Lucy Clifford - "The New Mother" (1882?)

Wonderful folk-ish fairy tale, inspiration to Neil Gaiman for his "Coraline" though very different, about two children who desperately want to be naughty to see a small man and woman dance.

What this, like other good fairy tales, does so well is take a concept "be good, or else", and use that, or rather its inverse, as an important trope throughout the story.