Two men, the bigger the better, one dressed as a very small boy, the other as a little girl; each holds a penny bun.
“In the next group you behold the Babes in the Wood, who had the misfortune to have an uncle. This wicked man hired a villain to carry these babes away into the wood and leave them to wander until death put an end to their sorrow, and the little robins covered them up with leaves. These lifelike figures represent the children just after taking their leaves of the villain. By a master stroke of genius the artist has shown very delicately that human nature is not utterly depraved, for the villain has placed in the hand of each of the innocents a penny bun as a parting present. I have been often asked ‘why I did not have a figure of the villain also added to the group?’ but my reply always is, ‘Villains are too common to be any curiosity.’
“Wind ’em up, John.”
Each Babe offers to the other a bite of bun alternately.
xi. Little Red Riding-Hood.
A young lady carrying a basket on her arm. Costume in accordance with the story.
“Here you behold Little Red Riding-Hood, a model of grand-filial devotion, for she was so fond of her granny that she wandered through the forest to take the old lady’s luncheon, and was eaten by the wolf for so doing, which is a warning to all children to be careful how they do much for their grandmothers, unless they are rich and can leave them something in their wills. This personage was an especial favorite with children, who love to read about her, and shed tears over her unhappy fate, although some of them think that had she been as smart as her dress, she would have been too smart to have mistaken the wolf for her grandmother, unless she had been a very homely old lady, or he had been much better-looking than most wolves.”
When wound up, the figure curtseys and holds out her basket.
xii. Lady with Golden Locks.
Young lady, with long fair hair, flowing over her shoulders; holds bottle (labelled Mrs. Blank’s Hair Restorer) and curling-tongs.