Jean De Florette Page #3

What's an Othentic?

Probably a plant that grows in books.

He said we have to be modern.

- I bet he spoke of routine.

- Right.

What's that?

It's a city word.

It means that what

our fathers taught us

has to go

because it's not modern.

We have to be modern now.

That's just bullshit!

He spoke of three years...

For me, that's a disaster!

Stop fearing the worst.

Still,

Anglade or Casimir,

as his distant cousins,

might tell him about the spring.

That could be a problem.

No! His mother warned him

to avoid folks from Bastides.

He asked me not to tell anybody

he's from Crespin.

Then we'll tell everybody!

We'll say a man from Crespin

bought the farm,

but we won't mention

that he's Florette's son.

Meanwhile, act friendly.

Help him out. Lend him my mule.

Be sure to play up to his wife.

Take her almonds,

a few thrushes, a bunch of figs.

That way, when he gives up,

he'll sell you the farm.

I offered him water from my well.

A bucketful a day.

But not for that reason.

What then?

What I did was no crime.

It was for my flowers.

But if they drank the cistern water,

they'd die.

It would always be on my conscience.

You're just like your poor mother.

But you did right.

I'll try to discourage him anyway.

I'll say the soil's rotten

and that it never rains at Romarins!

Are you crazy?

Tell him that Othentics are great,

that it rains constantly

and to start

on his big projects right away.

Remember, it's much easier

to slide down the slope

than to climb up.

Just help him fall flat on his face.

Morning, neighbour!

As you see, I'm taking you up

on your offer.

Fine. Just help yourself.

I've been admiring the landscape.

I never really noticed it.

Beautiful!

It's vast. You can see

what weather's coming.

That's true!

Come here, I'll show you.

Do this, or else the bucket

just floats on top.

If you let it sink, it fills up, see.

How's your roof?

I'm a few tiles short.

I must order more.

But they'll be new,

and will mar the overall effect.

- Nobody looks at a roof!

- Still, it's a pity!

I've got planting to do.

Just help yourself!

Many thanks!

More furniture?

This load's so heavy,

I'll never make it!

1,000 lbs of pipes and wire fencing!

- What kind of pipes?

- Cement pipes!

- Big ones?

- And how!

How many?

About 100 feet.

- What for?

- Probably for water!

What water?

Maybe he'll pipe the rainwater

down to his cistern.

Are you sure?

- Who knows? There's a pump, too.

- What'll he pump?

I don't know,

and I don't give a damn!

Why does he need all that fencing?

Ready, Papa!

See these tiles?

What are they for?

For you!

I've had them for years.

I figured you could use them!

Many thanks!

Yet another favour I won't forget!

I've got an idea for your water.

The cistern's good for watering,

but it's small and will dry up fast.

Rainwater fills the track.

By using large cement pipes,

you could set up

a pipeline to the cistern,

so it'd always be full.

Wonderful idea!

I just happen to have

some pipes on hand.

How come?

And what's all that wire for?

That's a secret! A big secret.

- A new fence?

- Yes, but a special kind.

It'll go two feet underground.

To keep the rabbits out?

You're close. But I have

other plans for the rabbits.

I don't get it.

First I'll plant a few leeks,

tomatoes, potatoes and herbs.

- An hour's work a day.

- A kitchen garden?

Precisely!

Next, I'll plant a high-yield crop,

which is essential

for large-scale rabbit breeding.

Large-scale? You mean big rabbits?

We mean hundreds of rabbits a month,

if not thousands!

No, Aime,

let's stay within reasonable limits.

Bring me my manual.

You know and raise rabbits, don't you?

I have six and my uncle has 30.

Even so, I doubt you're aware

of their amazing reproductive potential.

Look at this.

I can read,

but I'm no good at numbers.

It says that with a single pair

of rabbits,

in three years, a modern breeder

can have a monthly yield of 500 rabbits.

But this expert warns that more

than 5,000 is a real health hazard.

With 1,000 males and 5,000 females,

a breeder would end up with

30,000 rabbits in the first month,

200,000 by the sixth month

and 2 million by the tenth!

That means a whole country

can be wiped out by famine!

- Really?

- Tell him about Australia!

That continent

14 times bigger than France

almost perished

because of one pair of rabbits!

Their brood stripped

entire fields bare!

To save the country, they built

an electric fence 1,250 miles long

and slaughtered millions of them!

- You plan to raise that kind here?

- Certainly not!

I believe

that breed was made noxious

by the Australian climate.

Thank God!

So you plan on 500 a month?

No!

I'm all for moderation.

I'll be satisfied with a fourth of that.

I'm counting on 150 a month

in two years' time.

No more than that.

That's more reasonable.

But just cleaning out the cages

is a big job.

- That's no problem!

- How come?

I want to see my rabbits

run and hop about!

I'll use a modern approach:

an outdoor run.

What about foxes?

You forget the fence:

6 feet high and barbed wire!

A fence won't stop a fox. Never!

But barbed wire might.

That's why I've decided

to use artificial warrens.

With cement pipe openings.

The opening will let a rabbit

crawl in, but not a fox.

That's good thinking!

What'll your rabbits eat?

- Here's my answer.

- You'll feed them matches?

Watermelon seeds?

- Are they Othentics?

- Authentic? Of course!

These are authentic cucurbita seeds

from the Orient.

This plant grows

with exceptional speed.

In a tropical climate,

these creeping vines

can grow up to 30 inches a day.

Of course,

we're not in the tropics here.

Thank God!

And there's no real rainy season.

The weather statistics

for the last 50 years

from the Marseilles observatory note...

6 days of rain in April,

5 in May,

4 days in June,

2 days in July, 3 days in August

and 6 days in September.

- That's just an average.

- It sounds about right.

But rainfall is often sporadic

and may not bring about

maximum growth.

A reasonable growth estimate

is about six inches a month.

You'd have a problem

if they grew any faster.

Your squash plot would run

down to the village.

Good point! I figure each plant

should yield about 130 lbs of squash.

Sounds good,

but you've only got four seeds.

That's true for now.

But in six months' time, my problem

will be to stop their proliferation.

But if your rabbits and squash

are out of control, what then?

We'll be rich!

For if we fail we're doomed

to return to the hell of city life!

- Any news?

- Yes. Good and bad.

He wants to set up

an outdoor rabbit farm.

Rabbits?

He has a manual?

Yes. It says you can start

with two rabbits,

and have 1,000 in six months.

But you can't keep breeding them.

They almost ate up Australia!

This isn't Australia.

And it's easy to make rabbits

multiply on paper.

He wants to limit himself

to 150 rabbits a month.

Only 150!

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