Blue Beard

“ Blue Beard brought some fine clothes along with him for Fatima and her sister, which the father insisted upon her wearing. It was in vain for her to tell him she could not be happy, as her heart was given to Selim; he knew that Blue Beard was very rich, and like many others, he thought happiness [pg 14] consisted in wealth; so, says he, have him you must, and have him you shall: Abomelique, at the same time, took all manner of pains to please her; for, beside the fine clothes, he brought her jewels and diamonds in profusion, and promised she should want for nothing when she got to the castle. ”

“ During the day, Fatima was so much engaged, that she never once thought of the blue closet, which Blue Beard had ordered her not to open; but when all the visitors were gone, she felt a great curiosity to know its contents. She took out the key, which was made of the finest gold, and went to consult with her sister on the subject. Anne used every argument she could think of to dissuade Fatima from her purpose, and reminded her of the threats of Blue Beard; but all in vain, for Fatima was now bent on gratifying her curiosity. ”

“ When the proposals of Blue Beard were mentioned to the young ladies by their mother, both Miss Anne and her sister Fatima protested, that they would never marry an ugly man, and particularly one with such a frightful blue beard; because, although he possessed immense riches, it was reported in the country, that he had married several beautiful ladies, and nobody could tell what had become of them. ”

“ Ask yourself if it be reasonable to suppose that our eyes are playing a trick on both of us? Not,' her mother went on, 'that I, for my part, have any prejudice against blue. On the contrary, it is a beautiful colour, and considered lucky. The poets—you will have remarked—when they would figure to us the highest attainable happiness, select a blue flower or a blue bird for its emblem. Heaven itself is blue; and, at the least, a blue beard must be allowed to confer distinction.'
'A greyish-blue,' hazarded Fatima. ”

“ She told them that she did not desire them to like this gentleman either for his wealth or his behaviour; but that it was improper in them to show such weakness, as to avoid any one for such a peculiarity; she reminded them how liable we all are to changes of appearance, from beauty to ugliness, by diseases which we can neither prevent nor remove; and that if they shunned one man because he had a blue beard, they might also avoid others for having black hair, or grey eyes.
The young ladies were convinced of the propriety of what their mamma said ”

“ THUMB
PAGE
BLUE-BEARD.
Once on a time there was a man so hideous and ugly
That little children shrank and tried to hide when he appeared;
His eyes were fierce and prominent, his long hair stiff like bristles,
His stature was enormous, and he wore a long blue beard—
He took his name from that through all the country round about him,—
And whispered tales of dreadful deeds but helped to make him feared.
Yet he was rich, O! very rich ”

“ Little doubt but these were the wives whom Blue Beard had married and whose throats he had cut, one after another! ”

“ BLUE BEARD Once upon a time there was a man who had fine houses in town and country, gold and silver plate, embroidered furniture, and coaches gilt all over; but, unfortunately, this man had a blue beard, which made him look so ugly and terrible, that there was not a woman or girl who did not run away from him. ”

“ In the long ago times, in a splendid house, surrounded by fine gardens and a park, there lived a man who had riches in abundance, and everything to make him popular except one, and that was his beard, for his beard was neither black as a raven's wing, golden as the sunlight, nor just an ordinary every-day colour, but it was blue, bright blue. ”

“ Amongst the families that lived within a short distance of his castle, there was an elderly lady and her two daughters. Both these young ladies were highly accomplished, and much admired: but the younger of the two was also thought to be unusually handsome, and was therefore noticed rather more than her sister. It often happens, that beauty is a misfortune; because, if a young lady has not good sense, it will make her vain; and a vain girl generally falls into some kind of misery or trouble.
Blue Beard became acquainted with the mother of these young ladies ”

