03-01-07-神秘及幻想故事集 [18]
，things in this world and things in heaven． I heard many things，things in this world and things in heaven ． I heard many things in hell，too． So how can I be mad
See how clearly and calmly I can tell my story．
I cannot explain how the idea first came into my head． But once I had thought of the idea，I could not forget it． I had no reason to do it ． I was not angry． I loved the old man ．H e had never hurt me in any way ． I didn't want his gold． I think it was his eye! Yes! He had a pale，blue eye，the eye of a vulture． Whenever I looked at it ,my blo0od became cold; and so ,very slowly，I decided to kill the old man and escape from the eye for ever．
You are thinking ,I know，that I am mad ． But madmen are not clever． And see how cleverly I prepared my plan! Every day that week I was so kind to the old man ! And every night of that week，at about midnight，I opened his door very，very quietly． First I put my dark lantern through the opening of the door． The lantern was closed，and so no light came out of it ,none at all ． Then slowly，very slowly，I put my head inside the opening． I took sixty long minutes just to put my head inside． Would a madman have worked so carefully
And when my head was inside the room，I opened the lantern carefully and a thin ray of light fell onto the vulture eye． But the eye was always closed，so I could not do the work．You see，I did not hate the man; it was only the eye that I hated．
On the eighth night I started opening the door even more carefully．I was feeling calm and strong．There I was，opening his door，and he did not even know that I was there! I almost laughed at the idea． And perhaps，at that moment，he heard me，because he suddenly moved in his bed But I did not move away． I knew that he could not see the opening of the door，so I continued pushing it open，slowly and quietly．
When my head was in the room，I tried to open the lantern but my thumb slipped and I made a noise．Immediately，the man sat up in bed and shouted，‘Who's there
’
I said nothing．For an hour I just stood there，without moving，and he sat in his bed，listening．Then he made a soft noise，a noise which I recognized． It was the noise of terror，the terror of death．I knew the sound because I had made it myself，many times，in the deep of the night，when all the world was asleep I felt sorry for the old man，but I laughed silently．I knew that he had been awake since the first noise，and his fear had grown and grown．Death had entered his room，and now the shadow of deatn lay all around him． He could neither see me nor hear me，but he could feel my head inside his room．
I opened the lantern a little and a thin ray of light feel on his eye．It was open，and as I looked at it，I became angry．I could see it clearly，a horrible，pale blue eye that turned my blood cold． I could see nothing of the man's face or body，just his eye．
And then I heard a sound．Hadn't I told you that my hearing was excellent
I knew the sound．It was the beating of the old man's heart．It grew louder and quicker．Yes，louder and louder with every minute．The old man's terror must have been very great． And now a new terror came to me-a neighbour might hear the noise of this beating heart! The old man's time had come!
I opened the lantern fully and ran into the room．He shouted once-but only once because I pulled him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him． For many minutes the heart continued to beat，but then it stopped．The old man was dead．I put my hand on his heart and held it there for many minutes．There was no life in him at all．Now his eye would not trouble me again．
Perhaps you are still thinking that I am mad．You will not，when I tell you of way I hid the body．First，I cut it into pieces． I cut off the head and the arms and the legs． I then took up three boards from the wooden floor，and hid the body underneath．Finally，I replaced the wooden boards with great care．Now no human eye-not even his- would see anything wrong．There was nothing to see-not even any blood．A bowl had caught it all-ha! ha!
When I finished，it was four o'clock and it was still dark．There was a knock at the front door
See how clearly and calmly I can tell my story．
I cannot explain how the idea first came into my head． But once I had thought of the idea，I could not forget it． I had no reason to do it ． I was not angry． I loved the old man ．H e had never hurt me in any way ． I didn't want his gold． I think it was his eye! Yes! He had a pale，blue eye，the eye of a vulture． Whenever I looked at it ,my blo0od became cold; and so ,very slowly，I decided to kill the old man and escape from the eye for ever．
You are thinking ,I know，that I am mad ． But madmen are not clever． And see how cleverly I prepared my plan! Every day that week I was so kind to the old man ! And every night of that week，at about midnight，I opened his door very，very quietly． First I put my dark lantern through the opening of the door． The lantern was closed，and so no light came out of it ,none at all ． Then slowly，very slowly，I put my head inside the opening． I took sixty long minutes just to put my head inside． Would a madman have worked so carefully
And when my head was inside the room，I opened the lantern carefully and a thin ray of light fell onto the vulture eye． But the eye was always closed，so I could not do the work．You see，I did not hate the man; it was only the eye that I hated．
On the eighth night I started opening the door even more carefully．I was feeling calm and strong．There I was，opening his door，and he did not even know that I was there! I almost laughed at the idea． And perhaps，at that moment，he heard me，because he suddenly moved in his bed But I did not move away． I knew that he could not see the opening of the door，so I continued pushing it open，slowly and quietly．
When my head was in the room，I tried to open the lantern but my thumb slipped and I made a noise．Immediately，the man sat up in bed and shouted，‘Who's there
’
I said nothing．For an hour I just stood there，without moving，and he sat in his bed，listening．Then he made a soft noise，a noise which I recognized． It was the noise of terror，the terror of death．I knew the sound because I had made it myself，many times，in the deep of the night，when all the world was asleep I felt sorry for the old man，but I laughed silently．I knew that he had been awake since the first noise，and his fear had grown and grown．Death had entered his room，and now the shadow of deatn lay all around him． He could neither see me nor hear me，but he could feel my head inside his room．
I opened the lantern a little and a thin ray of light feel on his eye．It was open，and as I looked at it，I became angry．I could see it clearly，a horrible，pale blue eye that turned my blood cold． I could see nothing of the man's face or body，just his eye．
And then I heard a sound．Hadn't I told you that my hearing was excellent
I knew the sound．It was the beating of the old man's heart．It grew louder and quicker．Yes，louder and louder with every minute．The old man's terror must have been very great． And now a new terror came to me-a neighbour might hear the noise of this beating heart! The old man's time had come!
I opened the lantern fully and ran into the room．He shouted once-but only once because I pulled him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him． For many minutes the heart continued to beat，but then it stopped．The old man was dead．I put my hand on his heart and held it there for many minutes．There was no life in him at all．Now his eye would not trouble me again．
Perhaps you are still thinking that I am mad．You will not，when I tell you of way I hid the body．First，I cut it into pieces． I cut off the head and the arms and the legs． I then took up three boards from the wooden floor，and hid the body underneath．Finally，I replaced the wooden boards with great care．Now no human eye-not even his- would see anything wrong．There was nothing to see-not even any blood．A bowl had caught it all-ha! ha!
When I finished，it was four o'clock and it was still dark．There was a knock at the front door