But remember, all of you, do not meddle with the oak chest.” When the other children tell their grandmother of Harry’s disappearance, she responds, “Then he must be gone away for a time. Opening the chest, he finds something strangely seductive that reminds him of his mother, so he climbs in and the lid miraculously closes. It is later revealed to be decorated as a coffin, and it attracts the children one by one. The rest of the time they have the run of the house with the exception of the large spare bedroom where there stands in a corner an old oak chest, older than the aged woman’s own grandmother. The aged woman says to the children,“bring me smiling faces that call back to my mind my own son Harry.” The children are told they may come in the presence of their grandmother twice a day-in the morning and in the evening. Although it is never made explicit, one may assume that the grandchildren have come to live with their grandmother because of the death of their parents. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that the quavering voice of the grandmother betokens something more than age, and the gifts she presents to her seven grandchildren become something more than sugar plums. “The Riddle” starts like a fairy tale with such lightness and grace that one might expect a “happy ever after” ending.
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