“ After some delay and several crashes behind the curtain, which mightily amused the audience, the performance began with the well-known tragedy of "Bluebeard;" for Bab had set her heart upon it, and the young folks had acted it so often in their plays that it was very easy to get up, with a few extra touches to scenery and costumes. Thorny was superb as the tyrant with a beard of bright blue worsted, a slouched hat and long feather, fur cloak, red hose, rubber boots, and a real sword which clanked tragically as he walked. ”

“ INTRODUCTION The story of Bluebeard has become a classic in infantile mythical (folk-lore) literature wherever the English and French languages are spoken. Rev. Dr. Shahan suggests its possible existence in earlier languages and more distant countries (see p. xiv.) . The story is more or less mythical. While it does not follow history with any pretence of fidelity, it has come to be recognised by the historians and literati of France as representing the life of Gilles de Retz (or Rais) , a soldier of Brittany in the first half of the fifteenth century. ”

“ He is fabulously old, crowned with mistletoe and clad in a long green gown edged with moss and lichen. He is blind; his white beard streams in the wind. He leans with one hand on a knotty stick and with the other on a young OAKLING, who serves as his guide. The Blue Bird is perched on his shoulder. ”

“ Studious historians or astute critics may dispute Perrault’s history of Bluebeard havingxiv been founded upon the life of Gilles de Retz, but the country people (the folk) of Brittany will simply smile at such erudition and continue in their former belief that Bluebeard represents a cruel, wicked man who lived here hundreds of years ago and who was executed for his many crimes against humanity ”

“ ‘why, I think he’s the wictim o’ connubiality, as Blue Beard’s domestic chaplain said, vith a tear of pity, ven he buried him.’
There was no replying to this very apposite conclusion, and, therefore, Mr. ”

“ When the myriads of bright stars would twinkle in the blue black sky or the great round-faced moon climb over the mountain tops to see what was doing in the park, the birds and chipmunks were quiet, but then the big pack-rats, with squirrel-like tails, would troop out from their secret caves and invade the camp. ”

“ Blue Bob must have had a last name, but none of the little fellows knew what it was. Everybody called him Blue Bob because he had such a thick, black beard that when he was just shaved his face looked perfectly blue. ”

“ A blue death, a red death or a yellow death is just as grizzly and awe-inspiring as one of any shade of gray. Even a black death excites no emotions not touched by the first name, for it is the dread messenger himself whom we respect and not his fanciful robes of office.
As far as I am personally concerned, I confess that Big Pete’s painful suggestion about the coyotes had more to do with keeping my mouth shut than any terror inspired by the lily-like purity of the garments of the white death; what made my bones ache was the thought of the wolves gnawing them. ”

“ Yes, no matter how long a beard you may grow, or how closely shaven you may be, still you are, undoubtedly, indisputably, the original blue stocking, and that was the reason I twice took you by the throat and put you out—simply for the reason that I cannot bear blue stockings, who among our brethren, the men, are ten times as numerous as among women. ”

“ The doctor’s little girl rolled up her sleeves and put on Billy Williams’ mother’s blue gingham apron. First, she took the shallow grocery box and nailed it to the window ledge. Billy was surprised to see that the doctor’s little girl could drive a long nail almost as well as he himself!
“That’s the bird-shelf,” she explained. “You sprinkle sunflower seed on it every day. The birds can light on its rim. Some days you’ll have as many as twenty at a time. The chickadees are darling and the purple finches are beautiful and they sing too.” ”

“ I want a big, big doll that can talk, and it must have real hair and shut and open its eyes and it must have blue eyes and real eye-lashes too. I asked for a pink silk dress and gloves, I think—I can’t remember. And there were to be two big Teddy bears with a growl and a squeak both—very big bears, one pure white and the other furry and brown. I want a white pony, too, and a white cart and harness. The letter will tell you all about that—I forget all that I said in the letter,” she explained. “It was ’most six pages long of big pad paper.”
“That was rather long,” chuckled Santa Claus. ”

“ After being dressed in a very grand manner she was put or rather forced into her seat on the elephant's back along with her sister Irene; the ladies round about, who came to the sight, could scarce keep from envying her, forgetting that very fine clothes may hide a very heavy heart, as it did now. ”

