France -- History -- 15th century -- Juvenile fiction
"I am sorry we disturbed your rest, my little lady," replied the
innkeeper respectfully. "I will change your room, if you wish."
"No," said the little girl, "I do not want you to do that. I am going to
stay up as long as you do if you will let me. I want to see what this
kind of an entertainment is like."
"Then I will make a place at the table," returned he.
"Thank you, no," she returned, with dignity. "I have had all that I
require. I will just sit here by the window and look on."
"That you may and welcome," said the innkeeper heartily, "and in order
that you may do so to the greatest advantage, I am going to place you
here," and lifting her lightly he placed her on the deep window seat,
which was some distance from the floor. "And now you may not only look
at us, but at this pretty bird as well."
The casement of the window, which swung like a door, was opened on the
inside, and perched on top of it where her master had placed her,
sulkily ruffling her feathers as though strongly disapproving of her
surroundings, was Pandora.
"You have never been so close to a fine hooded bird before, I warrant,"
said the innkeeper.
"I have birds of my own, and they are all hooded," replied the child
indifferently.
The people seated at the table glanced significantly at each other as if
to ask, "Is she bragging, or is she of a higher rank than she pretends
to be?" for middle-class folk did not possess hooded birds.
"To whom does this one belong?" asked the child.
"To that gentleman seated at the head of the table," was the reply.
She looked at him thoughtfully and then at the bird. "I wonder how a
hawk likes belonging to a fool," she said.
Everybody laughed, Le Glorieux loudest of all. "No matter how wise a
fool may appear, his cap and bells will always betray him," he said.
"Yes, my friends, as you no doubt have suspected, I am a court jester. I
belonged to Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and now I am being sent
as a present to her Grace, the young Duchess of Brittany."
"I have suspected your identity all along," said a fat friar seated at
the other end of the table. "I was at Beauvais during the siege and I
heard of you there. You are Le Glorieux."
The jester rose and made an extravagant bow. "At your service," said he.
"Yes," he continued, taking his place again, "I was at the siege of
Beauvais. I saw the young maid Jeanne Fourquet, in imitation of the Maid
of Orleans, fight like a witch with her little ax, for which she was
named Jeanne Hachette, and when a tall Burgundian was scaling the walls
and was planting his banner, she pushed him over into the ditch and
waving her flag shouted, 'Victory!' I am not boring anybody by talking
about the past, am I?" asked the fool suddenly.
"On the contrary," said the host, "it is more interesting than a tale of
gnomes and pixies."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account