THE MAN WITH TWO DOGS

_{The card game.}

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"How well I slept!", said Jean, stretching his limbs.

“Yes,” said the princess, “and slept so well that you would never have woken up without me and my ointment. You have two more nights to spend like this; but take courage, do not be frightened by anything, and when you have undergone the three trials, the devils will lose all power over this castle and over all those who are there under their domination, and you will have delivered us all; for there are many of us here, in different forms; and, as a reward, you will then be able to marry me, for I am one of the most beautiful princesses who ever lived."

Jean replied that he wanted to try the enterprise to the end.

The next day he spent the day walking in the castle and gardens, and when evening came, after he had had a good supper, the same hand led him to the same room. He went to bed but did not sleep, like the day before. At midnight the three devils arrived again and began to play cards.

"I still smell Christians here!", said the lame devil.

“It’s the smell of last night,” replied the others.

"No no! I tell you there must still be a Christian here!"

And he went straight to bed and found Jean there.

"What, it’s still the same! The one we ate last night! How can this be?"

And they began to throw him from one to another, like a ball. Finally, one of them threw him so violently against the wall that he stuck there like a cooked apple! The crowing of a rooster was heard at that moment, and they hurried away.

Immediately the princess entered the room again, and this time she was visible up to the waist. She again began to rub Jean's body with her ointment, and soon brought him back to life.

“You only have one more night to suffer,” she said to him, “But it will be terrible. Always be of good courage, and all your troubles, and ours too, will soon be over, and we will be married to each other, and this castle, with everything in it, will belong to us. Then she disappeared.

The following day passed like the day before, and when night came, Jean went for the third time to the testing chamber.

The three devils came like the two previous nights, this time quartered him, chopped him up like meat, then cooked him and swallowed him down to the last piece, even the bones.

At the crowing of the rooster, they left again, saying:

"That must be done to him for once, and even if he is a sorcerer! If he comes back again, we no longer have any power over him. But how could he come back?"

As soon as they had left, the princess appeared again; and this time, she was complete, from head to toe. She looked all over the room for some piece of Jean, however small it might be. She ends up discovering the nail of her little toe. And here she is rubbing it with her ointment! She rubbed so hard that she brought him back to life, for the third time.

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Source: L’Homme aux deux chiens. from the French book Contes et légendes de Basse-Bretagne published in 1891.

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Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Part 6

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Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.

 

I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.

 
Jean had to die three times from the devils. I hope it will be rewarding for him.

And apparently, he will marry a princess.

But there is still no mention of the two dogs.

 
Last weekend, we went to my house in Harrison Hot Springs and we started to organize our wedding that will take place on May 4^th. We chose the date because it is a Saturday, not because of any reference to Star Wars: May the 4^th be with you.

In France, there are two kinds of wedding: a civil one and optionally a religious one. The civil wedding must always precede the religious wedding.

In North America, there are weddings that may be civil and religious together, or only civil.

As we are not religious, and we are both divorced, we will have only a civil wedding.

In France, a civil-only wedding takes place in the city hall of one of the two spouses. In British Columbia (and I think in all of Canada), it can take place anywhere in the province. Our wedding will take place near Harrison Lake, 500 meters from my house.

The ceremony is performed by a marriage commissioner. We had one in Harrison Hot Springs, whose first name is Ingrid. And she came to my house to meet us and tell us what we needed to prepare. In particular, we need to buy a marriage license.

-- Vincent Celier