Still she went on, till she came into the hall, and went up the broad
stairs till she came to a door in the gallery, over which was written:
BE BOLD, BE BOLD, BUT NOT TOO BOLD, LEST THAT YOUR HEART'S BLOOD SHOULD
RUN COLD.
But Lady Mary was a brave one, she was, and she opened the door, and
what do you think she saw? Why, bodies and skeletons of beautiful young
ladies all stained with blood. So Lady Mary thought it was high time to
get out of that horrid place, and she closed the door, went through the
gallery, and was just going down the stairs, and out of the hall, when
who should she see through the window, but Mr. Fox dragging a beautiful
young lady along from the gateway to the door. Lady Mary rushed
downstairs, and hid herself behind a cask, just in time, as Mr. Fox came
in with the poor young lady who seemed to have fainted. Just as he got
near Lady Mary, Mr. Fox saw a diamond ring glittering on the finger of
the young lady he was dragging, and he tried to pull it off. But it was
tightly fixed, and would not come off, so Mr. Fox cursed and swore, and
drew his sword, raised it, and brought it down upon the hand of the poor
lady. The sword cut off the hand, which jumped up into the air, and fell
of all places in the world into Lady Mary's lap. Mr. Fox looked about a
bit, but did not think of looking behind the cask, so at last he went on
dragging the young lady up the stairs into the Bloody Chamber.
As soon as she heard him pass through the gallery, Lady Mary crept
out of the door, down through the gateway, and ran home as fast as she
could.
Now it happened that the very next day the marriage contract of Lady
Mary and Mr. Fox was to be signed, and there was a splendid breakfast
before that. And when Mr. Fox was seated at table opposite Lady Mary,
he looked at her. “How pale you are this morning, my dear.” “Yes,”
said she, “I had a bad night's rest last night. I had horrible dreams.”
“Dreams go by contraries,” said Mr. Fox; “but tell us your dream, and
your sweet voice will make the time pass till the happy hour comes.”
“I dreamed,” said Lady Mary, “that I went yestermorn to your castle, and
I found it in the woods, with high walls, and a deep moat, and over the
gateway was written: