The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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Elizabeth Parris was lying on the ground, her arms and legs flailing in the air and spittle spewing from her mouth. She had overturned the dining table, breaking a ceramic pitcher and cutting her arm in the process. Nearby stood Abigail Williams, wide-eyed and gaping.

"Go get Master Parris," Tituba told the girl and Abby ran from the room.

Tituba knelt down next to the spastic girl and tried to calm her. She managed to grab Betty's bleeding arm and wrapped her kerchief around it to stem the bleeding. Thank goodness it wasn't serious, just a long scrape. Slowly, Betty began to relax and by the time Parris and Abigail reached the room, she was asleep in Tituba's arms. Parris looked around the room at the damage. He had tried to keep this a secret in his own home, but he could not any longer. The girl was having seizures and needed a doctor. He sent Abigail off to find Dr. Griggs, the Salem Town physician.

It took Griggs more than an hour to reach the parsonage, and he listened intently as Parris told him Betty's symptoms. She was forgetful of chores, she would stare into space and when she came to her senses she would scream. She refused to bow her head during prayer, Parris said, revealing the worst symptom of all. As if on cue, Betty sat up in bed, looked around at the adults surrounding her and brayed like a donkey. Then she pulled the covers off and began walking on hands and knees barking.

Griggs looked at Parris in wonder. He wasn't a superstitious man by nature and considered himself a scientist, so he was not prone to hasty conclusions. Still, this was clearly not epilepsy. It was not St. Vitus Dance either. Griggs spent several more days in Salem Village studying Betty, and later Abigail, who exhibited the same symptoms. He could not explain it. They ate what everyone else ate. They did not go outside much and had not been bitten by an animal. The girls assured him they had not been drinking ale or cider and they did not smell drunk. Betty and Abby were at a loss to explain their own behavior, but one man Griggs consulted with (quietly) noticed that it seemed the girls were acting out like children would like to act if they were allowed to run undisciplined.

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