A black figure in a velvet mask and hood and cloak disappeared behind a tree. "The cold Duke's spy-in-chief," the traveler said, "a man named Whisper. Tomorrow he will die. He'll die because, to name your sins, he'll have to mention mittens. I leave at once for other lands, since I have mentioned mittens. You'll never live to wed his neice. You'll only die to feed his geese. Goodbye, good night, and sorry."
-James Thurber, The Thirteen Clocks