That Devil's Madness Read Free Page A

of freedom. Listen. You’ll see…
    One day, as Monsieur Seguin was milking her, the little goat turned to him and said Monsieur Seguin, I’m so bored. Undo my tether and let me go to the mountain.
    Mother of God in Heaven! cried Monsieur Seguin. Not you too. Aren’t you happy, Blanchette? Haven’t I given you my best paddock?
    Yes, Monsieur Seguin.
    Is your tether too short? I can lengthen it, if you like.
    It’s not that, Monsieur Seguin , said Blanchette.
    God in Heaven and all the Saints preserve us, cried the poor man, then what is it?
    I want to be free , the little goat answered.
    Free? Free? Mother Mary help me! No, I won’t have it. Don’t you know that there’s a wolf on that mountain? That every goat of mine that ran away ended up being eaten by the wolf? All six of them. All much bigger and stronger than you. What will you do when the wolf comes for you, hey? Tell me.
    I’ll fight him with my horns , answered the little goat quietly.
    You’re nodding your head, young man. You think the goat’s right, I can see. But wait. Wait till you hear what happened.’ The man refilled Marius’ glass, then his own.
    â€˜Your horns are nothing to the wolf , said Monsieur Seguin. I had a goat called Renaude once, as big and strong and mean as the meanest billy goat that ever lived. Her horns were twice the length of yours. Well, she went to the mountain, and she fought the wolf all night long. But by morning, the wolf ate her anyway.
    I don’t care, Monsieur Seguin , answered Blanchette. I still want to go to the mountain.
    Well, as you can imagine, Monsieur Seguin was beyond reason, so upset was he. He took the little goat and put her in the cowshed, then locked the doors with a padlock so she couldn’t get out.’ The man refilled his pipe. Marius did the same. When the pipes were well lit the man continued. ‘Yes, he locked her up, but he forgot the window. No sooner was he out of sight that the little goat headed for the mountain.’
    He looked closely at Louis to gauge his reaction, but Louis kept his face expressionless.
    â€˜It was a beautiful day, and the little goat ran and jumped and rolled in the wild flowers on the mountaintop. She was so happy! No more tether, no more stake. Nothing to prevent her from going wherever she wanted. She was free. At one point, when she came to a rocky ledge, she saw Monsieur Seguin’s house far down in the valley, and behind it the paddock where she had been tethered.
    How small it is, she thought. No wonder I was bored. She splashed for a while in a nearby brook, then lay down on a warm boulder to nap.
    When she woke, the gentle breeze had turned to a cold wind and the sun no longer shone. She looked over the ledge once more, but the valley below was filled with fog, and all she could see of Monsieur Seguin’s house was a little bit of roof and smoke coming out of the chimney.’ The man paused and stretched, took a sip of wine.
    â€˜Monsieur?’ asked Louis.
    â€˜Be patient, young man. Be patient.’ He took another sip, checked how much wine was left in the bottle.
    â€˜The little goat looked about her, surprised. The mountain was turning purple. Night had arrived. Already? she thought. She heard cowbells very faintly from below in the valley. A hawk brushed her with its wing as it flew homewards, and the little goat shivered. Then, suddenly:
    Ahooooo! Ahooooo!
    She knew it was the wolf, and all the happy memories of the day disappeared. Then she heard, deep in the valley, the rich sound of a horn. It was Monsieur Seguin calling her one last time. Blanchette wanted to go home, but then she thought of the tether and the small paddock, and she knew she could never go back. The horn stopped calling. She heard a rustle of leaves behind her. She turned.
    She saw two pointy ears, and eyes glowing in the darkness. Sitting. Watching. Now Blanchette knew that goats didn’t beat wolves. No,