"It is perfectly delightful! cheer up, man alive, cheer up! What a waste of genius, little pet!"
"What a monkey-face it makes when it cries!"
To tell the truth, it was horrible.
"Oh! it is stopping, señora! oh! it is stopping!" cried Plácida.
All the women gathered around it, in affright.
"What do you mean, it is stopping?" demanded Miguel, leaping from his chair.
"It has stopped crying, señorito!"
The baby, with its face drawn up and its mouth open, made no sound. The countess shook it with all her might till she almost murdered it: finally the infant emitted a scream more excruciating than ever, and all the women breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come now; we must give this little rascal to his mamma; if he does not get something to eat, he will be angry with us."
"How can that baby know enough to be angry?" thought Miguel.