Not shocked, just my sense of natural justice outraged! I know old ballads & tales are grisly, but mostly the baddies get an equally grisly comeuppance - I'm thinking of Cinderella (is it?), where the wicked stepmother has to dance in red-hot shoes till she dies. I suppose the ending of this seems a bit clipped because we aren't told what happens to the jealous sister - or, indeed, poor Willie, who's presumably a bit hacked off.
Not shocked, just my sense of natural justice outraged! I know old ballads & tales are grisly, but mostly the baddies get an equally grisly comeuppance - I'm thinking of Cinderella (is it?), where the wicked stepmother has to dance in red-hot shoes till she dies. I suppose the ending of this seems a bit clipped because we aren't told what happens to the jealous sister - or, indeed, poor Willie, who's presumably a bit hacked off.