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Eleanor lived in a tiny cottage on the outskirts of the village. She was an old woman, her bones creaked and her eyes were milky, but still she had a fire in her belly. For years she had been consumed by anger, frustration, and sadness; it bubbled away inside her like a pot of boiling water.

Eleanor's husband had died many years ago; he had been a cruel man who beat her daily. Her children were grown and gone, they never visited or wrote letters. She was alone with her thoughts all day long.

One sunny afternoon Eleanor was sat outside on a wooden stool outside of her cottage when she saw something that made her blood boil. A young couple walked hand in hand down the dirt track that led to the village. The girl wore a pretty yellow dress and laughed as they strolled along.

Eleanor's heart broke as she watched them. Her life could have been so different if only things hadn't turned out so bad for her.

She knew then what she had to do.

The next week Eleanor went into the village carrying two buckets filled with water from the well. She made sure to walk slowly so that everyone would see her and stop to talk.

"Good morning, Eleanor," one woman called out to her as she passed by.

"Hello dear," Eleanor replied with a smile, "How are you today?"

And so it went on until both buckets were empty and Eleanor had spoken to everyone in the village.

As she walked back home people began to whisper about what they'd seen.

"Eleanor looked happy today."

"Yes, I saw that too."

"I wonder why?"

That evening there was a knock at Eleanor's door. She opened it to find four men stood before her, their heads hung low.

"Good evening gentlemen," Eleanor said with a smile, "What can I do for you this fine evening?"

"We wanted... um... we wondered..." one of the men stuttered.

"Spit it out, boy," another man said, nudging him in the ribs.

"We wondered why you were so... um... happy today."

Eleanor's smile grew wider. She had known this moment would come, and she had prepared her answer.

"I've decided that I want to live life in a gibbet cage in the town," she said simply.

The men stared at her with their mouths open wide. They hadn't expected that answer.

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" one of them asked finally.

"Because people love a spectacle," Eleanor replied with a shrug, "And it'll make me feel better."

The men looked at each other and nodded. It made sense to them. And so they set about making arrangements for Eleanor to live life in a gibbet cage in the town.

It took several weeks for everything to be sorted out but finally, the day came when Eleanor moved into the gibbet cage on the village green. The villagers had all chipped in and bought her some new clothes; a plain grey dress and some sturdy shoes.

A small crowd gathered as she was led into the cage by two strong men. They helped her sit down on a wooden stool before closing the door behind her with a loud clang.

For days people flocked to see Eleanor sat inside her gibbet cage. Some brought food or water for her, others just stood and stared. Children ran around playing games and laughing; their parents didn't shout at them like they usually did because they didn't want to disturb Eleanor.

Eleanor sat silently inside her cage watching everyone go about their business. She felt content for the first time in years as she listened to laughter fill the air around her.