One fine, warm morning in a land far away and in a time gone by (or maybe it was yesterday), a reasonably decent looking woman, a Baronness, walked with her husband (the Baron) to the gate of their castle. He was preparing to leave on a business trip. He said, "Remember, honey, not to leave the castle while I'm gone. In fact, I forbid you to leave the castle for any reason."
The Baronness, acting in the role of the dutiful wife, smiled demurely, assured him that she would stay put, and waved goodbye to him.
Not five minutes after he was out of sight of the castle, the Baronness had a servant saddle up her horse, lower the drawbridge across the moat, and she high-tailed it out of there.
You see, the Baronness was going off to visit someone she hadn't seen in a long time, a person with whom her husband had forbidden her to visit or to associate. This was her chance to go to see someone she loves, who loves her in return, and have a pleasant day. She took the opportunity.
On the way back from the visit, the Baronness found herself confronted by a madman standing at the drawbridge. Being as grumpy as a madman is likely to be, he said, "Pay me a ransom of $5000 to cross this bridge. If you don't do so, I will kill you. If you think I'm kidding, get a load of the size of this knife." He then produced from a scabbard an enormous, shiny, stainless steel knife of 15 inches.
The Baroness, however, had no money. Her husband not only forbid her to leave the castle, she has no money of her own. She calmly tried to explain to the madman that she had no money, but that once in the castle, she would be able to bring some valuable jewels to him, which he could then sell at a pawn shop for at least $5000. The madman may have been mad, but he wasn't stupid. He replied, "No way, lady. I have no guarantee that you'll ever bring the jewels out to me. In fact, you might send out some of those guards up there at the castle. And they have better weapons than mine, and, well -- no. Get me the money, or you don't get across the bridge. You have to pay up front."
The Baronness was distressed. But she had an idea. So she wheeled around on her horse and galloped off into the forest to find someone who might give her the $5000 she needed. The Baron would be home in a couple of hours, and if he caught her outside the castle, she'd be in deep trouble. He might even demand a divorce or lock her up in the dungeon. She just had to find the money.
While riding into the forest, she thought of the people who might lend her $5000. Here they are:
Her lover, who lived deep in the forest, and who usually had a few thousand dollars lying around in his cottage.
Her mother, a sickly woman with a modest retirement income, who lived across the street from her lover.
Her best friend from high school, a woman who lived in a shack near the Baronness' mother.
She went first to her lover. He told her that he wouldn't lend her the $5000. He said, "Our relationship is a purely physical one. We have no ties to each other than pure physical pleasure. Your husband, the Baron, would kill me if he knew we were having an affair, and even if he never found out, you'd never be able to raise $5000 to pay me back. I'm sorry, but you'll have to find someone else to lend you the money."
The Baronness galloped off to her mother's cottage. But when she got there, good old mom informed her that she wouldn't be able to pay for her medications (you see, mom has no health insurance) if she gave the Baronness $5000, but if it weren't for that, she would gladly hand it over to her only daughter. The Baronness was getting desperate.
She went to her friend from high school who listened with a sympathetic ear to the story the Baronness told her. But when it was all said, the friend replied: "I'd give you the money if I had it. But I work as a maid for the Prince and Princess in the other castle, and the wages they pay really stink. I have about 50 bucks here in a glass jar. I'll give that to you if you want it. It's the best I can do." The Baronness, completely dejected now, thanked her friend, got back on her horse, and walked slowly back toward the drawbridge. About halfway there, she had an idea. The boatman down the river would take people across the river for a small fee, so she could get him to do that and pay him when she got home. So she rode the extra mile or two to see the boatman.
Unfortunately for the Baronness, the boatman was unwilling to take her across the river without payment in advance. He pointed out to her that so many people had been ripping him off lately, especially given the ridiculously high price of gas that had made it necessary for him to raise the price of a boat ride, that he just couldn't take the chance of taking anyone across the river without being paid in advance for the ride. The Baronness explained that she could get some money when she got to the castle. In the meantime, her friend had given her $50, and she'd use that as a down payment. The boatman laughed, pointing out that the boat ride across the river was $200, so she was $150 short, and there was no way he'd extend that kind of credit. He told her it wasn't his problem that she didn't have enough money, but that if she could find the rest, he'd gladly take her across the river.
By this time, it was nearly dark and the Baron would be back from his trip at any moment. There was no time to go back into the forest to ask more people for money. Completely desperate now, the Baronness walked up to the madman, slapped him across the face, and began to run across the drawbridge. Being a big, powerful madman, he caught up with her before she had gone 10 feet. They fought briefly and the madman killed the Baronness.
Who is responsible for the death of the Baronness? Why?
(Whom did the Baronness visit when she first left the castle? Does it matter?)
Here are the players in the story:
The Baronness
The Baron
The Madman
The Lover
The Friend
The Mother
The Boatman