IX
Original
Literary translation
§ 9.1
!
Oh, what a surprise!
§ 9.2
, , , , !
A cow, a real cow, over there in the shade, behind that bush!
§ 9.3
.
A length of rope tethers the animal to a root.
§ 9.4
…
The person who escorts this bovine dignitary through society has wandered off, nobody knows where…
§ 9.5
, , ( : ).
Milking cows is Catherine’s department, and it is no concern of the management of great affairs (department head: Mr. Horace Planchet).
§ 9.6
, , .
One-liter bottle in hand, kneeling beside the generous ruminant, Catherine watches with satisfaction as the level of white milk rises in the bottle.
§ 9.7
.
This milk is positively wonderful.
§ 9.8
, : , .
They pass the bottle back and forth and drink by pouring the milk into their mouths, each taking a swallow: a fair and courteous distribution, with neither having to sacrifice anything.
§ 9.9
, , .
Yet once they have drunk this excellent milk, Mr. Planchet realizes that they ought to pay for it.
§ 9.10
.
He still has two francs on him.
§ 9.11
?
But where is the cash desk?
§ 9.12
…
The cowherd, man or woman, is nowhere to be seen…
§ 9.13
, , .
Mr. Planchet could lay his forty-sou coin on the ground, beside the uncomplaining animal.
§ 9.14
!
Alas!
§ 9.15
…
It is his entire fortune…
§ 9.16
, , , …
On the other hand, however difficult his life had sometimes been, he had never stooped to the offense of taking food or lodging without paying…
§ 9.17
, …
Of course, he owes the hotel at Bront-les-Eaux some forty francs…
§ 9.18
, , , .
But sooner or later he will find a way to settle this little debt, which various circumstances beyond his control have prevented him from paying.
§ 9.19
— , --, …
“We really must pay for this milk,” he repeats, to Catherine’s astonishment…
§ 9.20
, …
Rummaging once more in his watch pocket, he feels a little rolled-up scrap of paper…
§ 9.21
…
It is a stamp…
§ 9.22
…
A twenty-five-centime postage stamp…
§ 9.23
, .
Without hesitation, he sticks it onto the cow’s flank.
§ 9.24
, , …
Then he walks away with a clear conscience, followed by Catherine, who can scarcely believe her eyes…
§ 9.25
, , , …
From that moment, the young country girl began to look up to him as someone of a higher station, perhaps even a gentleman, a man who could afford such extravagant scruples…
§ 9.26
.
But Catherine’s silent deference does nothing whatsoever to improve Mr. Planchet’s financial circumstances.
§ 9.27
, .
When they make their entrance into Belfort, the fortune of the aforementioned Horace has not increased by a single centime.
§ 9.28
, …
The appetites of these two young people, however, have not diminished…
§ 9.29
, , , , , .
They broke into their last two francs to buy bread and cheese, which they would eat on a bench in a public garden, an unpretentious dining room that might also become their bedroom unless fortune suddenly changed.