Blue BeardAge-adapted version

Once upon a time there was a man who owned beautiful houses in the city and the countryside. He had lots of silver and gold dishes, fancy furniture, and carriages covered with gold. But this man had the bad luck to have a blue beard, which made him so terribly ugly that all the women and girls ran away from him.

One of his neighbors, a fine lady, had two daughters who were very beautiful. He asked if he could marry one of them, and let the mother choose which one. Neither of the daughters wanted him, and each said the other could have him. They couldn't stand the thought of marrying a man with a blue beard. Besides, they were disgusted because he had already been married several times, and nobody knew what had happened to those wives.

To make them like him, Blue Beard took the two sisters, their mother, three or four of their lady friends, and some other young people from the neighborhood to one of his country houses. They stayed there a whole week. There were parties, hunting, fishing, dancing, fun, and feasting.

Nobody went to bed; they stayed up all night playing tricks on each other. Everything went so well that the youngest sister began to think that the master of the house didn't have such a very blue beard after all, and that he was a very nice gentleman.

As soon as they got home, the wedding was arranged.

About a month later, Blue Beard told his wife that he had to go on a trip to the country for at least six weeks on very important business. He told her to have fun while he was away, to invite her friends and relatives, to take them to the country if she wanted, and to enjoy herself wherever she was.

"Here," he said, "are the keys to the two big wardrobes where I keep my best furniture. These are the keys to my silver and gold dishes, which I don't use every day. These open my strongboxes where I keep my money, both gold and silver. These open my jewelry boxes.

And this is the master key to all my rooms. But this little key here is the key to the closet at the end of the big hall on the ground floor. You may open all of them and go into every room, except that little closet.

I forbid you to open it, and I forbid it so strongly that if you do open it, my anger will be terrible and there will be no limits to my revenge."

She promised to obey everything he had ordered. Then he kissed her, got into his carriage, and left on his journey.

Her neighbors and good friends didn't wait to be invited to the bride's house. They were too eager to see all the rich furniture, because they hadn't dared to come while Blue Beard was there—his blue beard scared them. They ran through all the rooms, closets, and wardrobes, which were so rich and fine that they seemed to outdo each other.

Then they went up to the two big rooms where the best and richest furniture was. They couldn't stop admiring the many beautiful tapestries, beds, couches, cabinets, tables, and mirrors big enough to see yourself from head to toe.

Some mirrors had frames of glass, others of silver, plain or gilded—the most beautiful ever seen. They kept praising their friend's good luck, but she wasn't happy looking at all those rich things. She was too eager to go and open the closet on the ground floor.

Curiosity pressed her so hard that, without thinking how rude it was to leave her guests, she went down a little back staircase. She was in such a hurry that she almost broke her neck two or three times.

When she reached the closet door, she stopped for a while. She thought about her husband's orders and considered what bad things might happen if she disobeyed. But the temptation was so strong that she couldn't resist. She took the little key and opened the door, trembling.

At first she couldn't see anything clearly because the windows were shut. After a few moments she began to see that the floor was covered with dried blood, and in the blood were reflected the bodies of several dead women hanging against the walls.

These were all the wives Blue Beard had married and killed one after another. She nearly died of fright, and the key, which she pulled out of the lock, fell from her hand.

When she had recovered a little, she picked up the key, locked the door, and went upstairs to her room to calm down. But she couldn't—she was too scared. She noticed that the key was stained with blood. She tried two or three times to wipe it off, but the blood wouldn't come off. She washed it and even rubbed it with soap and sand, but the blood stayed. The key was a magic key, and she could never get it completely clean. When the blood disappeared from one side, it came back on the other.

Blue Beard came back from his trip that same evening. He said he had received letters on the road telling him that the business he had gone to take care of had ended well. His wife did everything she could to show she was very happy he was back so soon. The next morning he asked for the keys. She gave them to him, but her hand trembled so much that he easily guessed what had happened.

