62 STORIES FROM DAUDET

‘Ah, Most Holy Father, what is
the matter indeed! The matter is that
your mule—Good heavens, what will
become of us ?—your mule has climbed
up the belfry. .

‘ All by heel »

‘Yes, Holy Father, all by herself. .
You can see her, look, look up there.
Do you see her two great ears. They
look like a couple of swallows.’

‘Mercy on us!’ said the poor Pope,
turning up his eyes... . ‘My mule
has gone mad. She will kill herself.
Come down at once, unhappy creature.’

Pecaire, she asked no better than to
come down, but how was she to do it?
It was useless to think of the staircase :
you may get up that sort of thing, but
a mule would break her legs a hundred
times over if she tried to walk down-
stairs. ... The poor mule was in
despair, and as she snuffed about the
platform, with her great eyes rolling
with giddiness, she thought of Tistet
Védene.