Читать книгу Страшные сказки / Scary stories - Братья Гримм, Оскар Уайльд - Страница 4

There was once a man who had fine houses, both in town and country, silver and gold plates, nice furniture, and coaches gilded all over with gold. But this man was very unlucky because he had a blue beard, which made him so frightfully ugly that all the women and girls ran away from him.

One of his neighbors, a lady of quality[14], had two daughters who were very beautiful. He desired to marry one of them. Neither of them wanted to marry him, and they sent him backwards and forwards from one to the other. They did want to have a husband with a blue beard. Furthermore, he was already married to several wives, and nobody knew what became of them.

Blue Beard invited these girls, with their mother and three or four other ladies, with other young people of the neighborhood, to one of his country houses, where they stayed a whole week.

The time was filled with parties, hunting, fishing, dancing, mirth, and feasting. Everything succeeded so well that the youngest daughter began to think that the man’s beard was not so very blue after all, and that he was a gentleman.

As soon as they returned home, the marriage was concluded. About a month afterwards, Blue Beard told his wife that he was obliged to take a country journey for six weeks at least. He desired her to divert herself in his absence, to send for her friends and acquaintances, to take them into the country, if she pleased, and to do whatever she wanted.

“Here”, said he, “are the keys to the two great wardrobes, wherein I have my best furniture. These are to my silver and gold plates. These open my strongboxes, which hold my money, both gold and silver; these my caskets of jewels. And this is the master key to all my apartments. But look at this little key. It is the key to the closet at the end of the great hall on the ground floor. Open them all; go into each and every one of them, except that little closet, which I forbid you. If you open it, you will expect my anger and resentment”.

She promised to observe, very exactly, his orders. Then he embraced her, got into his coach and proceeded on his journey.

Soon her neighbors and good friends arrived. They were impatient to see all the rich furniture of her house. They did not come while her husband was there, because of his blue beard, which frightened them. They ran through all the rooms, closets, and wardrobes, which were all fine and very rich indeed.

After that, they went up into the two great rooms, which contained the best and richest furniture. They admired the number and beauty of the tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, and looking glasses, in which they could see themselves from head to foot.

They extolled and envied the happiness of their friend, who in the meantime in no way diverted herself. She was impatient to go and open the closet on the ground floor. She was so much pressed by her curiosity that she went down a little back staircase, and with such haste that she nearly fell and broke her neck.

She came to the closet door, made a stop for some time, thought about her husband’s orders, and considered to be a little disobedient. The temptation was so strong that she could not overcome it. She then took the little key, and opened it. At first she could not see anything plainly, because the windows were shut. After some moments she began to perceive that the floor was all covered over with blood, on which lay the bodies of several dead women. These were all the wives whom Blue Beard married and murdered, one after another. She was very afraid, and the key fell out of her hand.

She picked up the key, locked the door, and went upstairs into her chamber. But she was frightened very much. She observed that the key to the closet was stained with blood. She tried two or three times to wipe it off; but the blood did not come out. She washed the key in vain, and even rubbed it with soap and sand. The blood still remained, for the key was magical and she could never make it clean. When the blood was gone off from one side, it came again on the other.

Blue Beard returned from his journey the same evening. His wife tried to convince him that she was extremely happy about his return.

The next morning he asked her for the keys, which she gave him. He easily guessed what happened.

“What!” said he, “is not the key of my closet among the rest?”

“I left it”, said she, “upstairs upon the table”.

“Bring it to me!” said Blue Beard, “At once!”

She went backwards and forwards, and finally brought him the key. Blue Beard looked at it very attentively and said to his wife,

“Why is there blood on the key?”

“I do not know”, cried the poor woman, paler than death.

“You do not know!” replied Blue Beard. “I very well know. You went into the closet, did you not? Very well, madam; you’ll go back, and take your place among the ladies you saw there”.

Upon this she begged his pardon with all the signs of a true repentance. She promised him to be obedient. She was beautiful and sorrowful; but Blue Beard had a heart harder than any rock!

“You must die, madam”, said he, “at once”.

“Since I must die”, answered she, “give me some time to say my prayers”.

“I give you”, replied Blue Beard, “seven minutes, but not one moment more”.

When she was alone she called out to her sister, and said to her,

“Sister Anne, go up, I beg you, to the top of the tower, and tell me: are there my brothers on the way? They promised me to come today, and if you see them, give them a sign to make haste”.

Her sister Anne went up to the top of the tower, and the poor wife cried out from time to time,

“Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone?”

And sister Anne said,

“I see nothing but a cloud of dust in the sun, and the green grass”.

In the meanwhile Blue Beard took a great saber, and cried out,

“Come down instantly, or I shall come up to you”.

“One moment longer, if you please”, said his wife; and then she cried out very softly, “Anne, sister Anne, do you see anybody on the road?”

And sister Anne answered,

“I see nothing but a cloud of dust in the sun, and the green grass”.

“Come down quickly!” cried Blue Beard, “or I shall come up to you!”

“One moment”, answered his wife; and then she cried, “Anne, sister Anne, do you not see anybody on the road?”

“I see”, replied sister Anne, “a great cloud of dust”.

“Are they my brothers?”

“Alas, no my dear sister, I see a flock of sheep”.

“Will you not come down?” cried Blue Beard.

“One moment longer”, said his wife, and then she cried out, “Anne, sister Anne, do you see anybody on the road?”

“I see”, said she, “two horsemen, but they are still far away”.

“God be praised![15]” replied the poor wife joyfully. “They are my brothers. I will make them a sign to make haste”.

Then Blue Beard bawled out so loud that he the whole house trembled. The distressed wife came down, and threw herself at his feet, all in tears, with her hair about her shoulders.

“This means nothing”, said Blue Beard. “You must die!”

Then he took her hair with one hand, and lifted up the sword with the other. He prepared to strike off her head. The poor lady turned about to him, and looked at him sorrowfully.

At this instant there was such a loud knocking at the gate that Blue Beard made a sudden stop. The gate was opened, and two horsemen entered. They drew their swords, and ran directly to Blue Beard. He knew them: they were his wife’s brothers, one a dragoon, the other a musketeer. Blue Beard he ran away immediately to save himself; but the two brothers pursued and overtook him. Then they ran their swords through his body and killed him. The poor wife was almost as dead as her husband, and had not strength enough to rise and welcome her brothers.

Blue Beard had no heirs, and so his wife became mistress of all his estate. She gave one part of it to her sister Anne; another part to buy captains’ commissions[16] for her brothers, and the rest to marry herself to a very worthy gentleman. She wanted to forget the ill time with Blue Beard.