when they meet, they become attached and fall to the earth together. They are soon buried and there is nothing left of them but hands, reaching out of the earth.

Woe, I say, to those who come through my gate!

The Labyrinth of Despair in The Invisible Prince, Yellow Fairy Book. Illustration by H.J. Ford.