
A gentle summer breeze carries the story of a sixteen‑year‑old girl named Zanette, who lives on the quiet Farm of the Siren with her father, the local bailiff. She spends her days tending chickens and rabbits, wandering the banks of the Petit Rhône, and dreaming of distant seas while a mysterious, half‑remembered song follows her wherever she goes. The narrative paints the rural landscape with vivid detail: the crooked, thatched chapel that leans like a boat against the Provençal wind, the colorful humming of tiny, rainbow‑plumed birds that locals call sirens, and the scent of tamarisk blossoms that cling to the newly built chateau.
Through Zanette’s eyes the ordinary world shimmers with wonder, hinting at hidden stories tucked into the stone walls and the rustle of reeds. As she listens to the faint melody drifting from the sky, she begins to sense that the simple life she knows may be intertwined with ancient whispers and unseen presences, promising a journey that will test her curiosity and her heart.
Language
fr
Duration
~4 hours (275K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Chuck Greif, Carlo Traverso and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr)
Release date
2006-06-19
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1848–1921
Best known for bringing Provence vividly to life in poems, novels, and plays, this French writer blended local color with a gift for storytelling. His work helped make regional landscapes and characters feel unforgettable to generations of readers.
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