Reading n°6 : Le trésor
Thanks you for translation Mrs Warthon, Mrs Efros, Mrs Habrard, Dr Procter, Mrs Abouhamad, Mrs Gachelin
One upon a time, there was a farmer named Philoxene. He would pick up dead wood in the forest and make bundles which take back to the house in the evening.
That day, he discovered an old stump to be quite dry. He started to pull upon the stump that appeared to be just right for starting a fire. He succeded at digging it up easily, but what he saw was not what he expected. He saw a small, rusty box appear among stumps roots.
He quickly moves the dirt around the roots while often looking around, then grabs hold of the box. He did not have much trouble opening it . " What delight" said this brave man, " the box is filled with pieces of gold"!
The man closed his eyes and imagined, " My children and grandchildren are at the shelter for the poor right now...".
But he immediately asked, " How can I keep this gold-filled box at the house without anyone knowing?"
One must say that Mathilde, Philoxene wife, was incorrigible, talkative, unable to keep a secret.
The man thought about alle of this for a moment, then carefully put the box back in its place and covered it with dirt again.
Then, he scaltered the area of leaves and branches so that nobody could see that the ground had been freshly turned over and he returned home.
At night, the thought about all of this again.
The next day, he got up early and went to take a rabbit from the hutch. He put it in a bag, then went to the bakery and bought a dozen crepes.Then he set out for the river. A fish was trapped in his fishing net. He removed it and put the rabbit there in its place.
On the way, he stopped and, making sure (7) that noone saw him, he hung a few crepes from the branches of several shrubs. Then he threw the rest of the crepes in the neighboring bushes.
To finish, he lay the fish in the hollow of the branches of a big tree.
He returned home and told his wife, Mathilde,
"I saw a very dry, old stump in the forest yesterday, but you will have to help me move it."
They left the village and took the path to the forest.
Suddenly, Mathilde cried out, "Look, there, in the hollow of the big tree!"
"What?," said Philoxene. "For goodness sake!," said his wife. "A fish! What is it doing there?"
"Well!," replied Philoxene calmly. "It's Spring. He is preparing his nest!"
"But," said Mathilde taken aback (8), "fish don't make nests!"
"If he is not making a nest, then why did he climb the tree?," asked her husband.
His wife could not think of a response, so she said nothing more.
They arrived in the middle of the forest, Philoxene showed her the old stump, and they started to dig it up.
Suddenly, a small box appeared. Mathilde cried out and Philoxene pretented to be very surprised.
Quickly, they put the small box in the bottom of their bag. Then, carrefully they set some sticks on top and they made their way back as if they were carrying a bundle of firewood.
On the way, Philoxene said : -Let's go to the river to see if something is trapped in my fishing nets !
Suddenly in surprise Mathilde shouted out - "Look ! Overthere ! There are some wooden shingles on the top of the bushes !"
Of course" said Philoxene "Did you not hear the wind blowing last night ? It comes from the West. Overthere, the house roofs are cover with wooden shingles."
You are so clever, my man !" sweetly said the amazed Mathilde "The wide world does not have any secrets for you".
Then Philoxene pulled out the fishing net and freed a rabbit saying
"But..." said Mathilde "How come this rabbit was stuck in the fishing net ?"
Philoxene answered quietly "It happens a lot when the rabbits go to the river to take their bath. They are some very clean animals, you know !"
They returned to the road to the village. Philoxene watched his wife from the corner of his eye. Mathilde remained thoughtful.
Upon returning to the house, they hid the treasure very carefully and continued to live as before, but they no longer dreaded the next day.
All the same, the secret weighed heavy on the heart of Mathilde, and the more time passed, the more it became unbearable.
Finally, she began to tell some secrets to her neighbor, Mme. Bouillette, and, secret by secret, she told her all the story. The first step was crossed; Mathilde did not stop any more, then, to speak of the treasure to one or another.
On her side, Mme. Bouillette hurried to go tell of the affair to her sister Angelique, who told it to the baker, Mme. Grangeois.
In two days, all the village was "plugged in" (the news was all over town) and on the third day, the lord of the castle up above the village, ordered his soldiers to go find Philoxene and Mathilde.
When they were before him, the lord "looked at them with a terrible look" (scowled at them) and cried:
Ah! brigands! You find a treasure in my forest and you don't tell me anything. This will not go on like that! (That's not how it works./You won't get away with this.)
Sir, lamented the countryman, how could you imagine such a thing?
Alas, I am as poor as I always have been and this poverty has turned my wife's head. She's telling everyone that she has found a treasure, but it's only a dream!
What, cried Mathilde, indignant, it isn't true that we found a treasure? But you know very well no, responded her husband.
Be quiet, the lord says to Philoxene.
But you, he says to Mathilde, in a softer voice, speak, and tell me everything.
“Yes, my Lord, I will tell you everything. There now, it was about three months ago, in the spring. Moreover, a fish began to make his nest in a tree…”
“What are you saying?” interrupted the Lord.
“The truth, my Lord, I saw the fish in the tree as I see you now. We had then found the trunk at the foot of a tree stump, hid it in a bag and returned by way of the river. I remember very well.
The night before, a stormy wind had blown and had scattered the biscuits into the bushes…”
“Biscuits? In the bushes?” whispered the Lord, more and more perplexed.
“Yes, my Lord, Philoxene lifted up the fishnet. A beautiful rabbit had been caught. We went home, hid the treasure and ate the rabbit with a sauce. There is the entire truth.”
The Lord looked at Mathilde, and then looked at her husband who rolled his eyes in a sorry way. Then, the Lord declared:
“The proverb is true. One can not keep the wind from blowing and people from telling stories. Go home!”
They returned home, quickly divided the treasure with their children and then lived quietly in peace.