Little Nicholas Page #3

I know what we'll do.

We'll form a secret gang

to help Nicholas.

What's a secret gang?

-A group of heroes.

We can call our gang "The Unbeatables".

We'll meet at the vacant lot.

-We need a password.

"lnvincible courage"!

-Yeah!

And only those who know it

can come in.

Children, get in line!

It's a note from my parents.

Pleeze excuze our sun

hoo didn't doo his homework.

Who wrote this?

Daddy.

Teacher?

-Yes?

Can we come closer to see?

-Of course.

Sit down!

Stand up.

Sit down.

Children,

I'm very pleased to announce that

the Minister of Education himself

shall honor us

with a visit to our school.

I'm counting on you

to make his visit unforgettable.

I turn to your teacher

and ask her to organize

a performance...

which I'm sure will combine

culture and pedagogy.

It will make a marvelous impression

on our guest.

Our teacher didn't like

the idea of a performance.

I have to admit, she'd already tried

to put on a play...

Come on! The zebras!

Go on. The zebra first,

then the crocodile.

There, that's it.

Geoffroy!

What on earth is that costume?

Geoffroy...

A parade...

One, two! One, two!

Half turn... to the right!

What's this?

Lines of two!

What kind of troop is this?

Lines of two, I said!

You're the shame of France.

You heard me,

the shame of France!

And even a choir...

But it never worked out.

Sorry, these kids are hopeless.

You see, it's just that...

It might make us run late

with our program.

Well then, have them recite a poem.

They've studied poetry,

haven't they?

Yes.

"The Crow and the Fox".

-Wonderful.

Let's see...

You, my boy, please recite:

"The Crow and the Fox".

I don't know it all

but it's about a crow

with Roquefort cheese in its beak.

It was Camembert!

It couldn't be,

Camembert is runny and it stinks!

"Master Crow, perched on a tree..."

That's enough!

Calm down!

Back to your drawings.

No.

Password.

-"lnvincible courage".

Password.

-"lnvincible courage".

"lnvincible courage".

"lnvincible courage".

Password.

"Terrible courage"?

-Password, or I can't let you in.

"Funny courage"?

"Terrific courage"?

First of all, we need a leader.

I suggest it be me.

-Why you?

I've got the nicest clothes.

The leader's the strongest!

The leader's the oldest!

That's me.

No, Clotaire is oldest,

he flunked nursery school.

If it's only to argue,

we could've stayed at school.

Hello?

One moment, I'll see.

Sir?

Yes?

-It's the ministry.

The Legion of Honor ceremony.

-What a bore.

Here. Find a date for them

next month.

Yes, sir.

"l have not yet received..."

-Your shirts, sir.

Thank you, old boy.

I shined your shoes too.

Where were we, hon?

"l have not yet received

an answer to last month's..."

Did you hear me?

I said I've changed my mind.

I don't want

to have the Moucheboumes over.

What? Why not?

-Because.

I don't have a dress or jewelry,

and I don't know how

to drive a car.

Darling, what's got into you?

I don't want to look like a dimwit

in front of Mrs. Moucheboume.

A dimwit? What do you mean?

Does her husband

drive her to the hairdresser?

No.

Does she take the bus? No.

So she drives and I don't.

-Makes sense.

Is her only fancy dress

her engagement dress?

No. Me, yes.

What about the green dress

you bought for Aunt Pelagia's 60th?

I wear it all the time.

-No, you don't.

Often enough, I'd say.

Is her only topic of conversation

her family and home? No.

She's modern...

-A woman of her time.

Brilliant and independent...

I'm just a middleclass housewife

who does the cooking.

I refuse to be humiliated all evening.

I'd rather call it off.

Very well.

My wife will be humiliated

in front of no one.

Tomorrow,

we'll buy you a new dress.

And some jewelry?

-And jewelry.

I can learn to drive?

That too.

-Oh, sweetheart!

How much would a wall cost?

"Courage..."

"ln..."

"lnvi..."

-"lnvisible"!

Ok, everyone will be the leader

of his own gang,

which includes members

of the full gang. For example,

Geoffroy will be the leader

of his gang, which includes

himself, Rufus, Alceste and me.

Rufus is the leader of his gang,

with Eudes, Clotaire and me.

Eudes is the leader of his gang,

with Geoffroy, Rufus, Alceste and me.

And my gang includes all of you.

Do we agree?

Do we agree?

Yes.

So, now what do we do?

I know! We'll clean your house.

We'll all come over and tidy up.

Your parents will be so happy

they'll have to keep you.

Be good, I'm counting on you.

We'll be home in two hours.

Less if Mom's gifted.

What's that mean?

-What?

"Less if Mom's gifted."

-I don't know.

Two hours, one hour, whatever.

You're insinuating something.

Don't start up, Ok?

-You started.

You assume I'm going to fail.

-No, I don't.

Yes, you do. I'm sorry, you do.

We have two hours.

Straighten up.

Straighten up, straighten up, I said!

You're flustering me

with your "straighten ups".

Straighten up!

Admit it. You were heading

straight off the road.

I was awfully impatient

for Mom and Dad to see

how my friends and l

had cleaned the house.

Ok, I'll pay for driving lessons.

I realized I'd never be able

to make them happy.

So I decided to run away from home.

I packed up everything

I thought I might need,

and I left.

I wanted to go a long way away,

like to China or Arcachon.

Mom and Dad would be very sorry

and they'd miss me.

But I'd only come back after years,

when I was captain of a warship

and I earned lots of money.

I'd take them to the movies

and people would say:

"Look, Nicholas has lots of money.

"He takes his Mom and Dad

to the movies,

"even if they were mean to him."

You chickened out.

-I thought it over. Not the same!

It's not up to me to leave.

I was there first.

The one who should leave

is the baby!

So when it gets here...

we'll get rid of it.

How?

-We could sell it to the SPCA.

They only take animals, you idiot!

We'll abandon it

in the jungle to wolves.

Albert read me a story like that.

No, the jungle is too far.

We'll hide it in a hut

and raise it in secret.

We'll take turns feeding it.

I can only go out on Thursdays.

Me too.

Me too, except if I'm punished.

Which is often.

We can leave food for it.

My aunt does that with her cat.

No way! Babies aren't like cats,

they can't feed themselves.

I heard everything.

What did you hear, you dirty rat?

You want to take Nicholas' baby

and hide it in the jungle

and feed it cat food.

I'll tell the teacher

and the Principal,

and you'll be in big trouble.

Unless...

Unless what?

You let me propose my idea

for the performance.

What's your idea?

Listen, we can't get rid

of the baby ourselves.

The police will find out

and we'll be in trouble.

The only solution

is to have it kidnapped

by a gangster.

A gangster?

Where will we find a gangster?

Sir!

Come here!

Come on, sir!

Come here. Yes, you!

Come here!

It flows into the sea,

forming a delta

called the Camargue.

Thank you, Agnan.

What river flows through Paris?

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