THE WEDDING NIGHT OF JEAN THE FOOL.[1]
"MOTHER mine," quoth Jean the Fool "I would marry."
"Thou wouldst marry, poor innocent? And what wouldst thou do with a woman? And who would want thee? To marry, thou must have culture at thy back (for thus they term those who have wordly goods), and thou hast none. Furthermore, thou must pay court to the maidens, and thou art too great a fool to know how to do that."'
"What doth one do when he goeth to visit the maidens?"
"One goeth to them when they hold a party, one indulgeth in all manner of drolleries, one pincheth them, one snatcheth their handkerchiefs when they blow their noses, one pulleth at their petticoats, and one laugheth."
"Good," said Jean to himself; and went out.
Passing down a road, narrow and filled with mire, he sat down, and when he felt he had sufficient 'cultivation' on his backside, he went to a farm where there was a party. The youths and maidens, when they saw Jean the Idiot enter all smeared with mire, drew back to make room for
- ↑ Kruptadia: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1884: vol. 2, Breton Folk Lore.
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