"It is time, Lady," the man said, carefully looking down at his feet. He was not going to be blinded like his wife.

"Ah." She reached up and took off the nurse's cap and shook down her black hair. The trouble with bargains, she mused, was that they had to be kept.

"He shall be a doctor," she said after a moment.

"A doctor?" The man had thought no farther than a great farm for his boy.

"A doctor," Death said. "For doctors and generals know me best. And I have recently seen too much of generals." She did not tell him of the Crimea, of the Dardanelles, of the riders from beyond the steppes. "A doctor would be nice."

Haden was brought to her. He was a smart lad, but not overly smart. He had strong hands and a quick smile.

Death dismissed the father and took the son by the hand, first warming her own hand. It was an effort she rarely made.

"Haden, you shall be a doctor of power," she said. "Listen carefully and treat this power well."

Haden nodded. He did not look at her, not right at her. His mother had warned him, and though he was not sure he believed, he believed.

"You will become the best-known doctor in the land, my godson," Death said. "For each time you are called to a patient, look for me at the bedside. If I stand at the head of the bed, the patient will live, no matter what you or any other doctor will do. But if I stand at the foot, the patient will die. And there is nought anyone can do-no dose and no diagnoses-to save him."

Haden nodded again. "I understand, godmother."

"I think you do," she said, and was gone.

In a few short years, Haden became known throughout his small village, and a few more years and his reputation had spread through the county. A few more and he was known in the kingdom. If he said a patient would live, that patient would rise up singing. If he said one would die, even though the illness seemed but slight, then that patient would die. It seemed uncanny, but he was always right. He was more than a doctor. He was-some said-a seer.

Word came at last to the king himself.

Ah-now you think I have been lying to you, that this is only a story. It has a king in it. And while a story with Death might be true, a story with a king in it is always a fairy tale. But remember, this comes from a time when kings were as common as corn. Plant a field and you got corn. Plant a kingdom and you got a king. It is that simple.

The king had a beautiful daughter. Nothing breeds as well as money, except power. Of course a king's child would be beautiful.

She was also dangerously ill, so ill in fact that the king promised his kingdom-not half but all-to anyone who could save her. The promise included marriage, for how else could he hand the kingdom off. She was his only child, and he would not beggar her to save her life. That was worse than death.

Haden heard of the offer and rode three days and three nights, trading horses at each inn. When he came to the king's palace he was, himself, thin and weary from travel; there was dirt under his fingernails. His hair was ill kempt. But his reputation had preceded him.

"Can she be cured?" asked the king. He had no time or temper for formalities.

"Take me to her room," Haden said.

So the king and the queen together led him into the room.

The princess's room was dark with grief and damp with crying. The long velvet drapes were pulled close against the light. The place smelled of Death's perfume, that soft, musky odor. The tapers at the door scarcely lent any light.

"I cannot see," Haden said, taking one of the tapers. Bending over the bed, he peered down at the princess and a bit of hot wax fell on her cheek. She opened her eyes and they were the color of late wine, a deep plum. Haden gasped at her beauty.

"Open the drapes," he commanded, and the king himself drew the curtains aside.

Then Haden saw that Death was sitting at the foot of the great four-poster bed, buffing her nails. She was wearing a black shift, cut entirely too low in the front. Her hair fell across her shoulders in black waves. The light from the windows shone through her and she paid no attention to what was happening in the room, intent on her nails.

Haden put his finger to his lips and summoned four servingmen to him. Without a word, instructing them only with his hands, he told them to turn the bed around quickly. And such was his reputation, they did as he bade.

Then he walked to the bed's head, where Death was finishing her final nail. He was so close, he might have touched her. But instead, he lifted the princess's head and helped her sit up. She smiled, not at him but through him, as if he were as transparent as Death.

"She will live, sire," Haden said.

Both Death and the maiden looked at Haden straight on, startled, Death because she had been fooled, and the princess because she had not noticed him before. Only then did the princess smile at Haden, as she would to a footman, a servingman, a cook. She smiled at him, but Death did not.

"A trick will not save her," said Death. "I will have all in the end." She shook her head. "I do not say this as a boast. Nor as a promise. It simply is what it is."

