Mr. Fox

Lady Mary was young. Lady Mary was beautiful. She had two brothers and countless suitors. But the bravest and most handsome of them all was Mr. Fox. She met him while living in her father's hunting castle. No one knew where Mr. Fox came from, but he was very brave and undoubtedly wealthy. Out of all her suitors, Lady Mary favored him alone.

Finally, they decided to marry, and Lady Mary asked her fiancé where they would live after the wedding. Mr. Fox described his castle to her and told her where it was located, but—strangely enough—he did not invite either his bride or her brothers to visit.

Then one day, shortly before the wedding, when Mr. Fox was away for a day or two "on business," as he said, Lady Mary went to his castle alone. She wandered and wandered until she finally found it. It was indeed a beautiful castle, surrounded by high walls and a deep moat. She approached the gate and saw an inscription on it:

"Be bold, be bold..."

The gate was open, and she entered, but there was not a soul in the courtyard. She approached the door and read another inscription:

"Be bold, be bold. But not too bold..."

Lady Mary entered the hall, then climbed the wide staircase and stopped in the gallery at a door on which was written:

"Be bold, be bold, but not too bold, lest you find a sea of sorrow untold."

Lady Mary was a brave girl. She fearlessly opened the door, and what did she see—skeletons and bloodied corpses of beautiful young women.

And Lady Mary decided it was best to leave this terrible place as quickly as possible. She closed the door, ran through the gallery, and was about to descend the stairs to exit the hall when she saw Mr. Fox through the window. He was dragging a beautiful girl across the courtyard.

Lady Mary rushed down and barely managed to hide behind a barrel when Mr. Fox entered the house with the girl, who appeared to have fainted. He dragged his burden to the spot where Lady Mary was hiding, and suddenly noticed a sparkling diamond ring on the girl's hand. Mr. Fox tried to remove it but couldn't. Then, cursing, he drew his sword, raised it, and cut off the poor girl's hand. The hand flew off and landed right on Lady Mary's lap. Mr. Fox searched for it but couldn't find it, and it didn't occur to him to look behind the barrel. Then he picked up the girl again and dragged her up the stairs to the Bloody Chamber.

As soon as Lady Mary heard him ascend the gallery, she quietly ran out of the castle, passed through the gates, and rushed home as fast as she could.

It should be noted that the marriage contract between Lady Mary and Mr. Fox was to be signed the next day. So, all the household gathered around the festive table. Mr. Fox was seated opposite Lady Mary. He looked at her and said:

"How pale you look today, my dear!"

"I slept poorly last night," she replied. "I was tormented by terrible dreams."

"Bad dreams bode well," said Mr. Fox. "Tell us what you dreamed. We will listen to your lovely voice and not notice the hour of our happiness approaching."

"I dreamed," began Lady Mary, "that yesterday morning I went to your castle. I found it in the forest, behind high walls and a deep moat. On the castle gates was written:

'Be bold, be bold...'"

"But that is not so, and it never was," interrupted Mr. Fox.

"I approached the door and read on it:

'Be bold, be bold, but not too bold...'"

"But that is not so, and it never was," Mr. Fox interrupted again.

"I climbed the stairs to the gallery. At the end of the gallery was a door, and on it was written:

'Be bold, be bold, but not too bold, lest you find a sea of sorrow untold.'"

"But that is not so, and it never was," Mr. Fox said again.

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Mr. Fox

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