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A sun‑drenched landscape of the Vivarais spreads beneath a quiet river, its mulberry trees and distant cathedral framing a world that feels both timeless and fragile. In this pastoral scene we meet a pale‑skinned boy, an orphan with striking blue‑tinged scars, who tends a wandering herd alone on the riverbank. When his flock disappears under the startled cries of two mischievous children, his desperate search turns the peaceful fields into a tense chase, and the boy’s fear is met with harsh words and stone‑throwing from the other youngsters.
Just as his hope seems to crumble, a compassionate girl appears, offering the first genuine kindness the boy has known. Their tentative friendship sparks a glimmer of warmth amid the cruelty of the shepherd’s farm and the unforgiving countryside. Listeners are drawn into a vivid portrait of loneliness, resilience, and the fragile bonds that can form when strangers reach out in a harsh rural world.
Language
fr
Duration
~6 hours (355K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2013-04-20
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1844–1900
A New Orleans-born writer who made his career in France, he moved between poetry, theater, journalism, and popular fiction. His life crossed the Atlantic and the worlds of literature and public service, giving his work an unusually varied background.
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