And he thrust them toward what we are very happy to call the end of the room, where his bed was. Gavroche's bed was perfect, that is to say, there was a mattress, a coverlet, and an alcove with curtains. The mattress was a straw mat, and the coverlet was a rather wide wrapper of coarse gray wool, very warm, and nearly new. This is what the alcove was,--three long props were driven securely into the plaster soil, that is to say, the elephant's belly, two in front and one behind, and were fastened by a cord at the top, so as to form a hollow pyramid. These props supported a grating of brass wire, simply laid upon them, but artistically fastened with iron wire, so that it entirely surrounded the three poles. A row of large stones fastened the lattice-work down to the ground, so that nothing could pass; and this lattice was merely a piece of the brass-work put up in aviaries in menageries. Gavroche's bed was under the wire-work as in a cage, and the whole resembled an Esquimaux's tent. Gavroche moved a few of the stones that held down the lattice-work in front, and shouted to the lads,-- "Now then, on all fours." He made his guests enter the cage cautiously, then went in after them, brought the stones together again, and hermetically closed the opening. They lay down all three on the mat, and though they were all so short, not one of them could stand upright in the alcove. Gavroche still held the "cellar rat" in his hand. "Now," he said, "to roost; I am going to suppress the chandelier." "What is that, sir?" the elder of the lads asked Gavroche, pointing to the brass grating. "That," said Gavroche, gravely, "is on account of the rats. Go to roost!" Still he thought himself obliged to add a few words of instruction for these young creatures, and continued,-- "It comes from the Jardin des Plantes, and is employed to guard ferocious animals. There is a whole store-house full; you have only to climb over a wall, crawl through a window, and pass under a door, and you can have as much as you like." While speaking he wrapped up the little boy in the blanket, who murmured,-- "Oh, that is nice, it's so warm!" Gavroche took a glance of satisfaction at the coverlet. "That also comes from the Jardin des Plantes," he said, "I took it from the monkeys." And pointing out to the elder one the straw mat on which he was lying, which was very thick and admirably made, he added,-- "That belonged to the giraffe." After a pause he continued,-- "The beasts had all those things, and I took them from them; they were not at all angry, for I told them that I wanted them for the elephant." There was another interval of silence, after which he continued, "You climb over walls and snap your fingers at the Government."