"What?" he said. "Isn't the key to my closet among the others?"

"I must have left it upstairs on the table," she answered.

"Go and get it right away," said Blue Beard.

After making excuses several times, she finally had to bring him the key. Blue Beard looked at it carefully and said to his wife, "How did this blood get on the key?"

"I don't know," cried the poor woman, paler than death.

"You don't know?" replied Blue Beard. "I know very well that you went into the closet, didn't you? Very well, madam. You shall go in and take your place among the ladies you saw there."

She threw herself at her husband's feet and begged his pardon, showing every sign of true repentance for her disobedience. She was so beautiful and sorrowful that she would have melted a rock, but Blue Beard had a heart harder than any rock.

"You must die, madam," he said, "and right now."

"Since I must die," she answered, looking at him with eyes full of tears, "give me a little time to say my prayers."

"I give you a quarter of an hour," replied Blue Beard, "but not a moment more."

When she was alone, she called to her sister and said, "Sister Anne" (for that was her name), "please go up to the top of the tower and see if my brothers are coming. They promised to come today, and if you see them, give them a sign to hurry."

Her sister Anne went up to the top of the tower, and the poor frightened wife cried out from time to time, "Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?"

And sister Anne said, "I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the green grass growing."

Meanwhile Blue Beard, holding a big sword, shouted as loud as he could, "Come down right now, or I'll come up to you!"

"Just one more moment, please," said his wife, and then she cried softly, "Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?"

And sister Anne answered, "I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the green grass growing."

"Come down quickly," shouted Blue Beard, "or I'll come up to you!"

"I'm coming," answered his wife, and then she cried, "Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?"

"I see," replied sister Anne, "a great cloud of dust coming this way."

"Are they my brothers?"

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

"Won't you come down?" shouted Blue Beard.

"Just one more moment," said his wife, and then she cried out, "Anne, sister Anne, do you see nobody coming?"

"I see," she said, "two horsemen coming, but they are still far away."

"God be praised!" she cried at once. "They are my brothers! I'm signaling to them as well as I can to hurry."

Then Blue Beard shouted so loudly that he made the whole house shake. The frightened wife came down and threw herself at his feet, crying, with her hair falling over her shoulders.

"It's no use," said Blue Beard. "You must die." Then he grabbed her hair with one hand and raised his sword with the other, ready to cut off her head.

The poor lady turned to him and looked at him with dying eyes. She begged him to give her one little moment to think.

"No, no," he said. "Pray to God." And he was just about to strike.

At that very moment there was such a loud knocking at the gate that Blue Beard stopped suddenly. The gate was opened, and two horsemen came in. They drew their swords and ran straight to Blue Beard. He recognized them as his wife's brothers—one was a soldier, the other a musketeer.

He ran away at once to save himself, but the two brothers chased him so closely that they caught him before he could reach the porch steps. They ran their swords through his body and left him dead.

The poor wife was almost as dead as her husband and didn't have the strength to get up and welcome her brothers.

Blue Beard had no children, so his wife became the owner of all his property. She used part of it to marry her sister Anne to a young man who had loved her for a long time. Another part she used to buy captain's commissions for her brothers, and the rest she used to marry a very worthy gentleman, who helped her forget the terrible time she had spent with Blue Beard.

The Moral

O curiosity, you mortal curse! Despite your charms, you often cause pain And deep regret. We see it every day: A thousand examples show your way. For you—O may it not upset the fair— Are a fleeting pleasure, but lasting care. And always proves, alas, too dear the prize That in the moment of possession dies.

Another Moral

A little bit of common sense, And knowing the world, will show you hence That this is a story of long ago; No husbands now cause such panic and woe. Nor weakly, with a vain and bossy hand, Command what's impossible, understand. And if they're annoyed, or jealousy's fire Burns in their hearts, they softly sing; And whatever color their beards may bring, Black, blue, or gray, it's hard to say Which one—husband or wife—has the final say.