After that he shut the door, lay down in the grandmother's bed, and
waited for Little Red Riding Hood. Presently she came and knocked. _Toc Toc._

'Who is there?' Now Little Red Riding Hood on hearing the Wolf's gruff voice was at
first frightened, but thinking that her grandmother had a bad cold, she
replied:

'It is your little daughter, Red Riding Hood, and I bring you a cake and
a little pot of butter from my mother.' [Illustration: '_Come up on the bed with me_']

Softening his voice, the Wolf called out to her:

'Pull out the peg and the latch will fall.' Little Red Riding Hood drew out the peg and the door flew open. When he saw her enter, the Wolf hid himself in the bed beneath the
counterpane. 'Put the cake and the little pot of butter on the bin,' he said, 'and
come up on the bed with me.' Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes, but when she climbed up on
the bed she was astonished to see how her grandmother looked in her
nightgown. 'Grandmother dear!' she exclaimed, 'what big arms you have!' 'The better to embrace you, my child!' 'Grandmother dear, what big legs you have!' 'The better to run with, my child!' 'Grandmother dear, what big ears you have!' 'The better to hear with, my child!' 'Grandmother dear, what big eyes you have!' 'The better to see with, my child!' 'Grandmother dear, what big teeth you have!' 'The better to eat you with!' With these words the wicked Wolf leapt upon Little Red Riding Hood and
gobbled her up. [Illustration: "'YOU MUST DIE, MADAM,' HE SAID."] BLUE BEARD


Once upon a time there was a man who owned splendid town and country
houses, gold and silver plate, tapestries and coaches gilt all over. But
the poor fellow had a blue beard, and this made him so ugly and
frightful that there was not a woman or girl who did not run away at
sight of him. Amongst his neighbours was a lady of high degree who had two
surpassingly beautiful daughters. He asked for the hand of one of these
in marriage, leaving it to their mother to choose which should be
bestowed upon him. Both girls, however, raised objections, and his offer
was bandied from one to the other, neither being able to bring herself
to accept a man with a blue beard. Another reason for their distaste was
the fact that he had already married several wives, and no one knew what
had become of them. In order that they might become better acquainted, Blue Beard invited
the two girls, with their mother and three or four of their best
friends, to meet a party of young men from the neighbourhood at one of
his country houses. Here they spent eight whole days, and throughout
their stay there was a constant round of picnics, hunting and fishing
expeditions, dances, dinners, and luncheons; and they never slept at
all, through spending all the night in playing merry pranks upon each
other. In short, everything went so gaily that the younger daughter
began to think the master of the house had not so very blue a beard
after all, and that he was an exceedingly agreeable man. As soon as the
party returned to town their marriage took place. At the end of a month Blue Beard informed his wife that important
business obliged him to make a journey into a distant part of the
country, which would occupy at least six weeks. He begged her to amuse
herself well during his absence, and suggested that she should invite
some of her friends and take them, if she liked, to the country. He was
particularly anxious that she should enjoy herself thoroughly. 'Here,' he said, 'are the keys of the two large storerooms, and here is
the one that locks up the gold and silver plate which is not in everyday
use. This key belongs to the strong-boxes where my gold and silver is
kept, this to the caskets containing my jewels; while here you have the
master-key which gives admittance to all the apartments. As regards this
little key, it is the key of the small room at the end of the long
passage on the lower floor. You may open everything, you may go
everywhere, but I forbid you to enter this little room. And I forbid you
so seriously that if you were indeed to open the door, I should be so
angry that I might do anything.' She promised to follow out these instructions exactly, and after
embracing her, Blue Beard steps into his coach and is off upon his
journey. [Illustration: _Blue Beard_]

Her neighbours and friends did not wait to be invited before coming to
call upon the young bride, so great was their eagerness to see the
splendours of her house. They had not dared to venture while her
husband was there, for his blue beard frightened them. But in less than
no time there they were, running in and out of the rooms, the closets,
and the wardrobes, each of which was finer than the last. Presently they
went upstairs to the storerooms, and there they could not admire enough
the profusion and magnificence of the tapestries, beds, sofas, cabinets,
tables, and stands. There were mirrors in which they could view
themselves from top to toe, some with frames of plate glass, others with
frames of silver and gilt lacquer, that were the most superb and
beautiful things that had ever been seen. They were loud and persistent
in their envy of their friend's good fortune. She, on the other hand,
derived little amusement from the sight of all these riches, the reason
being that she was impatient to go and inspect the little room on the
lower floor. So overcome with curiosity was she that, without reflecting upon the
discourtesy of leaving her guests, she ran down a private staircase, so
precipitately that twice or thrice she nearly broke her neck, and so
reached the door of the little room. There she paused for a while,
thinking of the prohibition which her husband had made, and reflecting
that harm might come to her as a result of disobedience. But the
temptation was so great that she could not conquer it. Taking the little
key, with a trembling hand she opened the door of the room. At first she saw nothing, for the windows were closed, but after a few
moments she perceived dimly that the floor was entirely covered with
clotted blood, and that in this were reflected the dead bodies of
several women that hung along the walls. These were all the wives of
Blue Beard, whose throats he had cut, one after another. She thought to die of terror, and the key of the room, which she had
just withdrawn from the lock, fell from her hand. When she had somewhat regained her senses, she picked up the key, closed
the door, and went up to her chamber to compose herself a little. But
this she could not do, for her nerves were too shaken. Noticing that the
key of the little room was stained with blood, she wiped it two or three
times. But the blood did not go. She washed it well, and even rubbed it
with sand and grit. Always the blood remained. For the key was
bewitched, and there was no means of cleaning it completely. When the
blood was removed from one side, it reappeared on the other.