"I know," Haden said.

"What do you know?" asked the king, for he could not see or hear Death.

Haden looked at the king and smiled a bit sadly. "I know she will live and that if you let me, I will take care of her the rest of her life."

The king did not smile. A peasant's son, even though he is a doctor, even though he is famous throughout the kingdom, does not marry a princess. In a story, perhaps. Not in the real world. Unlike Death, kings do not have to keep bargains. He had Haden thrown into the dungeon.

There Haden spent three miserable days. On the fourth he woke to find Godmother Death sitting at his bedfoot. She was dressed as if for a ball, her hair in three braids that were caught up on the top of her head with a jeweled pin. Her dress, of some white silken stuff, was demurely pleated and there were rosettes at each shoulder. She looked sixteen or sixteen hundred. She looked ageless.

"I see you at my bedfoot," Haden said. "I suppose that means that today I die."

She nodded.

"And there is no hope for me?"

"I can be tricked only once," Death said. "The king will hang you at noon."

"And the princess?"

"Oh, I am going to her wedding," Death said, standing and pirouetting gracefully so that Haden could see how pretty the dress was, front and back.

"Then I shall see her in the hereafter," Haden said. "She did not look well at all. Ah-then I am content to die."

Death, who was a kind godmother after all, did not tell him that it was not the princess who was to die that day. Nor was the king to die, either. It was just some old auntie for whom the excitement of the wedding would prove fatal. Death would never lie to her godson, but she did not always tell the entire truth. Like her brother Sleep, she liked to say things on the slant. Even Death can be excused just one weakness.

At least, that is what she told me, and I have no reason to doubt the truth of it. She was sitting at my bedfoot, and-sitting there-what need would she have to lie?

dedicated to the memory of.

Charles Mikolaycak.

RECOMMENDED READING.

Fiction and Poetry.

The Robber Bridegroom and Bluebeard's Egg, by Margaret Atwood This Canadian writer often uses fairy-tale themes in her excellent contemporary mainstream fiction.

Snow White, by Donald Barthelme This is an early postmodern short novel that would be politically incorrect by today's standards.

Katie Crackernuts, by Katherine Briggs A charming short novel retelling the Katie Crackernuts tale, by one of the world's foremost folklore authorities.

Beginning with O, by Olga Broumas Broumas's poetry makes use of many fairy-tale motifs in this collection.

The Sun, the Moon and the Stars, by Steven Brust A contemporary novel mixing ruminations on art and creation with a lively Hungarian fairy tale.

Possession, by A. S. Byatt A Booker Prize-winning novel that makes wonderful use of the Fairy Melusine legend.

Nine Fairy Tales and One More Thrown in for Good Measure, by Karel Capek Charming stories inspired by the Czech folk tradition. Sleeping in Flame, by Jonathan Carroll Excellent, quirky dark fantasy using the Rumplestiltskin tale.

The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter A stunning collection of dark, sensual fairy-tale retellings.

The Sleeping Beauty, by Hayden Carruth A poetry sequence using the Sleeping Beauty legend.

Pinocchio in Venice, by Robert Coover Coover often parodies traditional fairy tales in his fiction. His reworking of the Pinocchio tale is particularly recommended.

Beyond the Looking Glass, edited by Jonathan Cott A collection of Victorian fairy-tale prose and poetry.

The Nightingale, by Kara Dalkey An evocative Oriental historical novel based on the Hans Christian Andersen story.

The Painted Alphabet, by Diana Darling This novel is a rich fantasia inspired by Balinese myth and folklore.

The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf, by Kathryn Davis Uses the fairy tale of the title as the basis for a story of two women, and the opera, at the beginning of the twentieth century. A lovely little book.

Blue Bamboo, by Osamu Dazia This volume of fantasy stories by a Japanese writer of the early twentieth century contains lovely fairy-tale work.

Provencal Tales, by Michael de Larrabeiti An absolutely gorgeous collection containing tales drawn from the Provencal region of France.

Jack the Giant-Killer and Drink Down the Moon, by Charles de Lint Wonderful urban fantasy novels bringing "Jack" and magic to the streets of modern Canada.

