Madelonettes.”
The lad scratched his head behind his ear, stared at Ma’am Bougon, and said:—
“Ah!”
Then he executed a pirouette on his heel; a moment later, the old woman, who had remained on the doorstep, heard him singing in his clear, young voice, as he plunged under the black elm-trees, in the wintry wind:—
Le roi Coupdesabot S’en allait à la chasse, À la chasse aux corbeaux, Monté sur deux échasses. Quand on passait dessous, On lui payait deux sous.