EXERCISE VII

(La chèvre de M. Seguin, pp. 411-15.)

A. 1. They all went off in the same way. 2. I could not make out their nature at all. 3. Do you weary being at home ? 4. Do not get discouraged. 5. We are getting used to it. 6. How pretty the goat is! 7. Her beard was as pretty as that of a non-commissioned officer. 8. Will she let herself be milked 1 9. Yes, she will never move, nor put her foot into the dish. 10. I shall go now and then to see whether you are comfortable. 11. That's one that does not grow weary. 12. The tether rubs her neck. 13. From that day she cropped no more grass. 14. She turned her head in the direction of the mountain. 15. Does that seem insipid to you?^/ 16. Is anything the matter with you? 17. Did you notice that the goat was pulling on its tether? 18. Do not let her go to the mountain. 19. Did you drop your dish? 20. Do not sit down in the grass. 21. She was not tied too short. 22. Shall I lengthen the rope? 23. What will you do when the wolf comes? 24. The wolf will not make fun of her horns. 25. Let us not fight with him. 26. That makes no difference, I shall not stay with you. 27. He will tie her to a stake for fear she should go away. 28. Hardly had he closed the door, when she ran off. 29. They bowed to the earth^^/ 30. Those flowers smell sweet, do they not? 31. You may well imagine that she was happy ! 32. She had grass up over her horns ! 33. The white goat jumps up on her feet again. 34. There, she is off ! 35. I should have said there were ten goats. 36. Let us jump across this stream. 37. Go and stretch yourself out on a flat rock. 38. We did not notice M. Seguin's field. 39. We laughed till we cried. 40. How little that house is, we can never find room in it. 41. Listen to the bells. 42. They are bringing home the flocks. 42. Do you think of the goat ? — I do. 44. I have a mind to return.

45. But I can never get used to that life again, 46. We see two ears and two shining eyes. 47. Let us be in no hurry. 48. Do not turn round. 49. Do you remember that story? 60. It will be better to eat it at once. 51. She changed her mind. 52. Can we hold out as long as the others? 53. If we go about it heartily, we may kill the wolf. 54. Let us take breath again. 55. We did not gather a blade of grass. 56. Let us not look at the stars dancing in the sky. 57. The . stars will die out, when a pale light appears (fut.).

B. M. Seguin had had six goats, and he had lost them all in the same way. They were independent animals which wished for liberty at any price. Good M. Seguin could not understand them. Nothing could hold them back. They all went away into the mountain, and the wolves ate them. Then he bought a seventh one, a pretty little goat, and quite young, for he wished it to get accustomed to living with him. It was a dear little goat with long, white hair, soft eyes and black hoofs ! M. Seguin tied his goat to a stake in a meadow surrounded with hawthorn, where she was very comfortable. She ate the grass so heartily that M. Seguin thought she would never grow weary with him, but she did grow weary. One day she looked at the mountain, and from that moment the grass of the field seemed tasteless to her. She said to herself that one must be very happy on the mountain, that an ox might crop grass in a field but that goats needed room. When M. Seguin noticed that his goat was getting lean, he knew that something was the matter with her, but he did not know what it was. She said to him that she was pining away, and that she wished to go into the mountain. It was not the grass that was lacking ; it was not the rope that was too short. M. Seguin told her that the wolf would eat her, but she said she would butt him, she would fight with him all night. But M. Seguin said he would save her in spite of herself, and he shut his goat into a stable and locked the door securely. But he forgot the window, and the goat ran away. The old nr trees welcomed her. The chestnut trees caressed her, the golden broom smelled sweet. The whole mountain received her like a queen. It was there that there was grass, fine and sweet ! And the wild flowers overflowed with juices ! She

wallowed in the fallen leaves ; she ran (courir) through the bushes ; she was afraid of nothing. If the torrents splashed her with foam, she stretched herself out on a rock and dried herself in the sun. Suddenly it was evening. The fields disappeared in the mist. You could see no longer anything but the smoke of M. Seguin's cottage. There was a howl, and she thought of the wolf. Then M. Seguin blew his horn in the valley. She heard it and had a mind to return, but she remembered the stake and the rope, and thought it would be better to stay. There was a noise in the leaves, and turning round she saw the wolf. There he was on his haunches. He knew he would eat her, and was in no hurry. She remembered the story of another goat of M. Seguin, and being a brave goat, she said to herself that she would not let herself be eaten at once. She had no hope of killing the wolf, but she assumed a defensive attitude. The fight lasted all night. She forced the wolf to retreat more than ten times. The stars danced in the sky, and she said to. herself, "If I only hold out till daylight ! " The stars died out on the horizon ; a hoarse cock crowed in the valley ; the wolf ate the poor little goat.