The boy dropped the skeleton onto the floor. “I will break all your bones!” he said. Impressed, the skeleton said: “You are so courageous and strong, I will let you see my treasure.”

The boy lit the candle and turned to look into the room. It was filled with piles of gold and silver and jewels.

“I want you to promise me something,” The skeleton said.

The boy drew his gaze reluctantly from the magnificent treasure and looked at the skeleton. “I want you to promise me that you will gather all the poor people you can find in one day and give them each a bag of money. The rest you can keep for yourself.”

It would be a good thing to share this wealth with the needy, the boy decided, so he agreed to do what the skeleton had asked.

The skeleton gave a happy laugh and began to disappear, piece by piece. First his head, then his leg, then his chest, then his other leg and soon, until he was gone.

The boy did just as he had promised, and when he had finished his task, he took the rest of the treasure back to his family. They lived in comfort all of their days.

解析：

这个故事源自美国新墨西哥州的鬼故事。其中的骷髅在当地神话里是死神，一般在故事里以一个幽默的骗子出场。当然这种当地的死神神话其实源于西班牙，就像寻梦环游记一样。因为墨西哥以前是西班牙的殖民地，这种神话传说也被流传开来。一般这种故事都讲述了一些寓意，也算是帮助孩子们学习一些道理。像是这个故事中就可以看到勇气，帮助他人，遵守约定等。