ness, and that he soon showed an uncontrolla-
ble taste for sugar and liqueurs, so much so 
that one day, having proved to myself that de-
spite my numerous warnings he had commit-
ted yet another theft of this nature, I threat-
ened to send him back to his parents. Then I 
went out, and my business kept me for a fairly 
long time abroad. 
What were not my horror and amazement 
when, returning to my house, the first object 
which caught my sight was my good little 
friend, my life’s merry companion, hanging 
from the panel of the wardrobe! He feet almost 
touched the floor; a chair which he had doubt-
less kicked away was overturned beside him; 
his head was convulsively crooked over one 
shoulder; his blood-suffused face, and his 
eyes, wide open, with affrightening fixity, 
made me think at the first moment that he was 
alive. To take him down was not so easy a task 
as you might think; he was already quite stiff, 
and I had an inexplicable repugnance to let 
him fall roughly to the ground. I was obliged to 
hold him up entirely with one arm, and to cut 
the cord with my free hand; but when that was 
done, all was not done; the little monster had 
employed a very thin string, which had cut 
deeply into his flesh, and now in order to free