The first story was The Cold Embrace. It was a familiar narrative of a young girl, who when abandoned by her suitor, takes her own life. Before this unhappy event the man, who was an aspiring artist, had given her a ring belonging to his mother. It was a golden serpent, the symbol of eternity, and he had told her that not even death would keep them apart. He departed, travelling to Italy to find fame and in time lost interest in his sweetheart. She wrote to him repeatedly begging him to return and save her from an arranged marriage to another but he delayed, timing his arrival for when the deed had been done. But it never was, because she took her own life by jumping from the bridge where they had sworn eternal love and he, on discovering this simply tried to forget her. He was happy with his new life. His past assertion that not even death could keep them apart was however fulfilled and he felt her arms tight around his neck whenever he was alone. Unable to escape the cold embrace he too eventually died, exhausted and broken. Two of the players portrayed the story in a balletic form, the characters entwining, circling and almost floating on the stage in a poetic delicacy and beauty which befitted the ethereal love of the young girl. But the audience was untouched by this. They did not appreciate the subtle movements and gestures of the dancers nor empathise with the grief and despair of the rejected sweetheart.