Tam Lin, by Pamela Dean A lyrical novel setting the old Scottish fairy story (and folk ballad) Tam Lin among theater majors on a Midwestern college campus.

Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel Esquivel's book (and the wonderful film of the same title) wraps Mexican folklore and tales into a turn-of-the-century story about love and food on the Mexico/Texas border. Complete with recipes.

The King's Indian, by John Gardner A collection of peculiar and entertaining stories using fairy-tale motifs.

Crucifax Autumn, by Ray Garton One of the first splatterpunk horror novels; Carton makes use of the Pied Piper theme in very nasty ways. Violent and visceral.

Blood Pressure, by Sandra M. Gilbert A number of the poems in this powerful collection make use of fairy-tale motifs.

Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon, by Lisa Goldstein A lyrical little novel mixing English fairy tales with English history in Christopher Marlowe's London.

The Seventh Swan, by Nicholas Stuart Gray An engaging Scottish novel that starts off where the "Seven Swans" fairy tale ends.

Daughters of the Moon: Witch Tales From Around the World, edited by Shahrukh Husain A folklorist collects over fifty tales of witches and witchcraft from more than thirty cultures worldwide.

Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones A beautifully written, haunting novel that brings the Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin tales into modern day England.

Seven Fairy Tales and a Fable, by Gwyneth Jones Eight enchanting, thought-provoking, adult fairy tales by this British writer.

Green Grass Running Water, by Thomas King This delightful Magical Realist novel uses Native American myths and folk tales to hilarious effect.

Thomas the Rhymer, by Ellen Kushner A sensuous and musical rendition of this old Scottish story and folk ballad.

The Wandering Unicorn, by Manuel Mujica Lainez A fairy-tale novel based on the "Fairy Melusine" legend by an award-winning Argentinean writer. Translated from the Spanish.

Red as Blood, Or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer, by Tanith Lee A striking and versatile collection of adult fairy-tale retellings.

The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy This beautifully told, contemporary New Zealand story draws upon pancultural Trickster legends.

Beauty, by Robin McKinley Masterfully written, gentle and magical, this novel retells the story of "Beauty and the Beast."

Deerskin, by Robin McKinley A retelling of Charles Perrault's "Donkeyskin," a dark fairy tale with incest themes.

The Door in the Hedge, by Robin McKinley "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" and "The Frog Prince" retold in McKinley's gorgeous, clear prose, along with two original tales.

Disenchantments, edited by Wolfgang Mieder An excellent compilation of adult fairy-tale poetry.

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, by Milan Kundera This literate and cosmopolitan work makes use of Moravian folk music, rituals, and stories.

Sleeping Beauty, by Susanna Moore An eloquent, entertaining contemporary novel that uses the "Sleeping Beauty" legend mixed with native Hawaiian folklore.

The Private Life and Waving from the Shore, by Lisel Mueller Terrific poetry collections with many fairy-tale themes.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie A delightful Eastern fantasia by this Booker Prize-winning author.

Kindergarten, by Peter Rushford A contemporary British story beautifully wrapped around the "Hansel and Gretel" tale, highly recommended.

Transformations, by Anne Sexton Sexton's brilliant collection of modern fairy-tale poetry. The Porcelain Dove, by Delia Sherman This gorgeous fantasy set during the French Revolution makes excellent use of French fairy tales.

The Flight of Michael McBride, by Midori Snyder A lovely, deftly written fantasy set in the old American West, this magical novel mixes the folklore traditions of immigrant and indigenous American cultures.

Trail of Stones, by Gwenn Strauss Evocative fairy-tale poems, beautifully illustrated by Anthony Browne.

Swan's Wing, by Ursula Synge.

A lovely, magical fantasy novel using the "Seven Swans" fairy tale.

Beauty, by Sheri S. Tepper Dark fantasy incorporating several fairy tales from an original and iconoclastic writer.

Kingdoms of Elfin, by Sylvia Townsend Warner These stories drawn from British folklore are arch, elegant, and enchanting. Many were first published in The New Yorker.

The Coachman Rat, by David Henry Wilson Excellent dark fantasy retelling the story of "Cinderella" from the coachman's point of view.