“ During the spring they would ride through the world, scattering sunshine, laughter, and hope; mortals would see them, but they would not know who they were. During the summer and the autumn they would be invisible to mortals, and during the winter they would slumber in the Diamond Palace of his mother, the Snow Queen.
They waited to see Blue Boy and Cherry-Ripe married, and Blue Eyes gave them as a wedding present a little glass pipe, which, whenever he played it, brought the spring into the hearts of all who heard it. ”

“ Come and stay till the world shall end."
As soon as she had said this, Blue Eyes stood before her just as he had been when he rode away, clothed in snowdrops and cowslips, wearing the rainbow for a scarf, and carrying a branch of blossom in his hand. [29]
Rainbow was so glad to see Blue Eyes that she almost fainted. She led him to her cottage, and there she wept a long time for joy. Then Blue Eyes told her that he would never leave her again, but that he could not live on the earth a second time in the guise of a glass mender. ”

“ One Spring evening they arrived rather late in a wood, and after they had made a fire and cooked their supper, Rainbow and Blue Boy went to sleep, and Blue Eyes sat by the fire for he said he wasn't sleepy.
After Rainbow had been sleeping for a few hours she woke up with a start. The moon had risen and the camp-fire had not yet gone out, but the ashes were smouldering and there by the fire sat Blue Eyes. Rainbow could see him distinctly, but he seemed to her to look different from usual; strange, beautiful, and more like a fairy Prince than a glass mender. ”

“ And not only does he make the bird a visible living creature; he makes it sing joyously to the ear, while all nature sings blithely to the eye. We see the bird, not as a mass of feathers with "upper parts bright blue, belly white, breast ruddy brown, mandibles and legs black," as the textbooks have it, but as a thing of life and beauty: "Yonder bluebird with the earth tinge on his breast and the sky tinge on his back,—did he come down out of heaven on that bright March morning when he told us so softly and plaintively that, if we pleased, spring had come?" ”

“ The hill trail steadied him a little, though he went up the steepest pitch with rabbit-jumps and teetered on his toes the rest of the way.
Billy Louise laughed a little, leaned, and grabbed a handful of slatey mane. "Oh, you Blue-dog!" she said, for that was his full name. "Life is livable, after all, as long as a fellow has got you and can ride. You good-for-nothing old ten-dollar hoss! I—wonder would it be wicked to sing? What do you think, Blue? You'd sing, I know, at the top of your voice, if you could. Say, Blue! ”

“ At the moment of the Brothers' opportune arrival Bluebeard is on the point of severing Fatima's relations with the world. The Brothers advance. A cloud of dust envelops them; they rush forward, dealing telling blows, and the frantic bleating of fleeing sheep is heard in a wild double-tonguing of the united brass instruments, very effective, especially in the open air, though a little trying to nervous ladies in the front rows of an opera-house. ”

“ The suitors were much puzzled by this order. What was the Blue Rose, and where was it to be found? In all a hundred and fifty suitors had presented themselves, and out of these, fifty at once put away from them all thought of winning the hand of the Emperor's daughter, since they considered the condition imposed to be absurd.
The other hundred set about trying to find the Blue Rose. One of them—his name was Ti-Fun-Ti, he was a merchant and immensely rich—went at once to the largest shop in the town and said to the shopkeeper: "I want a blue rose, the best you have." ”

“ I am like a dark black night, that has suddenly been flooded with the rapture of a golden sun. O hail! O bright great God, in the form of that blue-eyed beautiful thing before me, that fills me with astonishment and laughter and supreme delight. And presently he said: O thou with the blue flowers in thy hair and the blue wonder in thy enormous eyes, that resemble those of a child, how can it be that in a world so full of them, thou shouldst never yet have set those eyes on either a man or a horse?
Then she started as if from a dream. ”