Prologue

Crying aloud, the bedraggled creature arched her back, writhing in pain. Inside her the child struggled to emerge from her womb. Suddenly, her sister called, “I can see the head! Push quickly Marie, so we can stop the bleeding.”

Eagerly now, Marie waited for the next contraction, and when it came, she pushed with all of her might. A delighted cry from her sister, Anne, announced the baby girl’s arrival.

“Quick, let me see it,” Marie demanded. The child was placed in her arms, wrapped hastily in an old rag. She examined the little one with great care to see if there were any imperfections. “Why isn’t she crying, sister?” asked Anne. “She is," Marie replied," see the tears on her cheeks.”

Swiftly, Marie peered into her daughter’s mouth. To her horror, only emptiness lay where a tongue should have been.

“Anne, this is a spawn of Satan. God has punished her by taking her voice and tongue. You must kill her and hide the body. Go, quickly so we will not be cursed!”

Fearfully, Anne hurried away from the hut. She ran down alleyways and through crowded streets. Finally she looked up to discover herself outside the Paris Opera House. She ran to the side where a gate barred the opening to a sewer. She threw open the gate and thrust the child inside. “Go from us spawn of Satan!” She cried, and sped away into the crowd.

She failed to realize that a basket was suspended under the gate. The tiny girl had fallen into it.