Chapter I

There was a young soldier named Hervé Laz-Bleiz. When he returned from the war in far away lands, his father and mother were dead. He had no brother, but he had a young sister named Hénori. Their parents had left them, for their entire inheritance, a cow and two sheep. Hervé said to Hénori,--

“Let us sell the cow and the sheep, and go to seek our fortunes somewhere else, instead of remaining here in poverty.”

The cow and the sheep were sold; then the brother and sister set out on their journey, by the grace of God. After having walked a long time and gone very, very far, they found themselves one day in a great forest, in the midst of which there was an old castle surrounded by high walls. They gained entrance to the court, creeping in under the door, but saw no one. The castle door stood open. They entered and found themselves in a hall, but no one was there. But they saw on a table meals which were quite hot, and the odor of them was delicious. They were very hungry, and they looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes, and their mouths watered. They remained silently standing, waiting for some one to come, of whom they might ask hospitality.

But they waited in vain; no one came, and the castle appeared to be abandoned. Seeing this, Hervé, who was not very timid, said to his sister,--

“Upon my word, it is useless to wait longer, and it is a shame to let such a good dinner get cold; let us seize the opportunity, and eat and drink, and then we shall see what will happen.”

They seated themselves at the table, and ate and drank with good appetites, without any one coming to interrupt them. Hénori, who was at first much frightened, became quite brave when she had drank a glass or two of the excellent wine she had found on the table; and as for Hervé, who had drank much more, he already dreamed of being master of the chateau, and thought it would be a great pity to leave a hotel when he was so comfortable.

On rising from the table, the brother and sister went through the halls and rooms. In the first room, they found heaps of gold and silver; in the second, more gold and silver; in the third, there were guns, and pieces of linen and stuff, goods, and men’s clothing of all shapes and sizes.

“It is a den of robbers,” said Hervé, when he saw all this. “They have gone off on some expedition, and will doubtless soon return. But since we are here, and these are good arms, let us take possession of them and all the treasure will be ours.”

And they began to prepare themselves, as well as possible, to stand a siege. They barricaded the doors and window casements, loaded all the guns, and sat down to wait.

About two or three o’clock in the morning the robbers returned, laden with booty and all drunk. Hervé and Hénori, each stationed at a window on the first floor, and having near them a great many guns all loaded, began immediately to fire on them. The robbers threw themselves against the door, raging and swearing. But they could not break it open, and Hervé and his sister killed one with each discharge of their guns, so that the number rapidly diminished. At last, seeing that their efforts were in vain, all those who remained still unhurt, retired, leaving the courtyard strewn with dead and wounded.

Hervé and Hénori passed the day in strengthening the barricades of the doors and windows and reloading their guns, for they were sure the robbers had gone to seek reinforcements, and would return to give them another charge. And they were not mistaken, for they returned, having mustered up some comrades. It was now broad daylight, so that Hervé and his sister, each stationed at a window on the first floor, could see clearly through the holes they had made in the shutters, and they struck down one at each discharge of their guns. They shot so well that they finally killed them all, except two or three wounded ones, who ran away.

The next day there was a third attack. But this time the robbers were all killed, every single one.

And now, Hervé and Hénori were in possession of the castle and all the treasure it contained. However, they did not dare go out for several days. But when they saw that no more robbers came to trouble them, they grew bolder, and visited the gardens and all the apartments of the castle, and everywhere they found treasures and provisions of every kind. So, seeing that everything needful was provided, they determined to take up their abode there.

The wood which surrounded the castle was full of all sorts of game. Hervé went hunting there every day, often with his sister and sometimes alone. One day when he went out alone, he ran across a fine hare and aimed at it to kill it, when he was perfectly astonished to hear the animal say to him, as plainly as if it had been a man,--

“Do not kill me, Hervé.”

“What! do you know me, you poor beast of the good God?”

“Yes, I know you, and I may perhaps be useful to you some day.”

“Very well! come with me then.”

And he went on, followed by the hare.

Farther on he saw a fox, and aimed at him also, but the fox said, as the hare had done,--

“Do not kill me, Hervé, and I will pay you back some day.”

“Am I then known to all the beasts of this wood?” said Hervé, and he lowered his gun and told the fox to follow him as well as the hare.

A little farther on he saw a bear and aimed at his jaw. But the bear said to him, also,--

“Do not kill me, Hervé, and I will pay you back some day.”

“Good! come on; follow me and let us see what will happen.”

He continued to hunt until the evening, and killed so much game that, not being able to carry it himself, he put it on the back of the bear. Then they started on the road to the castle. On the way, the bear ate the game, and the fox, seeing him, said to Hervé, “Master, the bear is eating your game.” Hervé threatened to shoot the bear, who growled and promised not to eat any more. When the four had reached the castle walls the hare said to Hervé, “Master, do you know that your sister is in her room with the chief of the robbers?”

“How can you say so? We killed all the robbers.”

“No matter, their chief still lives and he comes every day to see your sister, while you are out hunting. Look out for them, for they are thinking of betraying you and getting rid of you.”

“My sister loves me, and I do not believe a single word you tell me.”

“Your life is in danger, I assure you; but leave it to me: I will save you.”

“Very well, I leave it to you, and we shall see.”

“When he knows that you are in the castle, he will hide himself somewhere, so that he may strangle you in the night while you sleep. But as soon as we enter, you, fox, who have such a good nose, you go sniff all around to find where he is hid; then when you have found him, come and tell me and we will see about it.”

They entered the castle. Hervé remained in the kitchen with the hare and the bear, and the fox went on the search for the chief of the robbers, sniffing and ferreting around everywhere with his pointed snout. He discovered him in an empty cask and came to inform his comrades.

“Go, bear,” said the hare, “go with the fox, and bring him to us.”

The bear mounted the stairs, following the fox and growling as he went. He pulled the robber out of the cask, and taking him by one foot, he dragged him down the stone stairway, his head falling heavily on each step, and laid him at Hervé’s feet in the kitchen. When he saw the latter, he ground his teeth and tried to throw himself on him. But the bear prevented him and tore him to pieces at his master’s order. Then Hénori was treated in the same manner.

Hervé continued to live in the castle with his three animals. Every day they went out hunting and killed all the game they could wish.