"How stupid I should have been to go away," said the keeper, approaching
still nearer.

"And this is nothing yet; the finest has to come," answered Pique-Vinaigre.
"As soon as Gringalet felt the cold and hairy paws of the great ape, which
seized him by the throat and by the head, he thought himself devoured,
became, as it were, off his nut, and began to cry with groans which would
have softened a tiger.

"' The spider of my dream, good Lord! the spider of my dream--little golden
gnat, help, help!'

"'Will you hush? will you hush?' said Cut-in-half, giving him heavy kicks,
for he was afraid that his cries would be heard; but at the end of a moment
there was no more danger: poor Gringalet cried no more, struggled no more;
on his knees, as white as a sheet, he shut his eyes and shivered as if it
had been January. Meantime the ape beat him, pulled his hair, and scratched
him; and from time to time, the wicked beast stopped to look at his master,
absolutely as if they understood each other. As for Cut-in-half, he laughed
so loud, that if Gringalet had cried, the shouts of his master would have
drowned his cries. It would seem as if this encouraged Gargousse, for he
was more and more cruel to the child."

"Oh! you sanguinary ape," cried Blue Cap. "If I had hold of you by the
tail, I would spin you round like a mill--just like a sling, and I would
crack your conk on the pavement."

"Rascally ape! he was as wicked as a man!"