The poem "Goblin Market" is one of Christina Rossetti’s best known poems. 

A man dies, leaving to his son all his property, but gives his daughter a blessing. Later, the brother cuts his sister’s hand off in anger. Will either of them live happily ever after?

A young man does a kindness for an old woman, but the reward he gets is stolen by a witch! Will he be able to outsmart her and regain his treasures?

Today’s story, “The Farmer’s Children” by Elizabeth Bishop, an American poetry and short story writer, seems a showcase for the evil stepmother archetype.  

A kind and clever young man named Jesper sets off to marry the princess. Will the tasks the king sets prove too much for him?