“Were not your daughters alarmed at having such a neighbor?” said Christian, approaching the danneman, and lowering his voice to please him, though his apprehensions seemed to him exaggerated.
At this question, Joë Bœtsoi drew himself up stiffly, straightened his large head between his shoulders, and looked at Christian askance.
“Herr Christian, my daughters are honest girls,” he said, dryly.
“Pray have I intimated anything to the contrary, Herr Bœtsoi?” said Christian, feeling very much surprised.
“Don’t you know,” replied the danneman, making an effort to pronounce the name which he disliked so much, “don’t you know that the bear can do no harm to a virgin, and that consequently an honest girl can go and snatch her kid or her lamb from his very claws, without any danger?”
“Pardon, Monsieur Danneman, I did not know it; I am a stranger, and I see that we can learn something new every day. But are you quite sure that the bear has such a respect for chastity? Would you allow one of your daughters to accompany you at this moment?”
“No! women can’t keep their tongues from wagging, and their chattering gives notice to the game. That is why neither girls nor women should ever go to a hunt.”
“And if you should happen to see the bear pursuing your daughters would you not be alarmed? Would you not shoot it?”
“I would shoot it for the sake of getting its skin, but I should not be uneasy about my daughters. I tell you I am sure of their conduct.”
“But your sister, the sibyl, she, without doubt, has been married?”