"THE LITTLE CASK" "Well, guys, what do you think of my brandy?" "I have to say it tastes good." "Dang, that tickles the throat!" "You can't give this to just anybody." "Some would drop dead on the spot." "You're talking nonsense." "Brandy's good for everything." "My mother used to put it in the soup and look at me." "Do I look sick?" "Prosper..." "I'm sure I can guess the age of your brandy." "But I'd need another glass." "Alright, Bastien, I'll accept the bet." " Rosalie!" " I'm coming." "Pour him another glass." "What about us?" "Can't we take a guess?" "Sure." "Rosalie, serve Isidore and Martial." "Excuse me." "And these gentlemen." "So, try to guess." "I'd say it's young." "He's good." "I can even say it's from the year when we had so much rain... that we didn't know if we were looking at the heads or the asses of the cows." "I remember." "The country had changed into a piss-pot." "Listen, Bastien... can you tell where my brandy's from?" " Where it's from?" " Yes, where it's from." "I'd have to taste a bit more first." " You can smell the fruit." " You bet." "It stings the tongue a bit." "That means the field's on a slope." "Let me tell you, Prosper Chicot... this brandy's from the apple trees on your field near the three roads." "You're a magician, this is impossible!" "You had him going there." "Let me tell you, Isidore, it's really Rosalie that I had." "I did her good, that Rosalie... and she told me where the brandy was from." "Talking about the field near the three roads, do you know who we saw?" " Mrs Magloire, I bet." " Exactly." "She's still hale and hearty." "Weren't you going to buy her farm?" "Because your field is just next door, so to speak." "She doesn't want to sell." "All she says is that she was born there and she'll die there." "But she does love money." "She doesn't spend much." "Nothing." "She hardly even buys salt." "She eats what grows around her place, that's all." "She'll be the richest corpse in the cemetery." "Chook, chook, chook!" "Here, enjoy this." "Take it easy, there's enough for everybody." "Well, ma'am?" "Still in good health?" "I can't complain." "And you, Prosper?" "Except for a bit of gout now and then, I'm quite happy." "Good!" " Tell me, Mrs Magloire..." " What is it?" "Do you still not want to sell me your farm?" "No, don't get your hopes up." "I told you I'd die here, so I'll die here." "I won't stop you from dying here, I just want you to sell it to me." "What are you on about?" "Well, you'll sell me your farm, but you'll continue to live there." "I don't want to chase you out." "What would happen to your chickens?" "I'd like to know how you count on doing that." "It's easy." "Every month, I give you 30 écus." "Do you hear me?" "Thirty!" "I'll bring them myself, with my cart." "That's all." "And what do I do?" "You take the écus and you stay at your place." " I stay at my place?" " Until the good lord calls you." "And if the good lord isn't in a hurry?" "Then you'll have your thirty écus a month until he makes up his mind." "You could be waiting for a long time." "But I don't want you dead." "I'm just making you an honest proposal." "I don't say no." "So that's a yes?" "I don't say yes." "But what do you say, then?" "We'll see." "Yes, but when?" "Come back sometime next week." "I'll tell you my idea about it." "You know, it's only a piece of paper with the notary." "I want to think about it first." "Because nobody cheats me." "I hope the old woman makes up her mind." "Crazy cow." "Go!" "Mr Chicot!" "Why do you look so cheerful?" "Have you been to see the girls?" " I'm coming back from Mrs Magloire." " And did she sell you her farm?" "Not yet, but it can't be long now." "Alright, gentlemen." "He's a good man, Prosper Chicot." "He only wants to do good." "Thirty écus, each month." "Per year, that makes... 360..." "Yes." "No." "Yes." "360 écus a year." "If I live that long, in eight years... that will make... that will make 2800... and a bit." "It's not a round figure." "I could last another ten years." "That would make 3600." "3600 écus!" "My little ones." "My little, little, little ones." "That man!" "Giving me gifts..." "It must be..." "But what do I know?" "Who knows?" "But of course!" "If he'll give me thirty écus... it must be worth more!" "What a scoundrel, that Prosper." "I'll tell the notary." "Thirty écus isn't enough." "What a scoundrel!" "Scoundrel!" "And the notary too!" "First of all, what's my property worth?" "In its state, 10,000 écus." "You say that to please me." "You know it's not worth that much." "You know, I like Prosper." "I saw him being born, you know." "But I wonder why he wants to see me get rich at my age." "My legs are heavy, my eyes are stinging, I shake like a leaf..." "And I have my rheumatism." "You don't know what that's like, rheumatism." "You're young." "Mrs Magloire, if you sell your property... it should be a fair deal." "Everybody should be happy." "You should be happy and Mr Chicot as well." "He'll always be happy." "But me, a poor old woman, with one foot in the grave... how could I be happy?" "Ask fifty écus a month, instead of thirty." "Fifty écus?" "It's worth that much." "I just told you." "What if Prosper doesn't agree?" "At fifty écus, he still makes a profit." "Even if I live another ten years?" "Even if you live another twenty years." "Well, well." "Maybe we can prepare the paperwork before I talk to him?" "Paperwork doesn't imply a commitment." "No, not if it hasn't been signed." "Chook, chook!" "Eat, pretty ones." "But I told you." "I was born here and I'll die here." "I don't want to sell." "Thirty écus a month, that's not bad." "What can I do with them?" "And besides, I'd know you'd be waiting for my death... so you'd get the farm." "No, no, no." "I'd hate it too much." "And I saw you being born, Prosper." "That's something you don't forget." "Exactly." "It's as if you had a son." "I'll be like your son." "You like me, don't you?" "I saw you being born, of course I like you." " And I like you too." " That's what you say." "I swear, I love you as if you were my own mother... as if I were your son." "I can't put it any better." "If