Week 12 Storytelling: Iris and Duke Cleaver

Once upon a time, there was a young lady named Iris. She was newly eighteen years old and only then allowed to date. For years, Iris's father had scared off the advances of many boys because Iris was too young. But now, all of those young men came back out of the woodwork to pursue her.

On Monday night, Iris went for ice cream with Damon. He was tall and his long brown hair flopped in his eyes. He was going to school to become a scientist.

On Tuesday afternoon, Henry took Iris for a walk in the woods. Henry was short and stocky. He wore his blonde hair buzzed short. Henry planned to join the military.

On Wednesday night, Duke Cleaver picked Iris up for a steak dinner. Duke Cleaver had ice blue eyes and pale skin. He told Iris of his wonderful castle where he could provide for her anything she desired. Iris liked him the best.

Iris saw plenty of other suitors on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but during those outings she was always thinking about Duke Cleaver.

Her father told her that this was a sign. If she couldn't stop thinking about one man while she was with another, then she should marry the former.

Iris and Duke Cleaver agreed that they would get married, and he continued to tell her about his extravagant castle. But Iris thought it strange that he never invited her to visit the grand facade.

But Iris was a smart young lady, and so one day when Duke Cleaver was away on business, she decided she would simply go visit his castle alone.

The great building was constructed of gray stone. It had a draw bridge that ran over a moat, and several turrets came to sharp points in the distance.

Iris crossed the draw bridge and as she was entering through the archway, she found a phrase carved into the stone. It read, Be bold, be bold.

Hmmm, that is a funny thing to carve into an archway, she thought.

She continued on into a grassy green courtyard.

Over the doorway into the castle, it read, Be bold, be bold, but not too bold.

Iris opened the great wooden doors and found herself in a long dining room. On a golden plaque above the fireplace at the back of the room, it said, Be bold, be bold, but not too bold. Lest that your heart's blood should run cold.

Next to the fireplace was yet another door. Iris opened it and inside she found a most gruesome scene. The dead bodies of beautiful ladies were strewn about the room. They were covered in their own blood, and missing limbs lay abandoned on the floor.

Just as Iris was turning to leave, she heard footsteps and whistling. She quickly hid behind a table in the corner.

Not a second too soon, Duke Cleaver entered the room, dragging the body of an unconscious woman. He spread her out on the table that Iris hid behind and chopped of the woman's find to retrieve a diamond ring.

Iris had to cover her mouth to keep from shrieking. The dismembered finger flew off the table and landed in Iris's lap. Duke Cleaver searched around for it for a few moments before giving up.

Once Duke Cleaver had finished his murder of the woman, he left the blood room. Iris quickly snatched up the finger and ran out of the castle.

The very next day was supposed to be her wedding day. So at a feast that evening to celebrate the upcoming nuptials, Iris confronted Duke Cleaver in front of all of their guests.

 

(Image information: "Mr. Fox" by John D. Batten, 1890.)

"My dear," Iris said. "Last night I had the most curious dream. I dreamed that I visited your castle and found the words 'Be bold, be bold, but not too bold. Lest that your heart's blood should run cold.' carved by a doorway near a fireplace."

"But that can't be true," Duke Cleaver said.

"Inside the room were the dead bodies of many women. I hid behind a table, and in you walked, carrying an unconscious woman. You hacked her up right in front of me because you didn't know I was there," Iris continued.

"Oh, no. That can't  be true," Duke Cleaver said.

"You even cut off the woman's finger to take her diamond ring. One that looked very much like this finger and this diamond ring," Iris said. She triumphantly held up the severed finger.

"Guards!" Iris's father called. "Take this wretched man away!"

And Iris continued her time of courting with the many other suitors until she found a truly good man to mary.

Author's Note: This story is inspired by "Mr. Fox", from the English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, with illustrations by John D. Batten, 1890. I kept most of the story the same, but I changed Mary's name to Iris, and I added in some details about her other suitors. I also changed Mr. Fox's name to Duke Cleaver because I couldn't figure out whether Mr. Fox was an actual fox or not. I sped up Iris's retelling of Duke Cleaver's crimes toward the end.