Greetings, Abby!

Good wishes to you and spouse, and peace and strength to you both to help you through your stressful time.

As to the "warm-up" version of Child's collection, sometimes the rough draft is more interesting than the finished product, or at least, it's more enlightening when shown in contrast to the finished product... I know that is the case with many of the Grimms' tales (but that's a discussion for another thread).

From what you've quoted in Child's commentary, it does sound to me that, even if your source for the distinction between the ripe and unripe fruit *is* modern, the lyrics are "authentic" in the sense that they bridge the contradictions between versions a, b, and c -- they weren't simply arrived at by whim.

On the one hand, when Thomas rushes to pick an apple, the queen warns him off, but on the other, she gives him an apple herself, as payment. Taken on face value that this is the same tree referred to in all three versions, it's natural to assume that some apples must curse and others bless -- another common motif in folklore. And it's equally logical that eating the Fruit of Knowledge would give you the gift of prophecy.

As to the "Comic effect" mentioned by Child, I was chatting online with a friend (while doing a web/Google search for the long version 37b), and gave a brief synopsis of the plot. His response was along the lines of: "Just like Jim Carey's character in 'Liar, Liar!'" ;-)