ou wish for will hardly be granted; I
fear there is a great disaster awaiting you.'

"Then they went into a field, and the fortune-teller produced a goblet of
coloured glass, and called to the swallow, which is a bird of good omen,
and to the small owl, which forebodes evil, and said, 'Whichever shall
alight first on the edge of this cup will be a sign to you of success or
failure.'

"But the first which came and sat upon the cup was the owl.

"Then the witch said, 'What there is in that room I cannot reveal, for it
disturbs my soul far too much. But I know that the number of that room
is thirteen, and you can infer for yourself what that portends; and more
I cannot tell you, save that you should be extremely careful and keep a
cheerful heart--otherwise there is great trouble awaiting you.'

"But the lady returned home in a great rage at her disappointment, and
all the more resolved to enter the room. Then all the family finding
this out, reproached her, and urged her not to be so distracted; and she,
being obstinate, only became the more determined; for she was furious
that she could not force an old man to reveal a secret which had been
handed down for many generations, and which could only be confided to
one, or to the eldest, when the old man should die.

"And at last her evil will or mania attained such command over her, that
she resolved to kill all the family one by one, till the succession of
the secret should come to her. And so, after boiling deadly herbs with
care, she made a strong subtle poison. And by this means she put to
death her parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and all the family,
without remorse, so resolved was she to master the secret.

"The last to perish was her grandfather, and calling her to his bedside
he said, 'We have all died by thy hand; we who never did thee any harm;
and thou hast felt no remorse. This thou didst to gain a treasure, and
bitterly wilt thou be disappointed. Thy punishment will begin when thou
shalt learn what the thing was so long hidden: truly there was sorrow
enough therein, without the misery which thou hast added to it. That
which thou wilt find in the chamber is a skull--the skull of our earliest
ancestor, which must always be given to the care of the eldest
descendant, and I now give it to thee. And this thou must do. Go every
morning at seven o clock into the room and close the windows. Then light
four candles before the skull. In front of it ther