Once upon a time, in a faraway land,
There lived a rather small woman and a rather small man.
Their blood was equal, they shared their looks,
Both with beady green eyes and noses like hooks.
Overalls and sweaters covered their frames;
Rumpli and Rumplo were their names.

Their home was the forest, it always had been.
They were sheltered by trees, and linen, and tin.
In this forest, was nothing else,
For they scared all away, with their pungent smells.
Now off on their journey, to scour the kingdom
For those unsuspecting of that, that comes seldom.

Victim number one was young one named Jaime.
She trembled with fear, her eyes were so rainy.
Her bones were removed, her organs outcast,

For they only liked the flesh that came last.
Rumpli and Rumplo gobbled ‘til dawn,
And then scuttled away, before they were sawn.

Back to the forest they ran like lightning,
One could never admit that they were not frightening.
They laughed as they danced around their campfire,
Cooking up a concoction to continue their satire.
Target number two would be harder to ensnare
For now, they were known, they had to beware.

Alex was his name, a friendly, small child;
His face never to be seen without a smile.
Every night he read with his mother at home,
Only to later be left alone.
This is when they’d fetch him and dig through his flesh.
And last, but not least, tear his heart from his chest.

They scuttled through the window, and up the staircase,
Through his bedroom door to see his face.
They saw it and were much more than pleased
With themselves and what they would achieve.

Their examining started, when all of a sudden,
They were hit atop their heads with a large bludgeon.

Rumpli had once been a nice little girl.
How would one know how she would unfurl;
She was corrupted by the dark side,
Now cutthroat and vicious, the old her had died.
At first, she fought with her new self.
At last, she embraced it all by herself.

Rumplo is the one who lead her there.
Knowing full well that she was unaware
Of the tortuous tasks that they would complete.
Heinousness and maliciousness never took the backseat.
He was the dark side that she unfurled to.
Now both are equal, it was long overdue.

Waking up outside, surrounded by people.
They found themselves captured and feeling quite feeble.
They were tied to the stake, their hands bound together,
Surrounded by flames, they were forced to surrender.
Yelping and screaming is how they left life.

Being licked by violent flames and tortured by a knife.

Their cries were heard throughout the kingdom.
All celebrated at their gain of freedom.
No longer scared, and no more locked doors.
No more disguises, or keeping children in floors.
The tale ends here, at the dawn of new age.
So long, farewell, until the next page.