JENNA: Margaret was not pleased that her father had arranged her marriage.
RAE: She was not pleased because she had been promised to someone to whom he owed a
gambling debt.
LINDA: The person he owed the gambling debt to was a particularly dirty and drunk man
named Bob.
JENNA: Bob had three wives.
RAE: There was much talk among the town’s people about the demise of all of Bob’s wives.
LINDA: The first wife had drowned in the river.
JENNA: The second wife had fallen down the stairs.
RAE: The third wife had passed out face first into a bowl of soup.
LINDA: Margaret wasn’t very confident that the marriage would work out without her dying first.
JENNA: Indeed, she was desperate to think of a way to solve her father’s debts that did not
include marrying Bob.
RAE: She started selling butter and eggs.
LINDA: And then expanded to selling pies, bread, and omelets.
JENNA: Indeed, she was able to expand her herd of cows and goats and chickens from the
initial profit.
RAE: She made more than five times as much money as her father owed and gambling debts.
LINDA: And so, she gave the money to her father and let him take care of the debt.
JENNA: She hoped that her father would not gamble the money away before he actually paid
Bob off.
RAE: Her father offered Bob the money.
LINDA: Bob refused and said, “I want a fourth wife, NOW!
JENNA: Margaret decided to take the contract to court.
RAE: The court ruled it was a contract made of good faith.
LINDA: And so, Margaret didn’t have to marry Bob.
JENNA: Instead, Margaret paid off a father’s debt and became one of the most prosperous
single ladies in the town.
RAE: And Bob got eaten by the ghosts.
Photo Credit: moonjazz, “Ghost in the Midnight Sea,” 2008