what does the first paragraph of the story say?

The first paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The
Cask of Amontillado" consists on Montresor's confession to the reader as to what he is
planning on doing against his so-called friend, Fortunato. In typical Poe fashion, the
main character of this story has some disturbance that has bothered him for quite some
time. In this case Montresor wants to take revenge on Fortunato, who is a boisterous man
that takes Montressor as his butt of jokes. At this point we do not know exactly what
Fortunato has really done, but we can perceive the wrath and anger that Montressor has
been nursing. Montresor also tells us that his revenge is being carefully planned, that
it is a secret, and that it is official. Fortunato is going to pay for everything he
ever said to Montresor.

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The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne
as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well
know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a
threat. AT LENGTH I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled -- but the
very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of
risk.

He also shows the
degree of energy that his anger has taken from him. Montresor is not planning a simple
slap on Fortunato's wrist. His plan is big, morbid, and malicious. It is geared to make
Fortunato suffer a lot. He says that a wrong is not set right when vengeance overtakes
the person that is trying to make it right. Also, a wrong is not made a right when the
avenger does not make his bully feel as bad as his victim. Therefore, in Montresor's
opinion, the only way to make something bad into something good is to teach the person
who bullies or annoys you exactly how you feel. An eye for an eye is Montresor's way of
fixing the problem with Fortunato.

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I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.
A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally
unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the
wrong.

Therefore, this first
paragraph is the confession of Montresor as to what his plans will be. Never in the
story do we really find out what Fortunato has done other that, whatever it is, has
really bothered Montresor. Nothing could take the idea away from Montresor: Not his
money, nor his palazzo, nor his good fortune. He simply wants
revenge.