LADY RUTH
Three men once looked from afar upon a white house that stood alone on a green hill. One of
them said, "That is the house of Lady Ruth. She is an old witch."
The second man said, "You are wrong. Lady Ruth is a beautiful woman who lives there consecrated unto her dreams."
The third man said, "You are both wrong. Lady Ruth is the holder of this vast land, and she draws blood from her serfs."
And they walked on discussing Lady Ruth. Then when they came to a crossroad they met an old man, and one of them asked him, saying, "Would you please tell us about the Lady Ruth who lives in that white house upon the hill?"
And the old man raised his head and smiled upon them, and said, "I am ninety of years,
and I remember Lady Ruth when I was but a boy. But Lady Ruth died eighty years ago,
and now the house is empty. The owls hoot therein, sometimes, and people say the place is haunted."
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