you love me that much... give me fifty écus!" " A month?" " A month." " Fifty écus?" " Fifty écus." "That's impossible." "It's impossible!" "It wouldn't be that much more." " And maybe less." " 50 is more than 30 as far as I know." "It's just that I thought I'd live another ten years... when you said thirty écus." "But now I'm sure I won't live longer than five or six years." " Did the doctor tell you that?" " No need, I can feel it." "The other night, I thought I was going to go." "You'd think my entire body was emptied." "I was barely able to crawl onto my mattress." "And I don't sleep." "Every night, I'm in pain, pain, pain!" "Alright, fifty écus and that's it." "Fifty écus." "Damn you if you don't keep your word!" "What does it say there?" "That every first of the month, you come to my office to get your fifty écus." "You won't be bringing them?" "I have an inn to look after." "I couldn't come every month." "But you promised." "You said you were like my son." "Mrs Magloire, I commit to bringing you 50 écus every first of the month." "That's not the same." "Damn you if you don't keep your word!" "Mrs Magloire, we can't come back on this sale... because you want the buyer to bring you your money." "But he said it!" "Otherwise it's a swindle." "I could come to you when I can." "And the other times, the notary can have it brought to you." " Would that be alright?" " I don't know." "You have to decide, Mrs Magloire." "I'm shocked by this." "But I only want to do what makes you happy." "It's alright if the notary gets me my 50 écus delivered." "But only when you're unable to do it." "It hurts me so much that..." "I need a little consolation." "What consolation?" "I don't know... ten écus." "On top of the rest." "And right away." "Will you sign now?" "Only to do you a favour." "And time passes by..." "Let me tell you, Prosper, with the apple trees of Mrs Magloire... you'll make some excellent brandy." "We'll see." "For now, I can only look at those apple trees." "At fifty écus a month, I hope you have good eye-sight, Mr Chicot." "Good lord, the old cow will never die." "You have to wonder what she does with all her money." "It certainly changed her life." "First of all, she has a wash twice a week now." " That's not good for your health." " That's what I say." "But she's all elegant now." "You should see her." "I'm just like a lady, no doubt about it." "A hat makes a good impression." "Prosper?" "But..." "Are you bringing me my fifty écus?" "It's only the 24th today." "I've come to invite you." " Invite me to what?" " To come to my place." "Don't you come to Epreville to sell your eggs?" "Just drop by at my inn." "I'll make you a nice dinner." "But I can't spend any money." "But I'm inviting you." "As long as it's not to avoid giving me my fifty écus or to give me less." "It's because people say we're not friends." "That you don't like me anymore." "People gossip." "It hurts me when people tell lies like that." "Well... they'll see." "Don't you like it?" "I'm not used to eating so much." "But I can take some home." "For my chickens." "You didn't drink your wine either." " I'll make you a good coffee." " No, no." "They say you'd better not." "And what about a little glass of something?" "I wouldn't say no to a little glass." "That's more like it." "Rosalie, bring the brandy." "The best one." "It's excellent." "That's all I'm saying." "Have a taste of this." "Yes, that's good." "See?" "I don't make things up." "I can drink 10 or 12 glasses of this." "It goes down like sugar." "And it's good for your body." "I'm telling you, there's nothing better." "The last one." "There's nothing better." "And a last one." " That might not be a good idea." " It's medication, I'm telling you." "You'll live until a 100 with this." "Since you like it, I'll give you a little cask of it." "So that nobody can say were not friends." "I'm a bit embarrassed." "I don't want you to go without." "Don't worry." "When I'm out, there's still more." "And the sooner we finish it, the better it is." "Mrs Magloire!" "Mrs Magloire!" "Hello Prosper." "I bet you brought me my money." "Quite right." "I have an almanac." "I know when it's the first of the month." "I'll count them, of course." "Because nobody cheats me." "What do you have there?" "So it's true you love me like a son." "Yes, as if I was your child." " Is it the same one?" " Even better." "The one you like." "Because nobody cheats me." "Let's open the little cask." "That way, you'll know for sure." "What do we toast to?" "To our friendship, of course!" "Of course!" "You can't walk on one leg." "I'm telling you she's getting drunk on her own, Prosper." "Soon, you won't have enough brandy until December." "Isidore, tell him." "The other day, I picked her up from the road." "I carried her to her place on my back." "And as a thank you, she puked on me." "That's sad, at that age." "You know, Martial... if anybody's hurting from this, it's me." "I'm like her son." "So it hurts for sure." "But we can't let it get us down." "A bit more." "It's over." "We were walking past and we saw her here." "It was bound to happen." "We'll take her to her place." "Ready?" "Let's go." "Somebody's going to be sad." "This is going to affect Prosper." "He wasn't always happy about how she spent his money on trinkets... but he liked Mrs Magloire." "For sure!" "He was like her son." "It's true..." "I was like her son." "Now you own her property." "That doesn't matter." "I gave her that money so she wouldn't live a life of misery." "I wanted her to have a nice old age, that's all." "Do you know what I'm going to ask the priest?" "That they bury her behind her farm." "That way, I can pay my respects to her, when I go there." "Poor Mrs Magloire." "It's going to be hard without her." "Here, here!" "Drink as much as you want, old cow!" "Old cow!" "Here, drink that!" "You love my brandy, don't you?" "You love my brandy." "Now that you're dead, you can drink it all your life, for all eternity!" "Here, drink that!" "Go on, go on!" "Here, there's more." "Go on!" "It tastes good!" "There's plenty, plenty for you." "Here, have this!" "And this!"