Years ago I read a science fiction short story (akin to "The Monkey's Paw") about a magical talisman (?) that would allow you to go back in time, or would bring you some kind of luck, or some such. The catch was that you had to sell the talisman for less than what you bought it for -- or lose your soul. It had been passed from person to person for years, and now the man who had it had to go to another country (India?) b/c that country had a tiny penny-type currency that would fulfill the contract. If he could find someone to buy the talisman, that would be the final exchange b/c (being the tiniest currency in the world) whoever bought it could not resell it and therefore would lose their soul. I recall the story ended with the final purchaser staggering (drunk) into the night, saying something like, "No big deal. I'm going to go to hell anyway." This was a wonderful story that I read in school, thought about for years, and have been unable to find again. Help me please! Thanks.
2006-07-03 07:39:40 · 3 answers · asked by sendnojunkmailporfavor 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
It's Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Bottle Imp".
2006-07-03 13:13:26 · answer #1 · answered by Lady Macbeth 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I read it and it was wonderful! Talisman gave everything you wanted, but health!
Bad news is I don't remember the title.
Good news is this: It was published in THE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY MAGAZINE, before the 1980's, so try and search it on line!
Good luck and contact me when you find the title!
2006-07-03 09:42:10 · answer #2 · answered by pogonoforo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I remember this story, was by a Norwegian author called Bjornson or something like that. Try searching for it on bartleby.com.
2006-07-03 14:01:35 · answer #3 · answered by Aurora 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