He was the happiest man I ever knew. He could make even the stones smile.

Once we were at sea, I forgot about my Monster. I tried to forget about everything. I looked at the ocean and the sky. I watched the sea gulls fly high into the clouds. How free they were! And I felt free myself!

By the time we got to England, I was happy! Yes, happy! Clerval and I went everywhere. We laughed and sang and made a lot of friends.

But then, one night, I saw the Thing. He was standing on a hill, looking at me. He lifted his long and ugly fingers to his own throat—and squeezed them! My eyes closed. But only fast enough to blink. When they opened again, he was gone! Perhaps I had not seen him. Perhaps I had only dreamed it. But then I heard the laugh. It was a laugh no living thing had ever made before.

I had to get away from my friend. I wrote him a letter. In it was an excuse for my leaving. Then I slipped away while he was sleeping. All I took with me were the things I needed to work with. The time had come. Now I would make a bride for the Frankenstein Monster.

 

I went to a place where I could be left alone. It was on a small island. I had to sail a little boat to get there. Only a few people lived in the place. I rented a little cabin near an old graveyard. Nobody ever went there. Good!

Day and night I worked at making a wife for my Monster. I wanted to get it over with. It made me sick to look at what I was doing. But still I went on with my bones and eyeballs and bits of hair. It was all going very fast.