the parisians laugh at gargantua.—he takes his revenge by stealing the great bells of n?tre-d?me.
the first thing gargantua did, on reaching paris, was to make a resolve that he and his people should have a gay time. some days after, when they had all rested well and had feasted until they were full of good eating and drinking, gargantua started on a stroll through the town to find what was to be seen. the paris gargantua saw was not the paris of to-day,—not nearly so mighty a city as it has since become. but its people then were every bit as fond of merry-making and of seeing shows as they are now. one who lived in those days, and who boasted that he knew the parisians better than they did themselves, says that they were so silly and so stupid by nature that it only took a rope-dancer, dancing on his rope, or a merry-andrew playing at his tricks, or a bawler of old scraps, or a blind fiddler, or a hurdy-gurdy in the market-place, to appear, to draw a bigger crowd than the holiest and most eloquent preacher. now, a giant like gargantua was himself such a show as the people of paris had never before set their silly eyes on. of course they swarmed around him with staring eyes and open mouths, pushing against him here, and knocking against him there, in their strong desire to see as much of him as they could. they troubled him almost as much as the flies and hornets of la beauce had troubled his mare. some, bolder than the rest, even ran in and out between his legs as he strode along the street. at first, gargantua took the crowd good-naturedly enough. by and by, he began to think that all this squeezing and tickling were getting just a little tiresome. he looked around in a helpless sort of way, until, by good luck, his eyes fell on the tall towers of n?tre dame cathedral, near by. "ha! ha! that's the very place for me," he cried, and, without further ado, resting one hand on the top of the roof to steady himself, he went whizzing with a great leap past the statues of adam and eve, that looked wonderingly out from their stony niches. the idle crowd was afraid to follow gargantua; but it stood packed up close together in the open space which surrounded the old church, gazing at him as he went through the air, and wondering all the time what the giant was going to do with their famous towers. it was not long before they found out. no sooner was he on the roof than gargantua caught sight of the great tanks filled with water which were then to be found there. chuckling to himself, he cried: "now for some fun! i shall pledge this good people of paris in a glass of wine." up he caught one of the tanks, poised it for a moment in the air, and then shouting out: "to your health, good folks!" tipped it just a bit. down poured its water in a full stream. then he threw the tank after it. quick, before one could think or breathe, the others followed. so sudden was the down-pour of water that the people thought a tremendous water-spout, in passing over their city, had burst upon them. two hundred and sixty thousand, four hundred and eighteen persons were drowned on that day by the water, or crushed by the tanks, or killed by being run over by those seeking to escape. those who were lucky got away as fast as they could. in less than three minutes the square was empty, for the water, as it rolled out into the streets, washed all the dead away.
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gargantua enters paris.
gargantua, who was a good-hearted giant, little knew what mischief he had done. after he had emptied all the tanks, and thrown them away, he ceased to think about the people. he had only gone on the roof to rid himself of the buzzing and nudging of the crowd; and, not hearing any more from them, he set about amusing himself. when he caught sight of the great bells of n?tre dame, a happy idea struck him. he would set them to ringing and pealing! ah, how he was charmed! their notes were so soft, so rich, so mellow, so tender, so golden! he wanted to have the bells about him all the time. just then he thought: "these parisians deserve a lesson for their bad manners, and i am going to revenge myself." so he at once began to pick up the bells, one after the other, as if they were so many buckets. when he had gathered them all, he leaped down from the roof and strode across the city in the direction of his hotel. once there, a merry thought came to him, which made him drop the bells and clap his thighs with a sound that brought all the good wives of paris—or those that remained after the affair of the tanks—to their windows.
"ho! ho! ho! i have it now! i shall keep my beautiful bells to please my father, and pay the parisians, all at the same time. i send my mare home to-morrow. every little donkey nowadays wears a collar with jingling bells. my mare shall carry at her neck the bells of n?tre dame!"
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the city was excited.
gargantua went straight to the stable where his mare had already found her fodder, and, with great care, while gymnaste, his squire, held the candle, placed the bells of n?tre dame, one by one, around her neck. the city was greatly excited at the loss of the bells; and, the next day, there came a long line of grave, black-robed men who proved to him in learned speeches that the holy church of n?tre dame had a right to her own bells. gargantua, now that all the excitement had passed, felt that he had done a very silly thing, and could only say that the bells were not lost; but that if their worships would go to the stable, they would find them still hanging from the neck of his great mare. after further talk, and much good drinking, the grave, black-robed men—who, if the whole truth were to be told, were not a little afraid of the giant—picked up heart to say: "give us back our bells, and we shall bind ourselves to give your mare free grazing in the forest of bière, so long as your highness honors us with your presence."
gargantua was very willing to accept this offer. the bells were taken back in great state to n?tre dame, where—god bless them!—they may be seen, and heard too, when the sun shines and when the rain falls, to this very day.
