The Deserted Woman
THE DESERTED WOMAN BY HONORE DE BALZAC Translated By Ellen Marriage DEDICATION To Her Grace the Duchesse d'Abrantes, from her devoted servant,
higher and higher until it was reflected in the smooth, still water of
the brook. Indeed, Bobby could not tell which was the plainest to see,
the moon in the sky or the moon in the water. The little dog lay
quietly on one side of him, and the cat softly purred upon the other,
and even the moolie-cow was attracted by the music and wandered near
until she was browsing the grass at the edge of the brook.
After a time, when Bobby had played all the tunes he knew, he laid the
fiddle down beside him, near to where the cat slept, and then he lay
down upon the bank and began to think.
It is very hard to think long upon a dreamy summer night without
falling asleep, and very soon Bobby's eyes closed and he forgot all
about the dog and the cat and the cow and the fiddle, and dreamed he
was Jack the Giant Killer and was just about to slay the biggest giant
in the world.
And while he dreamed, the cat sat up and yawned and stretched herself;
and then began wagging her long tail from side to side and watching
the moon that was reflected in the water.
But the fiddle lay just behind her, and as she moved her tail, she
drew it between the strings of the fiddle, where it caught fast. Then
she gave her tail a jerk and pulled the fiddle against the tree, which
made a loud noise. This frightened the cat greatly, and not knowing
what was the matter with her tail, she started to run as fast as she
THE DESERTED WOMAN BY HONORE DE BALZAC Translated By Ellen Marriage DEDICATION To Her Grace the Duchesse d'Abrantes, from her devoted servant,