There was Guignol, the bad boy. He was the one all the children loved. There was the policeman; and how they hated him! There was a funny lady with a wobbly hat, which was always knocked off; and her hair would all fall down. There were others. There was a pale, very pale boy they called Pierrot (pyĕ-rō´) which, in French, means "clown." Jeanne felt sorry for him because he was very old and paintless and torn. They never gave him a fresh coat of paint nor mended his suit. Poor Pierrot! Jeanne knew those stories by heart, too. There was the story of the milkman. The bad boy drinks all the milkman's milk, while sending him on useless errands. There was "The Mattress," the story in which Guignol has a dream right up on the tiny stage. Guignol, by the way, is just like our American Punch, a puppet of the Punch and Judy show. There were a few other stories, but they were always the same. Jeanne thought of many new stories. She wondered why the children didn't grow tired of having the same stories all the time. Jeanne could make up others--and she did--while she skipped to school. She made them up while she walked about the shop showing Auntie's little models. To-day was a very fine day. When school was over, Jeanne found a group of children in bright-colored clothes, watching the Guignol. How sweet and pretty they looked sitting under the trees in their dainty clothes! Jeanne leaned against a tree. It was early yet. She might watch one Guignol play. [Illustration: JEANNE LEANED AGAINST A TREE] The play was "The Thief." Guignol gives a lady a rose. She puts it in her hair under the large, floppy hat. Then Guignol dances for her. It is a clumsy dance, and he trips. The children laugh. He gallops clumsily off the stage. Pierrot tiptoes in from the other side. Jeanne leans forward eagerly. Has Pierrot a new suit, new paint? No, he is shabby and pale. Ah, poor Pierrot! But he dances on tiptoes, so light is he. His dance is elfin and gay. The lady watches. She is enchanted. Pierrot flits about the stage. Then, when his dance is at an end, he snatches the rose from the lady's hair. The lady's wobbly hat falls off. The lady's wobbly hair falls down. She is a sorry sight. But who is that entering on the side? It is Guignol! He marches up to Pierrot, and there is a fight. The children scream. The children cry out. Pierrot is losing. "Ah, Guignol! Guignol!" the children cry. Their hero is winning. Pierrot is thrown, and he lands far away from the stage. He lands on the ground, but the children do not mind. They are all absorbed in Guignol--their Guignol. He is kissing the lady now. But not for long are they happy. The alligator comes gliding upon the stage. There is another battle, and Guignol vanquishes the alligator. Then indeed is Guignol a hero. The curtain falls to the pleased applause of the young audience. Only Jeanne has noticed Pierrot. He lies in a heap on the ground. Nobody has come to fetch him.