The Hour of the Pig Page #8

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Find him,

bring him here.

You have had your time,

Maitre.

We must go

tojudgment.

- I ask the court's indulgence

a little longer.

- No, that's it.

[ Squealing ]

[ Courtois ] You'll note, monseigneur,

that the two pigs are identical.

The one could easily

be mistaken for the other.

They're black hogs,

patch under the eye.

This man will swear that

his pig has already eaten

two of its own litters...

killed a newborn calf

in front if its mother,

and attacked a baby in the cot.

Is this not, monseigneur,

a malicious and criminal beast?

And it was untethered and went missing

on the day the child died.

And when it returned,

it had blood on its mouth.

This good citizen

will testify to all of this.

And is this good citizen

aware of the penalties

for bearing false witness?

As we all are, monseigneur,

in this court...

even up to my lord

the judge.

Pincheon?

I'm not happy to say this,

but the law demands a retrial.

All this again?

All of it, monseigneur,

with the pig kept in prison...

at the state's expense until

a new advocate arrives as his counsel.

- I won't be here.

- No, no, this is impossible.

We've only the fellow's

word for it.

It's not as if the pig

had confessed!

Would you like me

to put it to him?

As advocate for

the first porker...

should I not try to get

this one to take the blame?

You, pig, if you have a devil in you,

if you and your devil avow...

- that you are guilty

of this unnatural murder--

- Seigneur?

Courtois, this is a matter

of some gravity.

If you confess to this you will

give voice in this courtroom,

twice to be sure.

If you are not guilty,

you may keep your silence.

[ Courtois ]

If you do speak, speak clearly

so the whole court may hear you.

[ Squeals Twice ]

[ Laughter ]

[ Whispering ]

In the case of a full

and open confession,

it is my judgment...

that the first accused pig

is not culpable

of the charge against it.

This animal leaves the court

with no stain on her character.

As to the second pig:

[ Clears Throat ]

''In detestation and horror

at its unnatural crime...

''this porker will be detained

until such time as our

sentence can be carried out:

''the which is that it be

hanged and strangled upon a gibbet...

in a public place

until it be dead. ''

We'll go somewhere else.

I'll keep you in the country.

And one day you come home,

and your house is burned down...

and your black witch wife

inside it.

Pig flesh, roasted.

I think I'm a little bit

animal to you;

not brute beast

like they think...

but yes...

some strange fine creature

you'd like at your fireplace

and in your bed.

Go away from here.

Do your job.

Make money.

Marry the fine lady.

Have pretty children,

all shining and white.

I love you.

I could love you.

But I couldn't sing your songs,

only my own--

Lost songs from

a long time ago...

but they are mine.

A part of you

stays here.

A part of me

goes with you.

Who was that man

who sat here?

Calls himself Fournier.

He comes here

every second year...

and the Holy Fathers arrive

soon after him.

He's a spy

for the Inquisition.

He doesn't know

we know.

We'll get to Paris

by nightfall?

You will, Maitre.

I'm staying

in Abbeville.

Maitre Pincheon

has given me a position.

[ Bell Ringing,

Dogs Barking ]

[ Courtois' Voice ]

Now if you recall the prophesy

ofjeannine the Witch...

she said these were bad times,

and there'd be more.

Then there'd come

a fine knight in armor

that shone like the sun.

And he'd carry the weapons

of strength and righteousness.

And deliver us from our evil

and our lies...

and make this a fit place

for all of us.

[ Screams ]

Shall we reach Paris

before dark?

Yes.

I'm taking my goddaughter

to live there in Saint-Denis.

We'll be neighbors then.

I'm a lawyer.

I had a position in Abbeville

for some time, but...

really the city's

the only place to...

[ Courtois ]

uh, make a living.

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