Once upon a time-but it was a long while ago; so long, indeed, that the oldest oaks in our forests were not yet acorns on the bough-there was a man who lived in a splendid house and had dishes of gold and silver, chairs and sofas covered with flowered satin, and curtains of the richest silk. But, alas this man was so unlucky as to have a blue beard, which made him look so frightfully ugly that the first impulse of every woman and girl he met was to run away from him.