Three short works

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Gustave Flaubert. Three short works

THE DANCE OF DEATH

THE LEGEND OF SAINT JULIAN THE HOSPITALLER

CHAPTER I. THE CURSE

CHAPTER II. THE CRIME

CHAPTER III. THE REPARATION

A SIMPLE SOUL

CHAPTER I. FÉLICITÉ

CHAPTER II. THE HEROINE

CHAPTER III. DEATH

CHAPTER IV. THE BIRD

CHAPTER V. THE VISION

Отрывок из книги

Julian's father and mother dwelt in a castle built on the slope of a hill, in the heart of the woods.

The towers at its four corners had pointed roofs covered with leaden tiles, and the foundation rested upon solid rocks, which descended abruptly to the bottom of the moat.

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One day, during mass, he raised his head and beheld a little white mouse crawling out of a hole in the wall. It scrambled to the first altar-step and then, after a few gambols, ran back in the same direction. On the following Sunday, the idea of seeing the mouse again worried him. It returned; and every Sunday after that he watched for it; and it annoyed him so much that he grew to hate it and resolved to do away with it.

So, having closed the door and strewn some crumbs on the steps of the altar, he placed himself in front of the hole with a stick. After a long while a pink snout appeared, and then whole mouse crept out. He struck it lightly with his stick and stood stunned at the sight of the little, lifeless body. A drop of blood stained the floor. He wiped it away hastily with his sleeve, and picking up the mouse, threw it away, without saying a word about it to anyone.

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