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Advice from the grave
In our century comes this tale of ghostly advice. There was a woman whose husband-to-be was killed in World War I. All alone in the world, she was pursued by a new man who wanted to marry her. Apprehensive and confused, she did not know what to do. She desperately needed advice, but who could give her counsel? The only place she could think of was the grave of her former lover. In desperation, she approached the cemetery.
In the graveyard, this "city of the dead," the sad woman remained all through the night, as the story goes. Then an owl suddenly appeared flying above her. It began to shower her with flowers, falling peacefully into her lap. They accumulated: fourteen red, and fifteen white -- roses all. She did not understand the significance at first. Then she realized this was a code. The number of flowers were code for the respective letters of the alphabet, spelling out the word, NO.
She left the grave with the understanding that there was something definitely negative about her relationship with the new man in her life. So, she refused to marry him.
It was some time before she learned the truth about her would-be husband; he was in fact a crook. This scoundrel had promised to marry several women. But really he did not love them; he was just after their money.
The owl (or perhaps the spirit of her former lover) had saved this woman, ruining the schemes of a low-life thief.
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