face.
Another time it was a grasshopper which was swimming and struggling in a
brook; in a moment, Gringalet put his two fingers boldly in the water
and rescued the grasshopper, which he put on the grass. A first-class
swimmer, who had fished up his tenth drowning man at fifty francs a
head, could not have been prouder than Gringalet when he saw his
grasshopper bend his legs and jump away. And yet the grasshopper gave
him neither money nor medal, nor uttered any more thanks than did the
fly. But then, Pique-Vinaigre, worthy friend, the honourable company
will say to me, what the devil pleasure could Gringalet, whom all the
world thumped and buffeted, find in freeing grasshoppers and destroying
spiders? Since people were unkind to him, why did he not take his
revenge by doing all the evil in his power? For instance, in giving
spiders flies to eat, leaving grasshoppers to drown, or even drowning
them on purpose?"

"Yes, why not? Why did he not revenge himself in that way?" asked
Nicholas.

"What good would that have been?" inquired another.

"Why, to do ill, as ill was done to him."

"No! Well, then, I understand he liked to save the flies, poor little
chap!" said the man in a blue cap. "He said, perhaps, 'Who knows if some
day they mayn't save me in the same way?'"

"My right worthy friend is right," cried Pique-Vinaigre, "and has read
in his heart what I was about to narrate to the honourable assembly.
Gringalet was not wicked; he did not see beyond the end of his nose; but
he said,'Cut-in-Half is my spider, and perhaps some day some one will do
for me what I do for the other poor little flies,--break his web and
take me from his clutches;' for till then nothing could have induced him
to run away from his master; he would as soon have thought of killing
himself. However, one day, when neither he nor his tortoise had had a
chance, and had not gained between either of them more than three sous,
Cut-in-Half beat the poor child very severely, so severely that, _ma
foi!_ Gringalet could not stand it any longer; and, tired of being the
butt and martyr of everybody, he watched a moment when the trap was
open, and, whilst Cut-in-Half was feeding his animals, he slid down the
ladder."

"Oh, so much the better," said a prisoner.

"But why didn't he go and complain to the Doyen?" inquired the blue cap;
"he would have served Cut-in-Half out."

"Yes, but he dared not; he was too much afraid, and preferred trying to
escape